| Author | Thread |
|
|
04/30/2008 01:10:01 PM · #1 |
Any tips for shooting the sun? Have we had a challenge like this before? Any photos worth sharing?
Looking through my portfolio, this is the only image I could find where I (almost?) captured the sun.
Message edited by author 2008-04-30 13:12:10. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:12:52 PM · #2 |
| Just take a great deal of care not to burn your retina if you look through the viewfinder, especially if you are using a telephoto lens! I can envisage a few temporarily blinded DPC members with this challenge... |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:14:27 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by SaraR:
Just take a great deal of care not to burn your retina if you look through the viewfinder, especially if you are using a telephoto lens! I can envisage a few temporarily blinded DPC members with this challenge... |
"But, Mama, that's where the fun is..."
|
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:18:34 PM · #4 |
Took this one last night about 15 minutes before sunset. Set aperture, pressed halfway, held camera up about arms length, centered the sun in the viewfinder, snapped. Repeated with 4 shutter speeds. This came out the best.
 |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:19:50 PM · #5 |
I have a few shot where I was shooting towards the sun. Here are a few of them.
  
   |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:23:55 PM · #6 |
One of my favourites:
 |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:30:34 PM · #7 |
 
I like sunsets, so there are a lot of sun shots in my portfolio. All are posted with shooting stats.
Message edited by author 2008-04-30 13:33:10.
|
|
|
|
04/30/2008 01:42:26 PM · #8 |
I always stared at the sun as a child. I have poor night vision now, probably related. Still, there was something drawing about it that I still glance at it in awe once in a while.
Things I have learned recently about sun safety. Never place the sun full frame for more than a second and never, ever, ever look through the view finder at any stage of this, even with sunglasses! It is possible for the viewfinder to focus the sun so intensely that it can catch dark clothing on fire! Your eye is much easier to damage and will not experience pain, and may not show damage until days later.
Do not use Neutral Density Filters, 99% do not block the UV and IR which will also be intensified and will actually cause MORE damage to your eye than without, because your iris will not react to the light and will stay wide open.
If you can find them you can use specialty laser safety goggles which block IR and UV, in combo with a ND filter. The catch is, they provide at most a total of 10 seconds of protection, which is accumulative, meaning glancing 5 times for 2 seconds will still use them up, and there will be no warning when they give out.
Do not use two, three, five, etc. polarizing filters, they still allow enough of the bad stuff to slip right past to cause severe eye damage.
Do not attempt to use a welders glass behind the viewfinder, the heat caused by the light can shatter the glass, and all but #14 welders glass will allow dangerous levels of light to pass.
A cameras shutter, sensor, and viewfinder can be damaged from exposure to the sun for over a couple seconds. The shutter being black will soak up that energy, depending on your camera it can melt, warp, or burn straight through! The sensor can be permanently burnt, and the black coating inside the viewfinder can soak up enough heat to melt parts inside.
If possible, place a properly examined solar filter over the front of your camera to compose your shot, you will only see the sun in the shot however. Then replace it with your lens cap, when you are ready to shoot remove the lens cap, take the shot without looking, and replace the cap at once.
If you are crafty you can take a 1 inch square block of wood, perfectly square on all sides, and drill a 3/4" hole through it, then tape it to your camera aligned with the lens, then you can use that to align your shot using sunglasses. However still keep exposure to your eye and camera as minimal as possible.
I hope these tips saves someones eye-sight, please be careful everyone!
|
|
|
|
04/30/2008 02:05:53 PM · #9 |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 02:27:31 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by SaraR:
Just take a great deal of care not to burn your retina if you look through the viewfinder, especially if you are using a telephoto lens! I can envisage a few temporarily blinded DPC members with this challenge... |
Actually, it's worse with a wide angle lens since the WA lens will focus the sun's light on a smaller area. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 02:44:54 PM · #11 |
| hmm, and here I thought I sounded all smart and you had to ruin it with facts, shame on you. That is interesting however. Same energy, smaller spot, however it takes up less of the frame. Optics are a bit confusing to me. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 03:01:41 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by togtog:
... never, ever, ever look through the view finder at any stage of this, even with sunglasses! It is possible for the viewfinder to focus the sun so intensely that it can catch dark clothing on fire! |
This is only true if your camera has a true optical viewfinder. If you have an EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) system, the only light your eye is exposed to is that emmited by the tiny LCD screen. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 03:02:34 PM · #13 |
Ah, another good point, thank you  GeneralE. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 03:03:23 PM · #14 |
so how are we supposed to get a decent shot if we cant look at the sun(our eyes might sizzle) and our camera can be damaged if it "looks" at the sun too long...
|
|
|
|
04/30/2008 03:13:51 PM · #15 |
Doesnt always have to be sunsets and sunrises :)  |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 05:01:28 PM · #16 |
| Lots of into the sun shots in this previous contre-jour challenge. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 09:17:06 PM · #17 |
I suppose these would qualify. :)
    
