MAP READING: Sunrise, Sunset and Sun Directions / Angles etc

EdinburghGary

EdinburghGary

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Gary
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Guys,

I forgot to sit down and ask Gandhi whilst in the Highlands exactly how best to analyse a map for sunrise and sunset. So I will ask here! :)

I am planning a shoot on the Isle of Arran, perhaps in the next few weeks.

Take this map:

arran-m.jpg


How would one best plan on a decent sunrise and sunset, if they had never seen the island or any photos before?

Here is a Google Map link with SAT images:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&s...230179&spn=0.341962,1.056747&t=h&z=11&iwloc=A

Does anyone know of a cool tool which will show sunrise and sunset on a map?

Confused!

Gary.
 
Warehouse express do a sunrise sunset compass!
 
if you want a good O/S > streetmap http://SPAM/nwqhd7

level 3 i think is O/S explorer, also could get a copy of memory map and print your own :)
 
Or just ask Blapto. :)

Honestly, standing in the middle of boggy ground in January and the esteemed wizard of tech announces "Sun will be up in 7 minutes over that mountain" gesticulating at said mountain.

Sure enough.........:D
 
Strangely enough I've just been looking for the same sort of thing, in order to choose my next sunrise location.
I found this online:

http://www.iesmith.net/tools/solarcalc.html

The guy who developed the tool says its just an approximation but its probably close enough to give you an idea.
 
Google Earth - turn on the Sunlight option and you can set it for any time on any day.
 
Does anyone know of an application for a blackberry that would save me having to look it up on t'internet on it?
 
Don't rely on a compass to tell you where true North is. Check on an OS map where Magnetic North, True North and Grid North are all marked, along with a rough guide as to how far and fast Magnetic North is moving from True North. Grid North is normally close enough to True North on OS maps for there to be little real effect but magnetic North is often several degrees away from true North so can make a difference.
 
there is a free program called stellarium it is more for finding out where stars and planets are going to be , but , it would do a cracking job of showing where the sun is going to be , put in a location and time and you are good to go :clap:
 
I find this quite useful for planning sunset shots and to check the rough angles, also has sun set/rise times for each day - uses google maps for the images:

The Photographer's Ephemeris

You can save locations too and wind the date round to see how it affects the location of the sunrise/set.

Tom
 
TomHollo said:
I find this quite useful for planning sunset shots and to check the rough angles, also has sun set/rise times for each day - uses google maps for the images:

The Photographer's Ephemeris

You can save locations too and wind the date round to see how it affects the location of the sunrise/set.

Tom
Click to expand...
That's a great program Tom. Thanks for the link :thumbs:
 
If you are into walking and you have a GPS, like my Etrex Vista HCX, there is a little app built in for this too.
 
This doesn't answer your question, but it will help you to plan your shoots.

The sun is due south at 12 noon GMT, due west at 6pm, due east at 6am, in the northern hemisphere. Add 1 hour for BST.

It moves around clockwise by 15 degrees every hour.

You'll still need to know sunset/sunrise time (often found in tidetables you can buy at newsagents) and how to use an OS map.

cheers, j
 
Another tip, satellite dishes point south. Well, they are actually 28deg east (thanks Tim ;) ) but it's close enough to give you a good steer.
 
HoppyUK said:
Another tip, satellite dishes point south. Well, they are actually 28deg east (thanks Tim ;) ) but it's close enough to give you a good steer.
Click to expand...

why would you want to take a photo of a sunrise/sunset in a council estate?
 
jerry12953 said:
Only a steer, though.

Not nearly accurate enough for use in the real world. j
Click to expand...

How accurate do you need to be? If 'approximately south' isn't good enough, then due South is exactly 28 degrees west, or as I would say, right a bit :D

Surely, all you need for exact position is one fixed point, then you can relate every other direction from it.

I've used satellite dishes for driving when I'm lost at night - use a sat nav now ;) Which reminds me, I'm sure there is a display mode on that (TomTom) which always points due North.
 
