0:02

Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back.

0:05

This is the travel and adventure photography school

0:07

podcast. As always, I'm

0:09

your host, Robert Massey. And I am. stoked

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that you are here today and working on improving

0:14

your adventure and travel photography skills.

0:17

On this episode, we're immersing ourselves

0:19

in the magical realms of golden hour and blue

0:21

hour photography. These two enchanting

0:24

periods of the day, offer photographers, a wealth of

0:26

creative opportunities to capture the world in

0:28

all its breathtaking glory. All

0:30

right, let's just get right into this. Let's

0:33

not waste your time. So let's begin

0:35

with golden hour. Often hailed as the most

0:37

picturesque time for photography. Golden

0:40

hour occurs twice a day, shortly after

0:42

sunrise. And just before sunset, when

0:44

the sun sits low on the horizon casting a warm

0:46

golden globe across the landscape. During

0:49

this time, the quality of light is soft, diffused

0:51

and embedded with a radiant warmth

0:53

that enhances colors and textures,

0:56

making it ideal for creating captivating

0:58

portraits, landscapes, and travel shots.

1:01

This is often that time you see almost everyone

1:03

stopping and looking around, especially

1:05

as we creep closer and closer to sunset. And

1:08

the golden light starts to play with color in the

1:10

clouds. Now it's not always

1:12

guaranteed to happen. Overcast days, types

1:14

of clouds, where the sun sitting on the horizon.

1:17

Other things like that can really impact the quality

1:20

of the light. But at

1:22

its best golden hour is truly

1:24

magical. So, all right. Take

1:27

a step back. Why is it called golden hour? Well,

1:30

during this time at the angle of the sun being

1:32

lower on the horizon creates a soft diffuse

1:34

light. That's a golden almost honey,

1:36

like quality. And the light

1:38

flattering to nearly everything and brings out the warmth

1:41

of an image. So that's why it's called golden hour. It's

1:43

got that beautiful warmth that tends to make

1:45

us feel all warm, fuzzy, and joyful. And

1:48

to be totally honest, just like everybody

1:51

else. I love heading out and shooting

1:53

in the warmth and joy of golden hour. There's

1:55

nothing quite like when a sunset just goes

1:57

off and then these beautiful reds and

2:00

oranges explode across the sky. And

2:02

yeah, there's nothing quite like watching that occur,

2:05

especially if you've been out shooting in the night and

2:07

the sunrises starts in that first time that the sun pops

2:09

over the horizon and golden hour begins and

2:11

you get that warmth in the sunlight, hitting you on the face.

2:13

And. It's a truly majestic

2:16

experience. I have literally run around

2:18

entire lakes while I've been out backpacking.

2:21

Just to hit the Sunbeam. So, yeah.

2:23

I love golden hour and I love those kinds of moments.

2:25

There's nothing really quite like them. But

2:27

to be totally honest, from a photographic

2:30

perspective, there are a lot of days

2:32

where I really prefer that magic

2:34

of blue hour. And to

2:36

me, blue hour is the true magic

2:39

hour. So blue hour occurs twice

2:41

a day, just before sunrise and after sunset.

2:44

And during this time, the natural light takes on a soft

2:46

diffused quality casting, a serene

2:48

and tranquil atmosphere over the landscape.

2:51

Now why is it called blue hour? Well,

2:53

it's the sun moves further below the horizon,

2:55

the shorter blue wavelengths of light scatter more

2:58

easily in the Earth's atmosphere. Which

3:00

creates a stunning blue color

3:02

palette. It's not just blues. It goes across the

3:04

entire kind of blue moody, cool

3:07

range. Cause I've seen. Dark pinks,

3:09

deep purples. Little bit of turquoise

3:12

going on up there. Just all sorts of beautiful,

3:14

cool spectrum colors.

3:16

I have seen happening in the sky during blue hour.

3:19

Including one point where I was out kayaking on a lake

3:22

and we could see the bubble

3:24

of the atmosphere because of the layer

3:27

of blues that was going on. It was this beautiful

3:29

pink on the horizon. That turned to

3:31

a dark pink to a purple. To

3:33

this beautiful, dark blue and

3:36

just radiate up into this dark blue.

