For Best Light – Arrive Early And Stay Late!

Posted on October 7, 2013

Dusk, National Elk Refuge, Jackson, Wyoming
Canon 5DMKIII, 130mm, f/16, 4 second timed-exposure, ISO 200, Singh-Ray Color Combo Polarizer

Join Us Next Year for Our Third Annual Grand Tetons Fall Color In Grand Teton National Park – September 23-27, 2014

Having spent my entire life living in “sunny” California, I learned a long time ago about the importance of getting up early to be on location – sometimes as much as an hour ahead of time on clear days. Yes, that means very early wake-up calls and drives in the dark, but dawn light is simply amazing.

On the other end of the spectrum, I will not leave a location simply because the sun has set. Some of the best light, especially at higher elevations, can come and last well after sunset. My most recent blog post even talks about Capturing Alpenglow Light that happens early and late when the sun is not visible to the naked eye.

During my recently completed Grand Teton Workshops in Jackson, Wyoming, the government shutdown meant I could no longer take my groups into the park for location shoots. I heard reports of other groups violating that rule and getting away with it, but I plan on holding many more workshops there in upcoming years and abided by their rules. Besides that, there are legal and liability issues to deal with, and once the park closed, I sent my co-instructors (Scott Schilling and Pierre Steenberg) out to scout locations that included as much of the Teton Range, but from outside the park boundaries.

To say the least, they did a fantastic job and found locations every bit worthy as those we had lined-up for our group inside the park. Having not actually photographed these locations at sunrise/sunset times, I made sure we arrived at morning locations a minimum 45 minutes prior to sunrise. On the other side of the day, I made sure we stayed out well after sunset, until, the last ounce of color had flickered out.

On our last sunset shoot with Workshop group #2, we got a good lesson as to why we do just what I explained. We were shooting a sunset over the Teton Range on a very chilly evening. Long after the sun had set behind the mountains to the west, we turned around and were greeted with this incredible scene looking east. The sky was filled with purple and pink hues and the wind had died down enough to allow for a long shutter speed to capture the foreground cottonwoods.

Dawn Skies Over Grand Teton Range
Canon 5DMKIII, 95mm, f/16 (focus set with hyperfocal focus), 15 second timed-exposure, 200 ISO, Singh-Ray CC Polarizer

The next morning, we arrived in the dark at this location high above the valley floor. This allowed our participants to choose a foreground that would work with the Teton Range and add a sense of depth to the scene. Though headlamps were initially required, our eyes soon adjusted. I used my 70-200mmL lens to compress my foreground with the mountain range. Careful focus had to be applied to ensure sharpness throughout the scene. I used Essence Computing’s Focal – Depth of Field Calc app that I had on my iPhone to help set my hyperfocal focus point. As you can see, the focus did indeed hold from foreground to infinity (the mountains), and all I did was wait for the dawn light to warm the cirrus clouds with this beautiful pink color.

One of the other positive benefits of working under dawn and dusk light is that the contrast range is well within your sensor’s dynamic capture range – both of these images were captured in one frame, requiring no graduated neutral density filters or bracketed exposures.

My message for all of you is simple: get on location early and stay on location late. Your digital camera’s ability to capture photons that your eyes cannot see is simply amazing!

2013 Photo Workshops

5th Annual Arches/Canyonlands National Parks – Full Moon Over Red Rock, Arches and Canyons – October 15-19, 2013 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

3rd Annual Bryce/Zion National Parks – Hoodoos and Fall Color – November 4-8, 2013 (WORKSHOP SOLD OUT :: WAITING LIST ONLY)

2014 Photo Workshops

5th Annual Magic Light, Moonlight, and Pfeiffer Arch Workshop – Winter in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – January 15-18, 2014 (Only 6 spots remaining)

6th Annual Northern Arizona Workshop – Grand Canyon (full moon), Page (Horseshoe Bend and Upper Antelope Canyon) and Sedona – March 14-18, 2014 (Only 2 spots remaining)

7th Annual Springtime in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula – Wildflowers, Misty Fog and Headland Color – April 14-17, 2014 (5 spots remaining)

5th Annual Kauai Workshop – Garden Isle and Tropical Paradise – June 20-24, 2014 (early-bird signup discount – contact me for details!) (6 spots remaining)

2nd Annual Monsoon Photo Workshop – Grand Canyon National Park – August 9-13, 2014 (co-taught by Don Smith and Gary Hart – filling fast)

3rd Annual Fall Color in Grand Teton National Park – September 23 – 27, 2014 (9 spots remaining)

Software Discounts

Photomatix Pro 4.2 type in code at checkout: donsmithphotography 15% discount