Assignment #43: Twilight Zone

[Nikolai]

No, we're not talking about the well-known TV series. We're talking about that special time of day or night that creates that vague limbo between the two. While it can be virtually nonexistent near the equator or last for days on the poles, most of us can expect it to last anywhere between the 30 minutes and an hour (really depending on the latitude).
The beauty of the twilight lies in its exceedingly soft, albeit a bit low, light. And while the human eye may not necessarily enjoy it without special preparations, out cameras can.
Here's one of such twilight shots, taken from the Bryce Point about 30 minutes prior to sunrise during the 2006 Smugmug shootout in Bryce Canyon.

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/125439078-L.jpg

EXIF (http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=125439078) shows that this shot has been taken at mere ISO100, f/4 and 8sec.
I can assure you (and you can ask everybody who was there at the moment) that from the human stand point it was very, very dark. Yet Marc (Muench that is:-) advised us to take a few shots - and we did. It wasn't even on full manual - camera automatic exposure system did fairly well.

And here's generally the same shot about 30 minutes later. This one, taken just a few minutes before the sunrise, I could already see myself as clearly as the did the camera:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/125439896-L.jpg

You can easily notice the much deeper and somewhat colder colors of the twilight shot.

So, here's our next task: get up early or stay out late and take the shot (or two) at least 15 minutes before sunrise or after the sunset. Better yet - make it 30 minutes. And for the standing ovation make it 45 min, provided it makes sense at your latitude. The ideal scenario will be having all three, hopefully of the same general subject. In any case, if your camera shows more than 30 sec at ISO100 - it's eather way too early or way too late. In general, let's agree on 30 sec max and 3 sec min.

You can always find your exact local sunrise/sunset times here (http://www.sunrisesunset.com/). Dress up for the weather, bring a reliable flash light (I like those some LED-based head-mounted ones), a sturdy tripod and a remote shutter. If you go for a morning shoot, make sure you scout the location beforehand, otherwise you'd be having a hard time finding your way in a predawn darkness carrying a few $K worth of very delicate equipment on you.
Once on location, setup your tripod and let the camera do the work (or you can play with trial-and-error method).

Please provide the basic exif info, and if you happen have a little story to tell about this shoot - bring it on, too!

As always: fresh shots only, moderate postprocessing. For the rest of the rules please check the usual sticky (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=41800).

Let's get some twilight!

[Antonio Correia]

Nikolai.
Good assignment ! :thumb
You make the interested ones, to wake up early and go out ! :D
It's easier in the evening ... :D
I'm already thinking the days and the time to shoot ! :thumb

Have a nice week-end !:thumb

[dlscott56]

My camera was set for ISO 100 for all shots.
Sunset @ 8:35 pm - EXIF (http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=170312428)
f/11 1/2s ISO 100
http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/170312428-L.jpg
8:50 pm - EXIF (http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=170311282)
f/11 3s ISO 100
http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/170311282-L.jpg
9:05 pm - EXIF (http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=170311618)
f/11 25s ISO 100
http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/170311618-L.jpg
9:20 pm - My camera wouldn't set up automatically for an exposure @ ISO 100 so I used manual with f11 and tried it at 1 min 20 sec for this shot. - EXIF (http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=170311819)
f/11 80s ISO 100
http://4scotts.smugmug.com/photos/170311819-L.jpg

[z_28]

Picture was faster than 3 sec , so I decided to erase, sorry :(

[Nikolai]

My camera was set for ISO 100 for all shots.

Dave, thank you great entries!
Can you please update your post with the inline aperture and shutter speed info, so we don't have to click all the exifs? TIA!

[Antonio Correia]

Today, the 7 th July I woke up at 4.30h in the morning and head on to the S. Filipe's Fortress (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Forte_S_Filipe.JPG) after shower and breakfast.
It was closed and was opening at 6. He would have opened the gate for me but there was some equipment outside because of a party and may be, he suspected me.
A guy trying to enter the premises at 5 to take pictures ???

I decided then to go elsewhere.