3:38

And we watch. The

3:40

bubble of the atmosphere around us because

3:42

of blue hour. I think that's the moment I truly

3:44

fell in love with just how magical

3:47

this time period is. One of the

3:49

coolest things is like blues are known to be a

3:51

calming color. So unlike

3:53

those intense brightness of daylight or the warm

3:55

tones of golden hour, which can make you feel joyful

3:58

and happy. Blue hour offers this unique

4:00

opportunity to capture just with a calm, soothing

4:03

ambience and some more of a moody

4:05

atmosphere. And that's because blues tend to calm

4:07

us down. Blues tend to encourage

4:10

us to take a breath and take a step

4:12

back. And so that's why when you take

4:14

photos during blue hour, They're

4:16

typically infused with a little less energy

4:18

and there's a little, something more tranquil and calming

4:20

about them. That's why it's so cool

4:22

to juxtapose these kinds of situations

4:25

with high action shots. So if you get somebody

4:27

out, dirt biking or rock climbing

4:30

or hiking, or doing something

4:32

at night where you're lighting them with

4:34

lights and it's during blue hour, but they're

4:36

doing something high active. It's this really.

4:38

Beautiful juxtaposition between the two and it

4:40

can help your image stand out. So

4:43

using blue hour to help your action photos

4:45

get better while it's way harder to shoot them. Can be

4:47

such a cool juxtaposition.

4:50

Now on the non-photo side, blue

4:52

hour is also when the world, kind of starts calming down in

4:54

a lot of those outdoor locations. People

4:57

start heading in doors, they start heading towards the light,

4:59

then warmth of campfires and just kind

5:01

of heading out of these areas back

5:03

to doing other things. They're a little closer

5:05

to heat and light and warmth. This

5:08

means that frequently. Blue

5:10

hour is a lot quieter at those iconic

5:12

spots that tend to be very busy right up to

5:14

sunset. wait just 10,

5:16

15 minutes after the last warm colors of sunset

5:19

have disappeared from the sky and you will find

5:21

75% of people have moved

5:23

on from that spot. It's remarkable

5:25

how fast this happens, and

5:27

this can give you a lot more freedom of how and what

5:29

you want to shoot and really open up your

5:31

creativity just a bit more. So

5:34

as people had away. You get a lot

5:36

more chance to photograph

5:39

these iconic locations with a lot more freedom.

5:42

You can have a lot more freedom in how and what you want to

5:44

shoot, and you can open up your creativity

5:46

just a bit more. And sometimes I find it a

5:48

lot easier to shoot when it's

5:50

a lot less busy because I can

5:52

be a little bit more creative and do things that are a little bit

5:54

weirder and probably don't work to be totally

5:56

honest. But I'm not having

5:58

those thoughts of am I getting in the way of somebody else? Am

6:01

I. Honestly being watched

6:03

and judged by other people. It's a big problem

6:05

with my own work. And the way I think is they, I

6:07

feel like other people are judging me when I'm out there working.

6:10

And so I do find it a little easier when situations

6:12

are a lot quieter to just kind of go

6:14

about my business, to be able to be a lot more

6:16

creative. Now, honestly,

6:19

I tend to plan for both golden hour and blue hour.

6:21

To be in the same location at the same time,

6:24

because you don't really have time to move

6:26

locations between these two, unless you're going just five,

6:28

10 minutes away. And even then. That means

6:30

you might miss the best part.

6:33

Because the best part of golden hour can frequently

6:35

happen right before that sun really turns

6:37

into sunset. Or like right after

6:39

sunset and you've still got that little bit of beautiful, soft

6:42

warm light on mountain peaks

6:44

or on the tops of buildings, but everything else is deep

6:46

and blue and it gives you this cool cinematic

6:48

effect. I tend to just plan to be in the same spot

6:50

and in the same location. Now

6:53

by location. I mean, somewhere like a viewpoint

6:55

overlooking the city or a mountain top, I don't mean one

6:58

spot with the tripod. Move around

7:00

in the location you've chosen for sure.