Not that I can see out of my right eye anymore. . . :) |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 10:03:18 PM · #18 |
Create a photograph in which the sun is in the image. Show us your creativity using this challenging lighting situation to your advantage.
OK so the SUN can be in an IMAGE being a REFLECTION - like througha marble, water-drop, on the water it doesn't say to actually take a photograph of the sun itself as in poinging at the -sky- it can be quite creativly done- just make sure the sun is in the image, and be careful not to stare at the bright light too much so that you end up having black spots in your vision :) :-D I envision lots of creatively done images - the sun can be high noon and reflected in a puddle or bucket or black mirror bouncing off of another mirror off of another mirror etc to create a colorful spectrum... (i'm too lazy to do this tho *L*) it could be reflected in a lense of a camera sitting idle; the sun is in the image = as a reflection
(heck i'm sure some silly bird out there will take a photograph of their town sun newspaper with some sunnyside up breakfast eggs and sunshine pooling through the window-with a sunrise outside just barely visible... ;) lots of suns in that *LOL*)
|
|
|
|
04/30/2008 10:15:43 PM · #19 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by togtog:
... never, ever, ever look through the view finder at any stage of this, even with sunglasses! It is possible for the viewfinder to focus the sun so intensely that it can catch dark clothing on fire! |
This is only true if your camera has a true optical viewfinder. If you have an EVF (Electronic Viewfinder) system, the only light your eye is exposed to is that emmited by the tiny LCD screen. |
Of course, the camera's sensor now has all of that energy focused on it, which can't be a good thing. |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 10:31:05 PM · #20 |
is this not focused enough ont he sun itself or would it be something any of you might enter? (this was taken last summer, so theres no chance of me entering it:) |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 10:39:03 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
is this not focused enough ont he sun itself or would it be something any of you might enter? (this was taken last summer, so theres no chance of me entering it:) |
all the rules say is to have the sun in the image- :) it doesn't say the focus has to be ON the sun or OF the sun... (of course some 'literal minded people' might want to see a huge blowup of the sun itself and that's it... but I think that is a creative beautiful image with the sun in the frame (just don't post whatever you plan on doing in here-because you may get scored down for that...by ppl who prefer anonomous voting and unfarmiliar pics) |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 10:42:38 PM · #22 |
| yeh i see what you mean, i guess i would rather not see a photo before it was in a challenge i was voting in, but its not like im going to vote it down for it. some people are just weird i guess lol |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 11:41:44 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
yeh i see what you mean, i guess i would rather not see a photo before it was in a challenge i was voting in, but its not like im going to vote it down for it. some people are just weird i guess lol |
` I think the general 'thought' is that some people will vote it 'higher' or 'lower' if they like or dislike the photographer/ their religious views on things/their political views on things/ or whatever else you want to enter here kind of things --- I myself dont' let that color my voting (tho i vote 5 & + so far (haven't voted a 4 that I can remember yet?) personally I wouldn't care who did what shots but... cliques do happen- even famous bands put out crappy songs that are #1 hits because of their popularity :) *LOL* so I kinda'get it (I didn't really think about it when I first started; and have since thought about it a bit more since it is supposed to be a 'vote on challenge' ;) :-D that and if you flash a photo you are gonna submitt someone else competing against you can submitt a photo of the 'like' or 'better' (if they think so) ;) (you may also get those ppl who say that you're fishing to 'fix the votes' or suchnot-) so to spare you potential need for advil or lifelong therapy ;) I'd reccomend just taking a new photo :) *LOL* :-D try experementing a bit with some stuff too... reflection of sunlight in a rearview mirror or something of a car that is driving down a desert road...who knows *LOL* :) :-D just get that pretty bulb of light in the sky somehow ;) :-D or...reflection of it? hrm...*hehe* ;) goodluckk!!!
I'm soooo looking forward to vacation... i'll be in sunny FL (too bad i most likely won't have internet access unless I can get my hands on my mothers laptop while away..since I myself dont' have one!) *L* |
|
|
|
04/30/2008 11:56:00 PM · #24 |
This happens quite frequently throughout florida with the moon, but I've never seen that with the sun. That's freaking intense!
Could've made some amazing photos, that's for sure |
|
|
|
05/01/2008 12:38:14 AM · #25 |
It's not really that rare, but it is unusual to see a full ring around the sun. There's an earlier thread about it here.
Sun Dogs ect
|
|
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Prints! -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/19/2024 11:46:16 PM EDT.