I have been to the place you can see where I made some shots.
The problem is that I didn't know where the Sun should come up and he did so, behind the trees. I wanted to get him as well...

I don't think this is a good shot. And it's only half a second exposure :scratch
I hope to have the courage to get up that early during the week and take some pictures from a better place with more care which will result, I hope, in better pictures.

http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/photos/170362555-M.jpg (http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/gallery/1587711#170362555-L-LB)

[Antonio Correia]

http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/photos/170522442-L.jpg (http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/gallery/1587711/2#170522442-L-LB)

[Antonio Correia]

http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/photos/170526829-M.jpg (http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/gallery/1587711/2#170526829-L-LB)

[Nikolai]

Explosion
Interesting.. :thumb What is it? Were you flying?:scratch
BTW, you two previous entries do not meet 3-30 sec assignment rule, sorry :dunno

[Antonio Correia]

Nikolai,
As you know, to get the 3s 30s rule I would have stopped the lens a little more...
I was not flying. No. I just zoomed carefully.
How about this one now ? 15 seconds f/5.0 - 21h 54m local time on the 7th July 2007

http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/photos/170527992-M.jpg (http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/gallery/1587711/2#170527992-L-LB)

[Nikolai]

Nikolai,
As you know, to get the 3s 30s rule I would have stopped the lens a little more...
I was not flying. No. I just zoomed carefully.
How about this one now ? 15 seconds f/5.0 - 21h 54m local time on the 7th July 2007


Goes! :thumb
Soo, that was optical zooming? VERY nice, I'm gonna try it! :thumb

[Antonio Correia]

http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/photos/170706438-M.jpg (http://antoniocorreia.smugmug.com/gallery/1587711#170706438-L-LB)

[Travis]

Excellent photo Antonio!

[DustyLee]

Ok, I found these assignments a few days ago and I'm hooked. I went out tonight, and set up across the street from the National Cemetary here in Chattanooga.
http://dustylee.smugmug.com/photos/171760573-M.jpg
Date Modified2007-07-10 21:26:19Date Taken2007-07-10 21:26:19CameraOLYMPUS IMAGING CORP. E-500Exposure Time15s (15/1)Aperturef/9.0ISO100Focal Length95mm (190mm in 35mm)Photo Dimensions3264 x 2448File NameP7101671.JPGFile Size1.70 MB
Flash
flash did not fire, auto mode
Exposure Program
manual
Exposure Bias
0 EV
Exposure Mode
manual
Light Source
unknown
White Balance
auto
Digital Zoom Ratio
100/100
Contrast
0
Saturation
0
Sharpness
1
Color Space
sRGB

[DustyLee]

While I was working on that one - I kept remembering another assignment I had read/viewed. "Lines".

That led to a combo of the two - twilight lighting on 'lines'.

http://dustylee.smugmug.com/photos/171760489-M.jpg

aso 100, f9, 25 sec.

Can someone tell me jf there's an easy way to post the exif info from smugmug?

Then tell me how to make these better. :rofl

I used manual focus - clearly (or perhaps fuzzily?) a mistake in the dim lighting with my lousy eyesight, so that would be thing to change #1. :D

I'm pretty much starting from scratch here, so don't be afraid to take it to BASICS for me, ok?

[DustyLee]

I forgot to add the story. To get the angle I wanted on the cemetary, without a huge foreground of cars and fence, I had the camera on the tripod, short legged it, and set it up on TOP of my car (Toyota Echo) and used the 2 sec timer to trigger it. That might have something to do with the fuzz too. ;-)


I got a lot of strange looks from the cars driving by. LOL

[Nikolai]

I forgot to add the story. To get the angle I wanted on the cemetary, without a huge foreground of cars and fence, I had the camera on the tripod, short legged it, and set it up on TOP of my car (Toyota Echo) and used the 2 sec timer to trigger it. That might have something to do with the fuzz too. ;-)


I got a lot of strange looks from the cars driving by. LOL

Thank you for the entries, good shooting! :thumb

[bavasshokie]

These Pics are great I will post mine soon

[schmoo]

I normally don't do the assignments because I miss them. However I was out tonight at dusk and decided to give it a shot (pun intended).