7:03

Unless you want to capture that exact same composition

7:05

in all time periods, which is a super cool and challenging

7:07

photo project. So take it on if you're interested

7:10

in that case, don't move that tripod. But

7:12

if you're like me by location, I mean, you know,

7:15

the edge of Moraine lake or the top

7:17

of a mountain or something like that. And then in there move

7:19

around and hunt and try to find the

7:21

best compositions that you can taking

7:23

into account where the sunset is going to go,

7:26

where it's going to cast its light. All

7:28

those kinds of pieces. Now.

7:30

Okay. The most critical thing

7:33

to shooting is to plan in advance. So

7:35

you can make amazing photos off the cuff. But

7:37

if there's a specific thing you're trying to capture,

7:39

or you want to make the most of in that time period,

7:41

it's best to have a bit of a plan going in. So

7:44

let's start with scouting locations. It's essential

7:46

to research potential locations that offer compelling compositions

7:49

interesting subjects. Things that you're going to want to photograph.

7:52

So consider factors like the direction of the light,

7:54

the presence of prominent landmarks, natural features

7:57

and potential hazards to you, or

7:59

to blocking off your light or to not being able to complete

8:01

your photograph or get in to complete your photograph. And

8:04

while traveling, I really like to make a list of the things I would

8:06

like to capture and do a bit of pre-scouting on potential

8:09

locations and angles way back before

8:11

even get on a plane. Or before I take off for that location,

8:13

I'm doing a lot of pre-work on my computer

8:16

before heading out. What this means is that

8:18

I'm not guessing at where I want to go. When I get somewhere,

8:20

I've already got an idea of the landmarks and the angles

8:23

I want before showing up into destination. And this can

8:25

be really critical. Let's

8:27

take Banff, for example. As somebody who's

8:29

here all the time and shooting all the time around here, I'm

8:31

pretty familiar with all the really great angles of locations.

8:34

But if you just know, I want a photo of cascade mountain.

8:37

Okay. That's great. Cascade

8:39

is massive. It can be seen

8:42

from literally kilometers

8:44

away. There are so many

8:46

different places. You could take a photo of cascade

8:49

from just saying, I want a photo of cascade mountain

8:51

is not super helpful. What

8:54

you need to be doing is picking,

8:57

say that icon. You want a photo cascade mountain. Okay.

8:59

What's that angle you want on it? Is it the classic

9:02

cascade over BAnff Ave, is

9:05

it looking at it from. The

9:07

backside, which isn't as normally thought

9:09

of as people. Cause it's not as iconic of view. Is

9:12

it coming in from the highway in that like classical

9:14

my God, I'm in Banff kind of moment. There's

9:16

all sorts of different angles you can have on it. And

9:18

you can't get between these locations really during

9:20

one golden hour, at least not easily

9:22

by any stretch and properly shoot them. So you really

9:24

need to pick that angle properly before

9:27

you go, and you don't want to be disappointed. Ask somebody and

9:29

be like I want a photo of this. And they send you to

9:31

a totally different spot that isn't nearly as good an angle

9:33

as the photo that you'd seen or the thought that you had

9:35

in your head. So. Take

9:37

that time to really get to know what angle

9:40

you want as well. Look up other photos for

9:42

inspiration. And narrow

9:45

in on what it is that you exactly want

9:47

before you get to your destination. Now.

9:50

Don't take this as gospel. Sometimes

9:52

you're going to get to a destination and fall

9:54

in love with another feature, like a building or a landscape.

9:57

And in that case, make it your focus. We

10:00

aren't obligated to capture those iconic

10:02

spots in a destination. Most of the time it's

10:04

best to follow your artistic gut.

10:07

And I had this happen when we first landed

10:09

in Paris. Oh. Going nine years ago.

10:11

Now when we were there. And. We

10:14

got there. It was a beautiful sunset. We

10:16

were hanging out. We were heading

10:19

off to a specific spot to take photos

10:21

of the arc de Triomphe. And then

10:24

we came across this statue

10:26

in a park that was on its way over there. And

10:29

I just fell in love with the statue, the way

10:31

the light was playing with it, how the clouds

10:33

looked above it. And I ended up just hanging out

10:35

there. We ran a time-lapse with the clouds running behind

10:37

it, and the way that the light was changing across the statue.

