The evening offers some prime opportunities for wonderful photographs of beautiful landscapes. As soon as the sun goes down, many photographers pack their bags and head home — and those who do miss out.
Dusk
Dusk is the period between sunset and civil twilight. When you photograph at dusk, your camera may deliver an image that is too bright. If this is the case, use exposure compensation until the image you see on your LCD monitor matches the scene in front of you.
If clouds are in the sky, the sun will illuminate the underside of the clouds for 10–15 minutes. This is a wonderful time to capture images of areas with calm water. The clouds cast a mirror reflection on the water.
Sans any clouds, underexpose the image by 1/3 to 2/3 EV. This renders the landscape as a silhouette and you see a tinge of color from the sun, which is below the horizon.
Find the ideal exposure for the scene and then decrease the exposure by 1/3 EV to saturate the colors.
Twilight and beyond
Civil twilight, the brightest phase of twilight, begins when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon. Nautical twilight begins when the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. The period between civil twilight and nautical twilight is known as the “Blue Hour” because the sky is a deep blue color.
This is a wonderful time to take pictures of lovely landscapes. This light can also simplify a complex landscape because all shapes are rendered as silhouettes. The undersides of clouds also turn a rich blue-black color.