Beginning this week, Photography Life is launching a series of weekly photography tips on our Member Page! These replace our daily tips, but not at the expense of volume – we’ll still do seven tips each week (or equivalents like photography quotes, inspiration, assignments, and so on). Normally, these are only available to our paid Members, but I was happy with our inaugural post and wanted to publish it here too!
In particular, I’d like to share some tips related to the weather and astronomical events. I use these tips all the time in the field, especially for landscape photography.
1. Rainbows Appear Opposite the Sun
This tip is pretty self-explanatory, but if you didn’t already know it, I think you’ll find it very helpful! Any time that I’m taking pictures when it’s both rainy and sunny, I always take a moment to look in the opposite direction of the sun. That’s where the rainbow will appear if there is one. (This also means that if the sun is too high in the sky, the rainbow will appear down in the direction of the ground, i.e., it will not be visible unless you’re standing on the edge of a canyon.)
2. How to Catch the “Pink Hour”
Photographers always talk about Golden Hour, and, to a lesser extent, Blue Hour. But what is the “Pink Hour”? It’s a rare phenomenon, and it definitely doesn’t last a full hour – only a few minutes at most – but the whole sky indeed can turn a beautiful shade of saturated pink! Pink Hour only happens on days with a blanket of clouds or fog near ground level, paired with thin clouds in the upper atmosphere. It usually happens shortly before the official sunrise time, or shortly after sunset. I’ve only seen this a handful of times. However, it’s enough to convince me that sunrise and sunset photography are still worthwhile on a seemingly overcast day!
3. The Full Moon Is up All Night
If you want to do Milky Way photography, it’s usually best to avoid the full moon. And not just because it’s so bright… also because you can’t work around it! The full moon is above the horizon all night long. However, a half moon or crescent moon will be below the horizon for at least part of the night. Knowing this, you can plan your Milky Way endeavors accordingly, and you can know just by glancing at the moon whether it will go below the horizon or not that day.
4. How to Know When the Milky Way Core Is Highest
Speaking of night sky photography, do you know when the core of the Milky Way is the highest in the night sky? The answer is during the months of June and July (specifically on the Solstice around June 20th). This is true both in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. You can still take good nighttime photos at other times of year, but if you expect to be traveling around June/July, make sure to check the moon schedule and plan for some Milky Way shots!
5. Fog Most Often Appears in the Morning
A lot of landscape photographers make the mistake of thinking that sunrise and sunset are basically equivalent. As a night owl myself, I wish that were true, but the simple fact is that sunrise is often going to be better for photography than sunset. Why? Fog! Dew collects overnight, and then it begins to evaporate with the early rays of the sun. This process can lead to some incredible photos that you couldn’t capture any other time of day.
6. How Dust and Pollution Affect Sunrise and Sunset
This tip is both good and bad – good because it can lead to some beautiful colors in your photos, but bad because the underlying causes are not pleasant. In short, if there are any forest fires, volcanic eruptions, or just a high level of pollution in the air, then you will end up with much more vivid colors around sunrise and sunset. Although this has the potential for some unique photos, be careful not to stay outside too long on a day where the air quality index is this bad.
This Week’s Quote:
“Bad weather makes for good photography.”
-Ansel Adams (maybe)
I found a couple of sources claiming that this is an Ansel Adams quote, but I can’t find where he originally said it, if he did. But no matter who said it, take it to heart! I’ve personally captured at least half of my favorite photos in inclement weather conditions, from sandstorms to temperatures well below freezing. More interesting stuff just seems to happen in crazy weather conditions, so go out there and – safely! – take some photos when the conditions get bad :)
