The other day we were at the Grand Canyon (no way!!) and had a very interesting photographic experience.
We had staked out our sunset spot on the South Rim, and shared the experience with dozens of other people. Everyone stood around, bundled up in sweaters, blankets, and even toques (there is SNOW here!). They watched as the sun lit up the red rocks, casting long shadows across the canyon, and stayed right until it dipped below the horizon.
Then BAM!!! Everyone left! We were left practically alone, scracthing our heads in wonder.
Because something amazing happens after sunset. Before sunset is called “golden hour”, so I like to call after sunset “pinky blue hour”, because the light gets all pinky blue, soft, and wonderful.
The light went from this during sunset:
Notice the contrast in light between the shadows and the tips of the rocks. In order to expose for the bright tips, the details in the shadows are lost, making much of the image dark.
To this, only 10 minutes after the sun disappeared:
After the sun went down the light becomes even, allowing you to get more detail out of the whole scene!
So the moral here is to stick around after the sun goes down, and you’ll be rewarded with some wonderful light! You’ll want a tripod to capture it, since a long shutter speed is necessary to get those last little bits. But it’s completely worth the effort.
Much more to come guys, thanks for sticking around!