10:40

And I ran around with my other camera taking a

10:42

few different angles on it as well, making sure to. Stay

10:44

out of my time-lapse, so I didn't have to do a lot of editing.

10:47

And we totally missed the Arc de Triomph

10:49

for that night. But those photos I

10:51

got that first night, we were in Paris was some

10:53

of my favorites that I shot

10:55

and I absolutely loved the way they feel, the way

10:57

the light is just everything about them. And so I'm super

11:00

stoked that actually missed the arc of that night.

11:02

But those photos from that first night, just bring

11:04

me so much warmer than happiness. And so I'm

11:06

so happy that we did that and skipped out on that iconic

11:08

golden hour shot that I had been planning. So.

11:12

Definitely plan in advance, but leave yourself.

11:15

Some grace to be able to capture. What

11:18

your artistic side is telling you and what you're feeling

11:20

and to listen. To yourself.

11:22

Don't listen to Instagram. Don't listen to what everybody else

11:24

is saying. Listen to what you are saying

11:26

to you. While, obviously being a

11:29

good traveler and respecting that area and the people

11:31

who are there. Now to aid

11:33

in your location scouting efforts, there are several

11:36

helpful apps available that can provide valuable

11:38

information about the sun's position in the sky. So

11:40

apps like PhotoPills and sun surveyor allow you

11:42

to visualize the sun's trajectory throughout

11:44

the day, helping you plan your shoot with precision.

11:48

These apps also provide details about sunrise,

11:50

sunset golden hour, blue hour times, allowing you

11:52

to really time your shoot accordingly.

11:55

So one of the great things to look at at this point in the planning

11:57

process is where the light will be coming from on

11:59

your intended subject. Will it be illuminated

12:01

by golden hour? Will the sun be behind it?

12:04

Will there be shadows across it? Because

12:06

the sun has dropped behind some larger

12:08

objects. I'm thinking there's a lot of bowls in

12:10

the Canadian Rockies. Where it's

12:13

really only bright for a few hours in the day.

12:15

Especially during winter. And by

12:17

the time golden hour rolls around, there is no light

12:20

in that bowl anymore. It's totally shaded

12:22

in and shadowed. And so you actually won't get

12:24

golden hour down there. The sun is way behind

12:26

the mountains at that point. So, this is when you really

12:28

want to know where the sun is going to be coming from.

12:30

And certain locations look amazing, no matter

12:33

what time of day you are there. And other

12:35

locations really do need

12:37

to be at a certain time period.

12:40

So make sure that you're getting to a spot when

12:42

it has the optimal light bathing over it, especially

12:44

if you only have the chance to go once.

12:47

If you can go multiple times. I love seeing locations

12:49

where someone's like, that's a sunrise spot. And

12:52

I love going there at sunset and seeing how it changes

12:54

and how, it shifts and all those kind of things I have

12:56

done that. I think I have probably seen Vermilion

12:59

Lakes here in Banff. Literally at

13:01

every hour of the day, I'm talking midnight.

13:03

4:00 AM. Four in the afternoon,

13:06

every hour of the day, I have seen

13:08

Vermilion lakes and. It's

13:11

beautiful. No matter what time period, we're there

13:13

in. So when people say that's a sunrise location,

13:16

Yes, because if the sun does go off, it

13:18

is phenomenal. But

13:20

the way I have seen the light play

13:22

across Rundel's peak when it's setting, because it's.

13:25

Just bathing it in this direct intense

13:27

orange beam is also absolutely

13:29

stunning. If you have a chance to go multiple

13:31

times, that's amazing. But if you don't. Really

13:33

make sure you are getting to that spot for the optimal

13:36

time period. Now I personally

13:38

tend to use sun surveyor to quickly get an idea where the

13:40

sun is going to be in the sky. When I'm out on

13:42

location. I've used this for years

13:44

before I picked up the PhotoPills app. And so it's

13:47

still just part of my habit and I find the tracking.

13:49

To be really accurate and really easy

13:51

to use when I'm standing somewhere. And

13:54

then I tend to use photo pills to help plan

13:56

all of my shoots in advance. So this is much more of a

13:58

planning before I get there kind of situation

14:00

and sun surveyor tends to help me a lot once I'm actually

14:03

there. So PhotoPills lets you see things

14:05

like shadows and the direction from the sun, which can really

14:07

help, you know, if a location is going to work out or not.

