Sunsets/ Sunrises

Tractor Boy

Tractor Boy

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Nick
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Ok you wonderfully knowledgable peeps I have a question for you - what weather factors give a good indication of a decent sunrise/ sunset :shrug:

I know that you can not always predict the weather but I was wondering what weather you know of that often leads to a decent sunset. I have been trying to work out this so as to give me a chance to get out and get some decent shots as with the OH and kids time is limited but if I was able to look at the weather during the day and see a certain type of pattern emerging I could then negociate to have some me time and try to get out at the right time rather than looking out the window and thinking b****r missed another one :bang:

Thanks

Nick
 
Understand your frustration TB.

I am no expert but I suggest you look at the TV forecasts. If it looks as if the sky is going to clear towards sunset then you may (and I stress, may) get something good.

Have a look at http://stephentrainor.com/tools

It will tell you the time of sunset and the direction, so you may be able to choose a spot to get good shot.

Dave
 
Having only ever managed 1 sunrise which was a little uneventful in terms of cloud and colours I'm little unqualified to comment, but it certainly gives you some peace and quiet to capture scenes with nobody about.

I made the mistake of sitting in the car a little too long whilst waiting for the sun to rise enough for me to find my way (should have packed a torch) so I missed the chance of getting some longer exposures which often reveal some interesting colours you cant detect with your eyes.

I've also got a handy app for my Android phone called "Sunrise Sunset" which is pretty good - catchy name huh
 
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Use the met office website. Find the infra red cloud data, and play it back a few hours, up to present time and notice the flow/direction of cloud. This is a good way to gestimate cloud cover in the hours ahead. The best weather though would be heavy rain showers, but you need to be lucky to have a break in the cloud. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't, but when you do, it makes all the failures worth it. ;)
 
i usually can tell a bout a hour before got these tonight

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I usually use BBC online 24 hour forecast when I'm planning to go out for the sunrise. I check that the wind speed is low and I prefer partly cloudy conditions. Also google maps comes in handy when looking for locations as it easier to workout were the sun will be coming up.

Lee
 
It would be good to know this aswell. I was fortunate to be able to catch a lovely sunset over Virginia Water Lake a few month back (just by chance not judgement)

Oh By the way, Top team you support there. Im from Gt Barton orginally :thumbs:
 
Luck and or dedication.

Some of the greats waited years to click that masterpiece of light, forgoing mediocre frames, wheres the fire?
 
Thanks for the info and comments folks.

I guess I need to get out there more than at present but with home problems that ain't as easy as it could be. I think I also need to find a couple of decent landscapes locally that would look good with a decent colourfull sunset/ sunrise so that when I do get the time and conditions I at least know where to be standing :thinking:

Nick
 
You could always go to Ixworth and use the windmill as the foreground with the sunset behind it
 
Speaking as an amateur meteorologist where I've studied the weather for the past 30 years, there is only one answer I can offer you . . . it's almost nigh-on impossible to predict when a decent sunset/sunrise will occur.
HOWEVER, there are a couple of pointers. If the weather is expected to improve tomorrow due to increasing high pressure then the warm air pressing down from aloft will have the effect of compressing the atmosphere thus making the air more denser and containing more particulates . . . ripe for colourful sunsets.
But what I have noticed is that when the sun is just about to rise on a day when bad weather is expected, chances are that it'll produce a red sunrise.
It does help when there is a broken/partial layer of mid-level cloud (usually altocumulus or stratocumulus) present as that will have the effect of picking out the colours more.
But other than that, it's all down to pot luck! I have noticed there has been a distinct lack of red sunrises/sunsets so far this year, though.
 
Ian D J said:
Speaking as an amateur meteorologist where I've studied the weather for the past 30 years, there is only one answer I can offer you . . . it's almost nigh-on impossible to predict when a decent sunset/sunrise will occur.
HOWEVER, there are a couple of pointers. If the weather is expected to improve tomorrow due to increasing high pressure then the warm air pressing down from aloft will have the effect of compressing the atmosphere thus making the air more denser and containing more particulates . . . ripe for colourful sunsets.
But what I have noticed is that when the sun is just about to rise on a day when bad weather is expected, chances are that it'll produce a red sunrise.
It does help when there is a broken/partial layer of mid-level cloud (usually altocumulus or stratocumulus) present as that will have the effect of picking out the colours more.
But other than that, it's all down to pot luck! I have noticed there has been a distinct lack of red sunrises/sunsets so far this year, though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Ian. I thought it would be nigh on impossible to predict but was looking for some of the pointers that you mention to try and get a head start.

