WOW, this has been a real experience for me! First of all, thanks to all those who voted for me in the CSC14-8 challenge. I am totally “blown away”! Secondly, the reason I submitted that photo is because I am in no way an accomplished photographer, and my reasoning is to learn how to use my camera properly without relying on auto all the time. Having said that, I am not the person to be critiquing anyone else's photographs and would appreciate any and all help all you accomplished photographers can supply.
So...looking through all the camera setting challenges, it seemed to me that they had all been covered pretty comprehensively, and asking me to think of something is rather like taking coals to Newcastle. Then it occurred to me that the logical progression from the last challenge, “The Golden Hour” would be this - “The Blue Hour”, so here goes.......
Do some of the camera settings intimidate you? Do you want to learn how to develop your photography skills and learn how to use your camera effectively without always going back to the “auto” function? These challenges are for you!
This week’s challenge is: The Blue Hour
The "blue hour" is during twilight when its neither light nor dark, and where the quality of light is stunning. This is usually about half an hour after sunset. The window of opportunity for Blue Hour shooting is small, and probably much shorter than during the Golden Hour. You will want to be at your spot ready to go well in advance of the Blue Hour. To plan your time, you can visit The Blue Hour Site to find out when the Blue Hour starts and ends at your location. If you don’t have access to the internet, a good rule of thumb is that the Blue Hour starts about 15 minutes after sunset, and ends around an hour after sunset. For sunrise, it will start roughly an hour before sunrise and end 15 minutes before sunrise.
There is no rule what camera settings are best, but here are a few tips:
Keep your ISO low for best image quality and for longer shutter speeds.
F-stop should be closed down to about f/11 or f/16. This will give you enough depth of field plus it will create cool star effects on artificial lights (see the first shot of this article).
The shutter time is the least important and can be adjusted according to f-stop and ISO. You may prefer a longer exposures that give nice motion effects like lines of the cars driving by or moving clouds…
Camera mode can be either Aperture priority or Manual.
The blue hour photos should be slightly under-exposed – it is darkness after all.
White balance. Try out different WB settings and see how it affects the colours. A common setting would be incandescent or fluorescent light. If your camera has a live view mode you can instantly see how the change of WB affects the photo.
This is a site that I found illustrates it beautifully:
Experienced photographers who are knowledgeable in this particular setting are encouraged to offer “kind and constructive” suggestions on the posted entries. Those entering this challenge want to learn and improve.
This challenge starts today, June 8 and runs to June 18, 12:00pm here in NZ. (That is GMT +12) All photos must be taken during these dates to be considered. Enter as many as you would like - the idea is to practice & learn. TAG YOUR PHOTO CSC14-9 AND post your picture in this thread to receive feedback from other experienced photographers specific to this challenge.
Voting will take place between 19–20 June and the winner will be announced 21st June. The winner of the challenge will either host a new challenge or select an experienced photographer to host. It is the winner’s option on who they want to host the next challenge; it may be someone they follow whose work they admire, or someone who is active offering suggestions on previous CSC challenges.
Expect to receive constructive suggests on how to improve your skills.
How to post your photo on this link:
1) Go to your page that has the photo you wish to post.
2) Copy the “share” code in the bottom right section of that page.
3) Return to this thread and paste the code under comments
@gardencat This is lovely Joanne. A tripod isn't necessary so long as you have something you can rest your camera on. Car, fence, log...bean bag. Take your pick.
@pitasmum yes I did. I might have been at the end. My time is listed. Kathy. Sunrise was at 5:40am but there was no sunrise because it was overcast. I guess Blue hour would be from 4:40 to 5:40 so I missed it but because it was solid overcast I think it was still blue hour here in San Diego. Next time I will try to make an evening because our mornings have not been good.
Pretty soon we will have some good sunrises and I have a great place nearby to shoot them. Hopefully the time will change too by then. I am an early riser but 4:00am is like yesterday.
@pitasmum Guess this is an example of great minds think alike ( or maybe the less flattering second line of that saying :) )I did think of at least using the car to brace my elbows against, for this other picture I took last evening.
Took this one at f/5.6, ISO 200, and ss 1/8. Even with the bracing I think this may be suffering from a bit of blur due to camera motion.
@kathyboyles It is so cool that you are handling each of these camera settings challenges. I think some photo subjects work better in different light. I think the flowers are beautiful but probably better for the golden hour rather than the blue hour. I could be wrong. Kathy would you be able to photograph a landscape, a street view, a house? Another suggestion I have is use either a tripod or rest the camera on something firm and use the shutter speed priority. I know you used the aperture priority but the shutter speed priority would be another to try. If you can rest your camera on something so there isn't the movement in the picture you could turn it down slower and slower take a shot look at it, slow the shutter even slower and look at it - etc.
I took a picture this spring during this time and have wanted to try again. I'm in. Here it is. Only I would love to try again without the pole. I was set up for a different shot at the time.
This was fun! I think I may have to go back out tonight and tweak some of the settings and see if I can get a clearer/sharper shot. But for my first attempt at blue hour, I'm ecstatic with what I got!!
Sorry, been unexpectedly busy for a few days. There are some lovely images coming in.
@kathyboyles This looks like to me like you are heading in the right direction, perhaps a wider view? May I suggest you check out other 365ers by searching "blue hour" and going to the photos for more ideas on subject.
@trishaclancy This is a stunning view! Lovely colour and light trails below.
@ladygator Great shot for a first time. The reflections are lovely.
@clake Lovely image. The piece lends itself to the colouring of the blue hour nicely.
Another attempt here, I really need to remember to bring the tripod next time...
I find that blue hour seems to pass really quickly and also that it is very different depending which way you are facing; face towards the west and the sky is still really bright but, photos taken looking to the east, already look like it is night.
@pitasmum Keri, I've been meaning to thank you for hosting this challenge. It's the first that I've participated in and, to tell the truth, I've never really paid attention to the time of day and realized what a huge difference it can make in the whole nature of the photo. I'm much more aware of it now. Thanks for teaching me one more new thing to consider when shooting.
@clake I know what you mean! Thanks for that Caroline, it was a first for me too! I am only just learning to use my dslr manually, so these challenges are well worth looking into, and if I don't try I won't learn. Thanks again, and happy shooting!
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@myhrhelper nice image
Pretty soon we will have some good sunrises and I have a great place nearby to shoot them. Hopefully the time will change too by then. I am an early riser but 4:00am is like yesterday.
Kathy
Took this one at f/5.6, ISO 200, and ss 1/8. Even with the bracing I think this may be suffering from a bit of blur due to camera motion.
My contribution. Love this challenge
@kathyboyles This looks like to me like you are heading in the right direction, perhaps a wider view? May I suggest you check out other 365ers by searching "blue hour" and going to the photos for more ideas on subject.
@trishaclancy This is a stunning view! Lovely colour and light trails below.
@ladygator Great shot for a first time. The reflections are lovely.
@clake Lovely image. The piece lends itself to the colouring of the blue hour nicely.
I find that blue hour seems to pass really quickly and also that it is very different depending which way you are facing; face towards the west and the sky is still really bright but, photos taken looking to the east, already look like it is night.