14:10

So during the planning process, I also spend time figuring out

14:12

how long it's going to take me to reach a destination because honestly

14:14

too often, I've underestimated those

14:16

travel times and missed out on a sunrise or be

14:18

driving to a location at the sunset goes off.

14:21

So it's best to plan your timeline at this point

14:23

as well. So when you're planning

14:25

that timeline, remember the length of golden hour varies

14:27

greatly around the world. It's called golden hour. It's

14:29

not an hour everywhere. It definitely

14:32

is not an hour out here right now.

14:34

It tends to only be about 30 minutes at the moment.

14:37

So really you need to think

14:39

about that time period and really know how long golden

14:41

hour is going to actually last, wherever you're going. And

14:44

then figure out how long it will take you to get to that exact

14:46

location. So including plenty of time for getting stuck

14:48

in traffic and that time, especially if you're

14:50

hiking, you're heading in somewhere, lots of time to head into that

14:52

location. So you're there. Not just as

14:54

golden hour starts, you really need to get there. Well,

14:57

before golden hour starts that you have a chance to

14:59

scout the location, look for where the sun's

15:01

going to go line up your shot. You're probably

15:04

going to be competing with some other photographers

15:06

as well, especially in these iconic destinations.

15:08

So if you want to make sure you have your spot

15:11

that you really want to capture for golden hour. You

15:13

need to get there a little bit earlier, scouted out and

15:16

lock yourself in where you want to be.

15:18

Now, like I was saying before, I also tend to prepare

15:21

how I'm going to get to a specific angle. So a

15:23

lot of the times I've looked up angles of

15:26

iconic things or places that I've really wanted

15:28

to capture, and I've gone looking for

15:30

different photos of them and then try to figure out

15:32

where that photo is taken from so

15:34

that I actually know the location to

15:36

go to. Because. It's great

15:39

to just show up to a location and be able to explore

15:41

and really dive in. But I might not be at

15:43

the right spot to capture exactly

15:46

the angle I was thinking about. This goes back to what

15:48

we were saying about cascade mountain just a few minutes ago,

15:50

but you might not get to the exact angle

15:52

that you're looking for. If you just kind of

15:55

show up because there could be so many

15:57

different places to go to. Take

15:59

that time research, some of those angles research,

16:01

some of those places that you want to go and then figure

16:03

out how you're actually going to get to that angle. It's not just about getting

16:06

to that spot. You also need to know how

16:08

to actually get to that angle itself. So I

16:10

need to know what trail am I taking when I get there?

16:12

Do I head to the right or the left? Is there

16:14

a staircase I need to go up? Is that angle actually

16:17

from inside of a building or a location that I

16:19

may not be able to access without asking

16:21

somebody in advance? If there's an angle

16:23

you fall in love with or an angle, you can see

16:25

while you're out and you think

16:27

it would be amazing? You might need

16:29

to do a little bit of pre-planning and ask some questions

16:31

to see if you can get in somewhere. And if someone

16:34

doesn't you in, don't be rude about it. Don't be mean.

16:36

Just keep going on with your life, jump to your next idea

16:38

and your next idea, and just keep going. Don't let it get

16:40

you down. So there's all sorts of things

16:42

that can prevent you from getting to that specific angle.

16:44

So if you don't figure that out in advance, There

16:47

might be some barriers to getting the photo you're dreaming

16:49

about. All right. So that's your

16:51

pre planning phase. It's a lot. It

16:53

seems like, but honestly, I find it really fun because you get

16:55

to dream about a location. You're going to, you

16:57

get to start setting up some details and ideas

16:59

and. You get to really start

17:01

delving into your trip or delving into

17:04

something creative and photographically creative, which

17:06

is to me, a lot of fun. Now

17:08

while you're in your planning stage, there's also

17:10

obviously the gear that you need to think about. Now,

17:13

the gear can range massively. It depends

17:15

on how you like to shoot what you like to shoot. What you're

17:17

going there to shoot. Gear can

17:19

change so much depending on your shooting

17:21

style and what you're aiming to shoot. So this list

17:24

is not by any means extensive

17:26

or exhaustive, and this list is also not meant

17:28

as a, you must have this to do

17:30

this. These are the things I tend

17:32

to think about a lot when I'm heading out to shoot golden

17:35

hour and blue hour. And that's because

17:37

I tend to mix between a lot of

17:39

travel photography and a lot of

17:41

action, adventure photography, and then some landscape

17:44

stuff as well. And so

17:46

I try to bring out some gear that can kind of cover off

17:48

all three of those pieces.

