Post Sunset

After the sun sets over the horizon is one of my most favorite times to photograph as the post sunset light is some of the most interesting of the evening.  Too often I witness people pack up their bags once the sun dips below the horizon, but I don’t.  This is the time that some of my most creative images have come to life!  The softness of the light, the diffused character of the light, the longer shutter speeds, these are all exciting qualities of the time post sunset and is a time when my vision and creative juices are running high!

The time before the actual sunset is also one of my most special times as it’s quite challenging photographically, either shooting directly in to the sun, or, using the low angle direct lighting to illuminate a subject.  The actual sunset itself, well, right now I’m kind of at the point in my photographic journey where the actual sunset itself is not the most exciting part of the evening.  When I was just starting out, that magical time of sunset was the most special time, however as I’ve grown and matured, I’m finding that the pre-sunset light and post sunset light is the most exciting for me.

There is a natural build-up and anticipation to the sunset.  Direct sunlight has more “energy” and we respond to it with more energy in ourselves.  Often times we are excited as we just arrived on location, we feel the rays of warmth, we are filled with anticipation of whether the clouds will erupt in color and we’re warming up our “creative muscles” In essence, there is a lot of build-up to the sunset event. The actual sunset occurs and it may or may not have been a wonderful event. Regardless, the build-up is over and now you enter the post sunset period.  I often observe many people pack up their cameras and start heading for the car.  Not me!  Its the post sunset light that I often find is the most creatively rewarding.

After the sun goes down, there is a typically a secondary chance that overhead clouds may light up.  That’s one reason to stay after the actual sunset.  Beyond that though, once the twighlight begins to set in, that’s when I find the light amazing.  Especially so at the coast.  Soft, diffuse and often pastel in color, the light interacts with the surf and sand to highlight different features that weren’t “visible” in more direct light.  Longer shutter speeds due to the lower available light are the norm and how the shape of the landscape is lightly illuminated can create some stunning effects in a photograph.

I may start walking back to the car post sunset, but my camera is definitely NOT in my backpack. Its mounted on my tripod as I slowly walk the shoreline, my eyes scanning for rocks, surf, sand, patterns or shapes that could lend itself to a photograph.  I am typically coming down off of the “high” of sunset myself, but my creative muscles are fully warmed up and I’m typically not done creating images.

It doesn’t have to be at the beach, though that’s when I find some of my most creative moments post sunset. It can also happen in the desert or any other wide open landscape.  The way the soft diffuse light interacts with the landscape can be magical and one that you shouldn’t miss. When I was in the Sonoran desert and the sun set, the colors in the sky turned a multitude of new colors while the cacti were sharply silhouetted against the sky. This kind of shot was not possible before sunset, it was only post sunset that showed off the softness and subtlety of the desert landscape.

Last year I was leading a workshop in Bandon with a larger group of people.  I was hanging out with a few of them for the sunset, the others had staked out their own locations for the event.  Once the sun set, I watched as most of the group packed up their cameras and started walking back towards the hotel.  The folks I was with started doing the same, but I stopped them and convinced them to wait for 15 more minutes to see what might happen.  Knowing how beautiful post sunset light is, I figured that we’d have some nice conditions.  And, seeing the local conditions, I figured we might see the sky light up in a dramatic way.  Sure enough, 10 minutes post sunset, the sky erupted in color!  It was the most vibrant colorful evening I’ve ever encountered at Bandon!  Those that left early missed this amazing event.

If you get anything from this post, I hope you will understand how staying on location after the sunset to enjoy the post sunset light may bring you some new creative energy to finish out the night and perhaps it may bring you some unexpected photographing opportunity.