TomHollo said:
I find this quite useful for planning sunset shots and to check the rough angles, also has sun set/rise times for each day - uses google maps for the images:

The Photographer's Ephemeris

You can save locations too and wind the date round to see how it affects the location of the sunrise/set.

Tom
Click to expand...

Great little program. Shame google maps doesn't project the sattelite/arial photography onto topographical data. That way you would be able to see exactly where the light would hit etc. Still, it has given me some ideas for when I go to Skomer. :)
 
buckas said:
why would you want to take a photo of a sunrise/sunset in a council estate?
Click to expand...

Don't knock it ;) If you're in some far flung place, with dramatic vistas but bu99er all else, then a friendly satellite dish might be the only clue you'll get. Or the local church which, thinking about it, doesn't it always face East?
 
next we'll have "work out the direction from the faithful at the local mosque" :D
 
HoppyUK said:
Don't knock it ;) If you're in some far flung place, with dramatic vistas but bu99er all else, then a friendly satellite dish might be the only clue you'll get. Or the local church which, thinking about it, doesn't it always face East?
Click to expand...

Does anyone else have a kind of built in sense of direction, as a matter of interest? We might pick up clues from all sorts of things around us (ok, hoppy, like satellite dishes...:thumbs:) but I'm very aware when I've LOST my sense of direction. It sometimes happens when I'm driven around in a strange place in the dark.
 
I know you have an iPhone...

You need to find true north (use a compass and a map to do this.) Then get Focalware for the iPhone which will tell you the exact bearing that the sun will rise it. Plot it on the map. Sorted.

Then you just need to work out where you can put yourself so that you put the sun at the right point in your composition.
 
jerry12953 said:
Does anyone else have a kind of built in sense of direction, as a matter of interest? We might pick up clues from all sorts of things around us (ok, hoppy, like satellite dishes...:thumbs:) but I'm very aware when I've LOST my sense of direction. It sometimes happens when I'm driven around in a strange place in the dark.
Click to expand...

Yes, men have a built in sense of direction ;)

Actually, I think I do and it must be something to do with the sun as I only get lost at night. Seriously :D Must be some ancient hunting instinct, before satellite dishes were around to guide us :lol:
 
jerry12953 said:
Does anyone else have a kind of built in sense of direction, as a matter of interest? We might pick up clues from all sorts of things around us (ok, hoppy, like satellite dishes...:thumbs:) but I'm very aware when I've LOST my sense of direction. It sometimes happens when I'm driven around in a strange place in the dark.
Click to expand...

yeh i do, generally know the direction by the time and position of the sun
 
buckas said:
yeh i do, generally know the direction by the time and position of the sun
Click to expand...

If you point the hour hand of your watch at the sun and then bisect the angle between the hour hand and 12 o'clock you'll have the North-South line. During daylight savings time you should bisect the angle between the hour and and 1 o'clock.

The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
In the Northern Hemisphere the Sun is due South at midday.
In the Southern Hemisphere the Sun is due North at midday.

Because you know the North-South line and whether or not the Sun is North, East, South or West of that (because you know what time it is and which hemisphere you're on) you now know where North is.

Logically, because you now know where North is and where the Sun is in relation to that, you know what the time is. ;);)
 
Blapto said:
The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
Click to expand...

Only at the equinoxes! At mid-summer it's more like -

rises in NE, sets in NW.

And mid-winter, rises in SE, sets in SW.

And see my earlier post!

I was really puzzled when I went to Namibia (southern hemisphere). Nothing seemed right. As you state, sun rises and sets in same place but goes round through the north, not the south!
 
HoppyUK said:
Yes, men have a built in sense of direction ;)

Actually, I think I do and it must be something to do with the sun as I only get lost at night. Seriously :D Must be some ancient hunting instinct, before satellite dishes were around to guide us :lol:
Click to expand...

:D

Yeah, who stayed at home to do the dishes, and why?

:rules::naughty::bat:
 
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