17:51

Now you could honestly just go up with

17:53

your camera of choice and do a great, the

17:55

lake quality is such that it makes for really easy

17:58

photography, but this list is

18:00

just some extra things to think about. Beyond

18:03

the obvious, like your camera, plenty of

18:05

batteries and storage and something warm to throw on

18:07

when the sunsets, because it can actually get quite

18:09

cold. All of a sudden. So some of

18:11

the other things I tend to think about is the lenses,

18:13

a wide aperture lens, especially for blue hour

18:15

can really enhance your photography. Think something

18:18

2.8 or lower perferably, you can get

18:20

down to like 1.2. That's amazing. Blue

18:22

hour gets dark rather quickly, to be honest,

18:24

meaning you're going to need to pump that ISO and a fast lens

18:26

can give you more light as well as providing that beautiful

18:28

dreamy fall off. And

18:31

that really looks amazing during the moody

18:33

tones of blue hour. And when things start to get a little bit

18:35

darker and a little bit more mysterious feeling, so

18:37

a fast lens can actually really enhance

18:40

what you're shooting and it can mean that you don't always have

18:42

to stabilize your camera as much. You can get

18:44

away with shooting by hand a little bit more

18:46

and giving yourself a little bit more flow, especially

18:49

if you don't love shooting on a tripod, which is

18:51

my second thing that I always look at is the tripod. So

18:53

if you're looking to create the best landscape shots

18:56

you're will need a tripod. You

18:58

don't have a choice, the best landscape shots come

19:00

from being set down on a tripod.

19:03

90% of the time. Now we're talking like artsy.

19:05

High-end spectacular. Shots

19:08

where you're going to be doing some focus stacking,

19:10

and you're going to be blending exposures and doing

19:12

all those kinds of things. You really do need a tripod,

19:14

but. If you aren't doing something like that,

19:17

a tripod isn't actually a necessity.

19:19

But you'll just need to realize that you'll need to bring

19:22

in more lights some other way than dropping your

19:24

shutter because admittedly, at a certain point, you can't

19:26

keep dropping your shutter down and handholding

19:28

it and. Getting usable images.

19:30

So things like pumping your iso, opening

19:32

up your aperture. Are going to be what your answers

19:34

are. If you can't set it up on a tripod and throw

19:36

the shutter speed down as low as you want it to

19:38

go or as slow as you want it to go. So

19:41

just be prepared for that outcome. If you can't stabilize

19:43

your camera or you don't want to stabilize your camera. So

19:46

number three, remote shutter release. Well, not

19:48

strictly necessary. A remote shutter

19:50

release or cable release can be useful for minimizing

19:52

camera shake when triggering the shutter, particularly

19:55

during long exposures. This is

19:57

because when you hit the shutter button, you are introducing

20:00

shake through the camera. And every time you touch

20:02

the camera, you shake it. Even

20:04

a little bit, and that can just introduce a little bit of

20:06

detail being thrown off in your image.

20:08

So if you don't have to touch your camera to

20:10

set the shutter off, that is spectacular,

20:13

especially if you're doing really long exposure photography.

20:16

One of the ways I get around this when my

20:18

apple and connect, or when I forget the trigger at home

20:20

or, you know, there's all sorts of reasons, the stuff

20:22

like that can happen pretty quickly. Is to

20:24

set the ten second timer. I

20:26

have found the three second timer works. Okay.

20:29

But. I tend to find the 10

20:31

seconds just guarantees that I'm not

20:33

going to be having some shake introduced, especially

20:36

if I'm trying to run something for 3, 4, 5

20:38

minutes, then I really

20:40

don't want to touch that camera at all in

20:42

advance. If I can. All right.

