Land of the rising sun
Do look directly into the sun! Adam Waring employs a reverse ND grad filter to balance a bright horizon
When photographing landscapes, the sky is usually much brighter than the land below, leading to an underexposed foreground or blown-out sky. In this situation, it’s common practice to make use of a graduated ND filter: dark at the top and transitioning to clear at the bottom, they’re used to balance the exposure levels in the scene so that both the land and sky are properly exposed.
But when shooting at sunrise or sunset with the sun appearing in the shot, the brightest part of the scene is actually the horizon itself, with the sky above it markedly darker, so when faced with this situation, a different type of ND grad is called for.
We used a Nisi Reverse GND8 (0.9) Filter. This specialist 3-stop reverse ND grad is clear at the bottom, in the same way that a regular graduated filter is. However, that transition to dark in the middle of the filter is much more abrupt, and this then gently fades towards the top of the filter.
We set the alarm for the crack of dawn for a shoot at the aptly named Hell’s Mouth, near Hayle on the North Cornwall coast. Powerful Atlantic waves crash into the imposing sheer cliffs and sea stacks that surround this stark but beautiful cove, making it the ideal subject to shoot in lower light levels with a slow shutter to smooth the churning maelstrom. Selecting an elevated viewpoint to the west of this landmark enabled us to shoot down at the pounding ocean, while being sure that when the sun did eventually peep above the horizon we’d capture it in frame with our wide-angle lens.
Plan your shoot
It’s crucial to know where the sun is going to rise – and at what time! An app like The Photographer’s Ephemeris allows you to scope out likely locations. Aim to arrive in good time to get set up before dawn. You may have to set your alarm clock alarmingly early…
Compose the scene
Get your composition nailed before sunrise. With our camera mounted firmly on a tripod, we used our in-built level to ensure it was perfectly horizontal but tilted to capture the raging waters below, and composed so that the sun would appear in the top-right third of the frame.
Take the shot
When the sun finally starts to peep over the horizon, take the shot (using a remote release or 2-sec self timer to avoid jogging the camera). Our relatively dark scene combined with low ISO and narrow aperture resulted in a 2.5 sec shutter speed, giving the crashing waves a beautiful blurred quality. However, dawn brightens rapidly, so shoot quickly!
Filter differences
A regular ND grad is clear at the bottom, transitioning to a darker area, with the very darkest at the top. By contrast, while a reverse ND is clear at the bottom and transitions to a darker area in the middle, this then gets lighter towards the top of the filter.
Check your settings
We set Manual mode, with a low ISO100 and f/16 aperture, not only to maximize depth of field through the scene, but so that the rising sun would take on a starburst effect, too. We focused on a rock a third of the way into the scene and took a test shot, ensuring that everything was pin-sharp.
Slide in gently
Slide the filter gently into the holder, looking through the viewfinder as you do so, until the dark portion covers the horizon line. At this point you might want to take another test shot to check for sharpness, then turn autofocus off so that you don’t inadvertently change focus when the moment comes.