I too have noticed that we have not had that many red sunsets round these parts :shrug:.

Nick
 
There were some good sunsets at Hunstanton (about 90 minutes north of you Nick) earlier this year, ironically enough those the week before the Icelandic ash cloud arrived were the best I've seen so far.



I've never been able to predict a good sunset until early evening.. but fortunately I'm close enough that if the sky starts to look good I can be set-up, ready and waiting within 45 minutes!
 
A tip I was given (and used a few times with some success when seeking a good sunset) is to wait until after a heavy rainshower during the afternoon.
It seems that the force of the rain striking the ground raises the dust, which becomes suspended in the layers of air. As the sun sets, the diffraction not only 'apparantly' increases the size of the sun, but the scattering of the rays through the dust layer enhances the colour.
I often look out of my bedroom window early evening and watch after the rain, - it seems a 'greater than 50/50' hit rate!;)
 
A bit of luck is needed as well.i woke up one morning at 5am and i stress i never wake up at this time and took this.It just happened and i was so chuffed to bits
sunrise.jpg
 
I tend to watch how the light falls for about an hour or so before hand. Im moving house in a few weeks and will have a bedroom overlooking a beach, should make life a little easier :clap:

living on the coast the weather can change quite quickly, Knowing how to read cloud movement and the direction of movement is the key.
 
I've been studying this for a while too.....trying to predict those spectacular sunsets that I usually see from a window rather than through a lens.....
Whispy broken clouds are my main indicator they at least catch the suns rays and reflect a beautiful colour usually - if that makes sense?
 
steveinhants said:
Whispy broken clouds are my main indicator they at least catch the suns rays and reflect a beautiful colour usually - if that makes sense?
Click to expand...

Makes perfect sense to me.... Tonight would have been lovely to get down on the beach and take some piccies, but I had to work late :shake:
 
Wind - if it's very windy with broken clouds this can make for dramatically improved sunsets, set your tripod and watch the cloud colour change. :thumbs:
 
More often than not in landscape photography, you will be disappointed if you are after that killer sunrise/sunset. You can help your chances though by as said before study the weather.

I've lost count of the amount of times i've got up before 03-00 this year and driven 2 hours only to turn round and come home without even taking my camera out of the bag. :bang: The one certainty with landscapes is that you cannot control the light.

You can increase your chances by studying the weather and i find this site very helpful http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/Portsmouth as it gives you wind speed cloud cover and pressures. (Which are sometimes wrong!!)
 
Its hit and miss for me, I do watch the sky in the afternoon, fairly settled, not much wind, with a fair bit of cloud and blue sky. Often it does not work, but occasionally I get a real show from the bathroom window.

This one just a few days ago:

'Mary Poppins . . . '?
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This one was a grab shot, spotted through a gap in a tall road side hedge, stopped the car, reversed back!!! into a field gate . . . leapt out of the car adjusting the camera settings as I went. It took no more than a few minutes, and was gone in as many more. Hazel is well used to my 'opportunity stops', a bit like an emergency stop in the driving test :lol:

Bird Roost . . .
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The other one is sunrise, I do a lot of sea fishing. From now through to December the mornings can be magic, mist, rising sun, sometimes a bit of extra interest with cloud. I see all this as I drive down to the boat, if its good enough I stop for 15 minutes, get muddy and click away, the river Orwell can be magic at this time of day. These two were taken less than 15 minutes apart, first one at 07.56:

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By 08.08, the sun was up and going milky:
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By 8.12, I was 'down and dirty' in among the frosty grass:
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Two years on, I cant get down and dirty any more:shrug: make the best of it whilst you can . . .

Sunsets seem to last longer than sunrise, but even so, this very limited amount of time, I find, fits in perfectly with my fishing activities.

If you dont live near the sea or a river, a lake can be efective.

CJS
 
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