20:44

Number four lens filters. So bring

20:46

along a polarizing filter. So reduce glare and

20:48

enhance those colors. Polarizers

20:50

are my top suggested accessory

20:53

for your camera. Get a circular

20:55

polarizer. And neutral density filters

20:57

are great for controlling exposure and achieving long

20:59

exposures, especially during golden hour and

21:01

blue hour, which really lets you drag those clouds

21:04

or the water and all those kinds of beautiful things. They're

21:06

also really great for balancing the sky out so you can use

21:08

graduated neutral density filters to darken the

21:10

sky, but leave your foreground unaffected. So

21:12

all sorts of beautiful stacking methods. And if you take

21:14

a look at pro landscape photographers,

21:17

their sets for filters can

21:19

just be phenomenal to look at

21:21

and just the way they've set them up and the way they build them out.

21:23

And so well-worth, if you're looking to get in deep into

21:26

that artsy style of landscape photography

21:28

and travel photography. You're going to have to start

21:30

really learning about neutral density filters. All

21:32

right. Number five, flashlight or headlamp,

21:35

especially for after blue hour ends. It may

21:37

be getting dark really quickly, especially

21:39

if you're headed back out to somewhere. If you've got a bit of a walk

21:42

and you're not in a city, you're going to need some sort of light.

21:44

So I personally prefer a headlamp has at least my

21:46

hands free to do other things like carrying

21:49

my gear. And I despise

21:52

relying on my cell phone for a torch as

21:54

I want that battery safe for pretty much

21:56

anything else, like potentially saving my life

21:58

if something happens on the way home. So

22:01

headlamp. All the way. I always

22:03

throw it into my bag. If there's even the slightest

22:06

of chance that I'm going to think about staying out late.

22:08

All right. That is your prep

22:11

period. So that's getting your camera equipment

22:13

ready. And what you're thinking about, that's getting

22:15

yourself prepared before you actually get out for

22:18

golden hour blue hour. Now

22:20

some tips for actually shooting during

22:22

this time period. This isn't going to get too

22:24

in depth into anything specific about camera

22:26

tips, because it honestly

22:28

depends on what your subject is and how you're trying to shoot

22:30

and all sorts of other pieces in there that I can't give you

22:32

advice on without us chatting directly in person and

22:34

being in a situation. So. Instead

22:37

of relying on that. I'm just going to go back to a couple of composition

22:40

tips. That I find are incredibly

22:42

helpful in these situations. Don't

22:44

just get wrapped up in watching

22:46

the pretty colors from a sunset and

22:49

watching where the sun goes down to them. Just stare that

22:51

way. I look at where the light is

22:53

hitting. Let's say that it's sunrise

22:55

and the lights just coming up on the horizon.

22:58

If you turn and look at where that light's hitting,

23:00

especially in the mountains, you can sometimes

23:03

make out this beautiful Reddy orange

23:05

glow on the mountain peaks. That Alpenglow is something

23:07

that just warms my heart and

23:09

warms all of me whenever I see it. Don't

23:12

just look at where the light

23:14

is and where the sun is. Look all

23:16

around. You look for all the different ways that it's playing

23:18

with things you might be amazed by what you can see.

