Saturday, February 18, 2023

A Very Cold Photoshoot

Sue required a blue hour photo for her 365 prompt. With the sun due to set at 5:35, we decided that we would also get there in time for a possible sunset photo. As we got out of the car, I thought this stand of trees was worth pointing my camera at to catch the western side being lit by the low sun. The sun is still weak these days, so the contrast isn't remarkable, but it was worth a try at 5:13, 22 minutes before sunset..


I could see that it was not going to be a good night for a sunset, but I was there, so I made the best of it. I looked for any sort of foreground element and pointed the camera toward the lowering sun and squeezed the aperture to get a bit of a sunburst effect.


I waited until most of the sun had lowered beyond the distant trees and took the above photo at 6:29, 6 minutes before the sun truly dipped below the rim of the Earth at our latitude. The foreground elements, above, are part of the boat launch. There remains a bit of open water out past the frozen shelf near the riverbank, but you can hardly detect it in this ↑ photo.

My hands were almost numb at this point, so I retreated to the car, keeping the motor running and holding my hands near the heater.

Twenty-five minutes later, which was 11 minutes after sunset, blue hour had set in although there was still a tinge of colour. My hands had thawed, so I hopped out of the car and grabbed this ↓ photo, but this time I just upped the ISO and didn't bother with the tripod. Sunset colour remained for about 10 more minutes after I took the photo, but we were done. 


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I just remembered that Sue has some pics of me during this process. Rather than back up and try to insert them sequentially in the above narrative, I'll append them here.

She took this first snap of me looking around for place to set up my tripod at 5:16. You can see the tripod still unopened by my side.


I didn't find what I wanted there, so I began to set up nearby two minutes later. Look at the difference in colour by pointing to and away from the sunlight. Darn, it was cold.


I still wasn't happy with the composition, so I did move to a higher point, somewhere behind me in the ↑ photo. But here the pictures end. Enjoy the weekend, and keep warm.

14 comments:

Barbara Rogers said...

Geese, what you will do for your art! You and that guy who lay on his back to paint that ceiling in a chapel!

Boud said...

What surprises me is that the camera will still operate in severe cold. These shots show it, as well as the photographer, are up for it.

Margaret said...

A lovely outing for Sue and you and the photos are stunning. But oh, that cold would be difficult to bear!

RedPat said...

It is the wind that has felt so cold lately. You got some good shots.

Marie Smith said...

That time of day in Canadian winter looks so cold. It feels colder than it looks is my thought,

DJan said...

Yes, these are really nice pictures but they feel frigid. Brrrr!

Anvilcloud said...

Marie, in this case looks were not deceiving. It was darn cold.

Red said...

You show that there are other good things to photograph during a sunset other than the sunset.

William Kendall said...

These are beautiful.

Joanne Noragon said...

I like the result of your effort!

peppylady (Dora) said...

Wow, the picture look cold. It even gives me goosebumps.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Jenn Jilks said...

Your process is interesting. Much fun when Sue can document it, as well!

roentare said...

The snow scenery is just simply gorgeous! I rarely do photography in snow

Jeanie said...

I can see why your hands were numb. The photos are absolutely gorgeous (even the ones you like less) but I think I would have bailed a little earlier. Still, you got the goods!