This week the folks controlling the Weekly Photo Challenge have asked us to represent “The Golden Hour.” The golden hour is the first and last hour of the day. I’ve never been a sunset photographer and sunrises are just too early for me. I did however manage to capture a photo of the setting full moon one early morning.
The Golden Hour – Asinara Bay, Sardinia, Italy
This photo was shot at 5:03 am using a Sony Cyber-Shot. I think it turned out pretty cool, you can even see the moon’s reflection, shining brightly on Castlesardo. There is nothing golden about this photo but it was shot at the right time for this weeks theme.
Any tips for capturing the perfect golden hour of a sunset?
My Sardinian Life 
Most people said it all about this photo! It fits all expectations of beautifully amazing! You are talented! May God Bless! I am so happy that you are once again home!
The Sard/American,
Rosemarie
Night shots are hard to capture especially with the little hand held… Well done! My tips for golden hour… Well the lighting is just perfect, so the colours pop so leaving you a chance to focus on subject and background. I have been working on zoom lately and zooming in extra close or on part of an object with some great results.
I love your photo! Full of atmosphere…
Thanks so much!
Hmmmm, any tips for the perfect “golden hour” sunset? The most important, Be There!
Next, no clouds in the sky means a blah sunset(IMHO). There’s nothing to capture and reflect the color of the setting sun. All is not lost however, no is the time to look the other way, away from the setting sun. What the sun isn’t doing for the sky on the horizon, it may very well be doing to the rocks, buildings, mountains, etc., behind you. Case in point. On the morning of my first attempt at photographing the Milky Way there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, great for trying to photograph the night sky, for sunrise, not so much(again IMHO), so I knew it was going to be a bust for a spectacular sky. But as soon as I packed up my camera and turned around to walk back to shore I saw this:
http://jeffsinonphotography.wordpress.com/2013/07/13/weekly-photo-challenge-the-golden-hour/#jp-carousel-2576
The light on the rocks was amazing! I got my camera back out as fast as I could knowing all too well that this wasn’t going to last more than a few minutes. Notice there is almost nothing of the blah sky included in the background.
What else, what else? Oh yea, don’t be in a hurry like everyone else and pack it in the second the sun actually sets. Give it a good 10-20 minutes before you call it a day. All it takes is one time packing your camera up the second the sun dips below the horizon, only to have the sky ignite as if it were on fire. While you’re already in your car headed home, of course. Trust me, you’ll be kicking yourself in the butt for some time after, and it’s a mistake you only make once(this only works of there are a decent amount of clouds in the sky. With the above mentioned clear blue sky, waiting just means it will be darker on your way back to the car š
Some basics, watch your horizon, keep it horizontal š A tripod is always a good idea. Not sure if you always use the mentioned Cyber-Shot, but if you use a DSLR too graduated neutral density filters are a great addition to your bag, Hard edge if you do mostly coastal shots, soft edge if most of your photographs don’t have a nice flat horizon, like mountains. For what it’s worth, I mostly use a 3-stop GND. If a point-n-shoot is all you have, if it’s capable of any types of manual controls, either full manual, or aperture priority, use them. You’ll get better results if your the brains of the operation, and not the camera.
That should get you started, assuming you got this far!
Now I bet you’re sorry you asked š
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Cool photo!
Thank you!
Beautiful!
Gorgeous!
nice shot š
Thank you!