23:20

Second thing. Don't just go

23:22

to where everybody else is. And this is slightly

23:24

a pet peeve of mine as well. I was out

23:26

shooting. Early one morning

23:28

when it was negative 40 out here, I was

23:30

out on Vermilion lakes and I

23:32

was by myself. And there was

23:35

kilometers worth of space around me on

23:37

this lake. And another photographer

23:39

came by. And set up. Literally

23:42

within like elbow

23:44

room beside me. He just

23:46

copied exactly what I was doing. And honestly,

23:49

the angle I had on Rundle wasn't anything

23:51

special. I was there to film

23:54

a video and it worked really well for the

23:56

angle I was looking for for this video. But

23:58

photographically wasn't actually that

24:00

interesting. Don't just go to right where somebody

24:02

else has set up their camera and set up their tripod and be

24:04

like, oh, this must be amazing. I'm not

24:06

the most fabulous landscape photographer by any stretch

24:08

of the imagination. There are so many people who are better than

24:10

me and when I see people sitting up

24:12

beside me, it's like, all right, you

24:15

do you, but I hope that you're also trusting

24:17

your own artistic vision here, you

24:19

want to be in this spot because that's where your photographic

24:21

eye is telling you to go. Not just because I'm

24:23

a dude with a camera and to tripod and it looks

24:25

fancy and amazing. Don't just

24:28

go to where the other photographers are, if that's where you want

24:30

to be. And you know that, and that's your vision that's calling out to

24:32

you. Hell yeah. Go for

24:34

it. But if that's not your vision and that's

24:36

not where you thinking about being then go

24:38

somewhere else, go to where your vision is telling

24:40

you. And don't worry about what those other photographers are saying. And

24:42

yes. I realized easier said than

24:45

done. But. Something

24:47

that can really help you is by just tuning

24:49

into your own artistic vision. Alright.

24:52

And the last thing. Don't leave

24:54

too early. I found so many times

24:56

that I've been out shooting sunrise

24:58

and like, oh, I've got a meeting in an hour. I need to head out

25:00

and we will go back and be just a little bit early, make

25:02

some coffee or whatever. And then as

25:05

soon as I packed my tripod and back in the car,

25:07

the sun just goes off. And it

25:09

didn't look like it was going to be an amazing sunrise and

25:11

then all of a sudden, poof, there it is. And it's beautiful and

25:13

spectacular. So just wait around a little

25:15

bit longer. And you will

25:18

get to a point where you can kind of tell if it's gonna

25:20

work or it's not gonna work, especially if you get. To

25:22

live in a destination to really get to know that area. But

25:25

if you're visiting somewhere, you've taken the time

25:27

and effort to be there. Don't like wrap

25:29

up your shoot suddenly just because it's like, oh,

25:31

the sunset didn't happen yet. Or oh,

25:33

like blue hour is not looking great right now. Wait.

25:37

Spend 10 minutes. Talk to somebody,

25:39

talk to the person you're traveling with, or, you

25:41

know, quickly, take your gear into the cafe

25:43

beside you and grab a drink and then run

25:45

back out again, whatever it is. Just wait,

25:48

be there and just, just wait it out a

25:50

little bit, have a little bit of patience and see if something

25:52

happens. Awesome. And

25:54

the last piece of advice I have for you is just don't

25:57

get wrapped up in only shooting during golden

25:59

hour and blue hour and all that kind of stuff. Great

26:02

photos happen at all times

26:04

of day. Make the most of the situation

26:06

when you're in it, if something catches your eye, if

26:08

your artistic instinct says, photograph that.

26:11

Do it. Don't always just wait for

26:13

the light to be perfect. There's no such

26:15

thing. Listen to what your artistic vision

26:17

says. So while blue hour and golden hour. Amazing.

26:20

Make sure that you're out there for them. Make sure that you're shooting

26:22

during them. Just also make

26:24

sure that you're out exploring all paths of capturing

26:26

amazing images that fulfill your artistic

26:29

vision. And then just let your creativity

26:32

soar. Alright, thanks

26:34

so much for tuning in today and doing what you can to

26:36

improve your photography. I love

26:38

talking about these kinds of things. I that's

26:40

why I do this. It's just enjoyable for me. And

26:43

just talking about the things that I've learned and the things that I've learned

26:45

from the people who reach out to me, who.

26:48

There are some spectacular photographers

26:50

out there. Y'all make me jealous with how great

26:52

you are. Keep it up. And if you've got something

26:55

you want to learn or have a question or anything

26:57

like that, reach out. I love having

26:59

these conversations and I'd love to

27:01

hear from you so you can connect with me on

27:03

Instagram at Robert Massey photography, which I do not

27:05

update nearly as often as I should or visit

27:07

my website at robertmasseyphotography.ca reach out that

27:09

way. Yeah, I always enjoy hearing from my

27:11

fellow photography enthusiasts and sharing in our

27:13

collective passion for capturing this big, beautiful

27:16

world of ours. All right. Let's

27:18

get out there. Let's adventure. Bye

27:20

for now.