1 February 2015
Photography is my hobby, but a demanding job, two small children, and a marriage don’t leave much time for it.
So, I make more time; I get up before dawn on most Sundays, and head out somewhere local for an hour or two of photography before the rest of the family wake up.
The up-sides?
I actually get to make some photographs.
I get the “blue hour” (civil twilight, the half hour or so before sunrise) and the “golden hour” (just after sunrise).
I can stand in the middle of roads that later are full of traffic.
There are fewer people and cars blocking of the scenes I want to photograph.
I can shoot in parts of the city that are safer at dawn than later in the day.
On my way home, I can pick up my wife’s favorite coffee and pastries. And flowers, too, if I’m lucky.
Did I mention that I actually get to make some photographs?
And the down-sides?
I get less sleep. Yawn.
I need to schlep a tripod with me since the exposure times are longer. My tripod weighs only 1 kg, so this isn’t so bad.
There are fewer people for street photography, but I still find people opening cafes and bakeries, taxi drivers waiting for clients at taxi stands, runners, dog walkers, churchgoers, and sellers setting up market stalls. I need to wait for sun rise to have enough light to photograph at 1/60 or faster, though.
I can only photograph locally, since I need to get back home pronto once the rest of the family wake up and require me to be a father and husband. That said, Sunday morning traffic is light, and there’s enough within half an hour of my home to keep me interested for a long while yet.
In the same vein, when I travel for work, my days and early evenings are typically pretty-much booked. Again, I get up before dawn and head out of the hotel for an hour of photography before breakfast.
When?
How do I know how early to get up? I typically aim to arrive about half an hour before sunrise or perhaps a little earlier. The weather app on my phone tells me when the sun rises.
An alternative would be to check the on-line calculator at the Blue Hour Site.
Where?
I live in Mexico City, so I go to the old villages that have now been enveloped by the city, to parks, to markets, and to stations. You’ll have to adapt to what’s close enough to you.
What?
I tend to start with cityscapes and architecture, using a tripod, and then people once the light brightens enough to allow short enough exposures.
Tripods
I shoot with a compact camera, and keep the ISO low to squeeze as much image quality as can out of it. That means my exposure times early in the morning are often up around a second, and I need to use a tripod. With a larger sensor (say MFT or APS-C), an f/2 lens, and a higher ISO, you might get away without a tripod once the sun rises. However, if you’re going to shoot in the blue hour, you too will probably need a tripod.
I’d recommend something light, of good quality, substantial enough for your kit, and with a quick-release plate.
I use a Manfrotto Compact MKC3-P01 tripod, which weighs only 1 kg and supports up to 1.5 kg. It’s more than enough for a compact camera. Unfortunately, it appears to be discontinued.
The direct successor to my tripod is the $60 Manfrotto Compact Light tripod. However, this doesn’t have a quick-release plate, which is a deal-breaker for me. To get a quick-release plate, you need the $60 Manfrotto Compact MKC3-H01 tripod, which weighs 1.2 kg and supports up to 1.5 kg, or the newer $70 Manfrotto Compact Advanced tripod, which weighs 1.4 kg and supports up to 1.5 kg.
Manfrotto recommend the tripods mentioned above for compact cameras or entry-level DSLRs with the kit zoom. If you have something heavier, they recommend the $200 BeFree Compact Lightweight tripod, which weighs 1.4 kg in aluminum and supports up to 4 kg. There is also a $350 carbon-fibre version, which weighs 1.1 kg.
David Hobby recommends the $139 MeFOTO Backpacker, which weights 1.2 kg and can support up to 4 kg, and $209 MeFOTO GlobeTrotter, which weighs 2.1 kg and can support up to 12 kg.
Piet Van den Eynde recommends the $390 3 Legged Thing Brian, which weights 1.2 kg and can support up to 8 kg. Piet chose this because it extends to 2 meters, and as such can double as a light stand.
I don’t bother with a remote shutter release; I just use a 2-seconds shutter delay.
See Also
Early Morning Street Photography by DigitalRevTV
Blue Hour Site by Miklos Andrassy
How to Photograph the Blue Hours With Amazing Results by Christopher O’Donnell
The Blue Hour in Photography by Liz Masoner
The Golden Hour in Photography by Liz Masoner
© 2015 Alan WF.