51 Different subjects on Photography! And I am going to do them all. Here is the complete list so you can see what is coming up:

• 2017 –
  Photography Challenge
  * Clouds □ Negative space
  * A beautiful landscape □ A bicycle
  * Something in your kitchen □ Beautiful architecture
  * Flowers □ A tree or leaf
  * A baby or toddler □ A reflection
  * Coffee or tea □ Something that makes you laugh
  * Something weird □ A dress
  □ A sunrise □ Cars
  □ Your favorite fruit or vegetable □ Something you’ve never photographed
  □ Something you think is boring □ A wild animal
  □ A cat or kitten □ A close-up of a face
  □ A dog or puppy □ A panorama
  □ Someone you love □ A candid moment
  □ A stranger □ A sunbeam
  □ Something that makes you feel nostalgic □ A sport you enjoy
  □ A beach □ Something you fear
  □ A family □ A hand
  □ A rainy day □ A long-exposure
  □ An empty road □ Birds
  □ Books □ The golden hour
  □ Toys □ An action shot
  □ A skyscraper □ Shoes
  □ The night sky □ Something you’ve photographed before
  □ A meal you’ve made □ A self-portrait
  □ An insect □ A series of three related photos
  The Photo Argus
• The items marked with a * have been completed.

Today’s subject: Taking photos of the “SUNRISE”

The big question is: How does a sunrise differ from a sunset? Not much really, except the color in the evening seem a little more warmer than those in the morning. Have you ever noticed that the sunset usually gives you much more incredible colors in the sky? There is just more dust in the air, after everyone has been going about all day. So, the sunset lighting is usually more orange or colorful.

However, that means the sunrise can give you more lovely detail in the landscapes more than usual. Not such dirty air. Now out on an Island there won’t generally be too much difference because the sky is always pretty, because of the ocean breezes.

I think one thing I do, and I know it works great with a manual camera. It allows you to do the following, that was once suggested by another photographer:

1. Choose a Low to Mid-Range ISO. When shooting a sunrise or sunset, you’ll generally want to use a low to mid-range ISO setting, like 200, 400 or 800. …
2. Choose a High Aperture. …
3. Determine a Shutter Speed. …
4. Bracket Your Exposures. …
5. Expand Your Subject Matter. …
6. Use the Rule of Thirds and Leading Lines. …
7. Focus Manually. …
8. Keep Shooting.

With everything just said above, let me throw in a couple of other great ideas that I like:

• I threw this photo above reminding me that it seems like everyone that takes a photo at sunrise or sunset, thinks only of a landscape photo, when in reality, there is great opportunities to play with light on a different scale, like shooting the low sunlight through grass, or flowers, or trees. Time to be more creative. Look around you for some of these opportunities.

• One thing that a sunrise will do more than a sunset is give you “light rays”. The suns rays, shining down from the sky. Look for that and see if you can capture those moments. Exposure may be tricky because you have the light from the sun’s rays, and the shadows. A tough one to take, but, bracket your exposures, or take several ones over, and under expose so you can get the photo you like.

• For the first time, the city streets have interesting lighting. Not something you would normally think about, but, this type of photo is very intriguing. Try several photos down the street and see if you can capture some “special lighting”.

• The “Golden Hours” are from 1 hour after sunrise to 1 hour before sunset. Notice the golden color of light that is put out by the sun. Take advantage of those warm tones while you have them, and get some amazing photos that way. The long deep shadows are also something to look at.

• There is two things about this above photo I want to comment on: 1- Silhouettes are something that people really enjoy to see. If you can capture the sun coming up behind your subjects, you will have a great photo. Watch out for the exposure setting, and take several photos so you get the one right you want. 2- This particular photo, and almost every photo like this, may get a weird reflection on it. This one happens to be right in the middle of the sky. If you can live with it, then great, if you want to get rid of it, you will have to move the camera around to make sure the light isn’t really shining on the front element of your lens. The better the lens coating, the less problem you will have with this problem. Just FYI.

Conclusion:

This blog today explored the possibilities of what you can do during a sunrise. Read through all these ideas and practice them. We would love to see your photos. Enter your email below.

Article written by: Lanny Cottrell @ 123PhotoGo