How to find out where the sun will be.
Technology has taken out the guessing game of when it’s going to rise or set, but also the direction you need to be to get that shot, and all you need is a phone and an app.
There are a number of apps that do the same thing I.e TPE or PhotoPills to name two.
Google Maps
So you have a location in mind, which you can use Google Maps to get a view from above.Google Maps can give you so much more information I.e roads, tracks, directions and time it will take to get there, all this information without having to drive there, only to be disappointed.
Finding location.
So this is a screenshot below shows the ground view that you can click on. You ca look 360* around and as you can see the gate giving me a view of what the scene looks like from that angle, but then how do I know where the sun will set from this angle?
TPE or PhotoPills
This is where TPE or PhotoPills can give you that info as the direction of where the sun will fall, but not only that, it gives me the time of the “golden hour”, which is a great time to capture reflective light on the landscape, and the time of the actual sunset.
Overview of sunset with TPE
So the screenshot above gives me a full overview of where the sun will be from the location I will setup from.
Zooming in
So by zooming it I can see more detail, but also below it shows the time of the golden hour which is a great time for that golden reflection on things like trees and grass, as well as elevation as the sun comes down and precise time it will meet the horizon.
So with Google Maps and apps like TPE, it gives me the information of how long it will take me to travel to that location and I can factor that into what sort of time I need to arrive and gives me time to set up and. The view also helps me think about what lens I can use with my normal camera or what kind of height I need to go to for a good image. Also what kind of ND filter will be best for shots.
Sample Images from shoot.
So these were taken with my Sony A99II with my Tamron 70-200mm SP f2.8 on a tripod with a PolarPro QuartzLine CP Polarizer filter, which is great for reducing lens flare and giving great saturation to the images and using a wireless remote, so I don’t get any camera shake in the images if they are taken at a low shutter speed.
Panoramic image
Landscape tree partially under water.
Golden hour sunlight on trees
If I was using my Mavic Pro 2, I would have used either my PolarPro ND16 or ND32 with ISO 100.
Sunset almost touching the trees
I gave myself half hour to sit and look at the scene around me so that I knew what I was going to photograph, why, because the golden hour actually at this time of year is around three quarters of an hour, so time moves quickly as your shooting and moving the camera to each point of view and taking images that you hadn't thought of.
Never be scared to revisit a location.
I actually went the day before these images were taken as we have had a sand storm come across the southwest and I had got down there, but as the sun got to 20 minutes before setting, it disappeared! But I still took some shots and it gave me the chance to think about the next time, which turned out to be the next day. Also the sun is quite large at this time of year and adds for a different image than later in the year and also the sun will set in a different location.
This is one of the great things about an app like TPE or PhotoPills that lets you look into the future of the month or year to see where the sun will rise or set.
Exploring location doesn't mean you have to travel just for the sake of it, using technology that is at your fingertips by researching through apps can set you up from your armchair, so enjoy