CAPTURE A DRAMATIC SUNSET

Mike Harris shows you how to photograph a coastal sunset with a moody twist on England’s rugged East Yorkshire coastline

- Mike Harris

2 HOURS Heading out to shoot a sunset on a cloudy evening is always a bit of a gamble because if the clouds completely obscure the sun you might miss the big event altogether. But, if the light is right, a cloudy sky can present a dramatic backdrop as the sunset illuminates the cloud cover.

An effective way to add even more drama to the sky is to shoot through a neutral density filter so that you can dial in long exposure to capture a sense of movement in the clouds. Another element to consider when photographing a moody landscape or seascape is your subject. Gnarled trees, craggy rocks, and crashing waves look particularly intense against a dark and brooding backdrop.

For this issue’s Crash Course we photographed Flamborough Lighthouse in East Yorkshire. Not only are lighthouses synonymous with stormy weather, but the bright white structure would stand out impressively against the darker sky. We used The Photographer’s Ephemeris app to quickly work out where the sun– setting in the northwest – would be in relation to our subject. This allowed us to work out the angle we’d need to photograph the lighthouse from in order to capture the best light.