Sunset 8:28 PM
Taken: 8:56 PM

http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/172091696-L-1.jpg

EXIF data
(http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=172091696)
Down by the waterfront, suffocating in the humid stillness before grabbing a few cold drinks in one of the pubs. :D

I did do some PP to make it pop... what counts as "moderate?" :dunno

[Nikolai]

I normally don't do the assignments because I miss them. However I was out tonight at dusk and decided to give it a shot (pun intended).

Sunset 8:28 PM
Taken: 8:56 PM

EXIF data
(http://schmoo.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=172091696)
Down by the waterfront, suffocating in the humid stillness before grabbing a few cold drinks in one of the pubs. :D

I did do some PP to make it pop... what counts as "moderate?" :dunno

Quite lovely 4s exposure! :thumb

Your pp is ok, the only thing I would do is get rid of the keystoning on the building (or shot it in a way to avoid it in the first place).

[schmoo]

Quite lovely 4s exposure! :thumb

Your pp is ok, the only thing I would do is get rid of the keystoning on the building (or shot it in a way to avoid it in the first place).

Keystoning? I am not familiar (or don't think I am) with what you mean...?

[Nikolai]

Keystoning? I am not familiar (or don't think I am) with what you mean...?
The building is skewed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystoning).

[schmoo]

The building is skewed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystoning).

Ah, gotcha. :thumb

[hawkeye978]

I didn't realize you could this bright a shot considering how dark it was. Local sunset was 8:21p.


Garden Picture
http://hawkeye978.smugmug.com/photos/172478521-L.jpg


http://hawkeye978.smugmug.com/photos/newexif.mg?ImageID=169855811

[Nikolai]

I didn't realize you could this bright a shot considering how dark it was. Local sunset was 8:21p.
Told' ya:-) :wink
Nice shot, great colors!:thumb And colors is what the whole twilight thing is all about :-)! :deal

[Phil_L]

Sunset at 21:55, first picture taken at 22:15.
Nikon D70, 12-24 f4 zoom at 24mm fl, ss 5 sec, f20.

http://phil.smugmug.com/photos/173557492-L.jpg


ACR, PP in PS, heavily cropped to remove uninteresting material and crazy frameing.
Would have been better off with a tele-zoom.
Not enough traffic to make it more interesting so I moved off.

Second picture at about 23:00.
F16, ss 4 sec. Fl 12mm

http://phil.smugmug.com/photos/173556648-L.jpg

Still enough light to cause blown highlights in the sky so I made separate exposures of the sky and land and merged the files in PS.
F16, ss 6 sec and 1.6 sec. Ooops. :dunno

http://phil.smugmug.com/photos/173557196-L.jpg

[Nikolai]

Sunset at 21:55, first picture taken at 22:15.
Nikon D70, 12-24 f4 zoom at 24mm fl, ss 5 sec, f20.

ACR, PP in PS, heavily cropped to remove uninteresting material and crazy frameing.
Would have been better off with a tele-zoom.
Not enough traffic to make it more interesting so I moved off.

Second picture at about 23:00.
F16, ss 4 sec. Fl 12mm

Still enough light to cause blown highlights in the sky so I made separate exposures of the sky and land and merged the files in PS.
F16, ss 6 sec and 1.6 sec. Ooops. :dunno



Nice entries, thanks! :thumb
So bright at 23 pm? Man, looks like you live pretty far up North. :deal Scandinavia? Canada? Alaska? :scratch

[Phil_L]

Nice entries, thanks! :thumb
So bright at 23 pm? Man, looks like you live pretty far up North. :deal Scandinavia? Canada? Alaska? :scratch

Thanks Nikolai.:D Live in Sweden.

[Nikolai]

Thanks Nikolai.:D Live in Sweden.
That explains it, I guess :-) :lol3