Okay, let me tell you about my little adventure with blue hour photography the other day. I’ve always loved that weird, short time just before the sun really comes up or right after it disappears. The light does something special, you know?
Getting the Itch
So, I checked the weather forecast first. Looked pretty clear, which is good. Cloudy blue hour isn’t quite the same vibe. Then I looked up the exact sunset time for my area. You gotta know when that window is, ’cause it’s really short. Miss it and you’re just standing in the dark, basically.
Gear Up and Go
Didn’t need a ton of stuff. Just grabbed my camera, a decent lens – nothing too fancy. The most important thing, seriously, is a tripod. Handheld shots? Forget it. It gets dark fast, and you need those longer exposures. I also made sure my battery was charged. Nothing worse than getting set up and the camera dies. Found my remote shutter release too, helps avoid shaking the camera when you press the button.
I picked a spot I knew beforehand. It’s this little park area overlooking the city skyline. Thought the city lights mixing with the blue sky would look pretty cool. Headed out maybe 45 minutes before the actual sunset time. Gives you time to walk there, find the exact spot, and get everything set up without rushing.
Setting the Scene
Got there, found my usual spot. Planted the tripod firmly on the ground. Mounted the camera. Then I started thinking about the composition, framing the shot with the buildings and the sky. Did this while there was still a bit of light left from the sunset. It’s much easier to compose when you can actually see properly!
I switched the camera over to manual focus. Autofocus can get kinda wonky when the light gets low. Focused on the distant city lights, made sure they looked sharp.
The Main Event: Shooting the Blue
Then, you just wait. Watched the sun dip below the horizon. The sky started shifting colors. First oranges and pinks, then gradually that deep, deep blue started taking over. It’s pretty magical to watch, honestly.
Okay, camera settings. I didn’t go too crazy technical. Put it in Aperture Priority mode for a bit, then switched to Manual to get more control as it got darker. Basically, you need to let enough light in. This usually means:
- A low ISO, like 100 or 200, to keep noise down.
- A medium aperture, maybe f/8 or f/11, to get a good amount of the scene sharp.
- The shutter speed is the main thing you adjust. As it gets darker, the shutter needs to stay open longer. Started maybe at a second, ended up doing shots that were 10, 15, even 20 seconds long towards the end. That’s why the tripod and remote are essential!
I kept taking shots every minute or so. The light changes so fast during blue hour. One minute it’s one shade of blue, the next it’s deeper. The city lights started twinkling more as the sky darkened. It’s this balance between the fading natural light and the artificial city lights coming on. That’s the sweet spot I was looking for.
Sometimes you get those nice yellow and orange glows near the horizon too, mixing with the blue. It’s not just pure blue, usually. Pretty cool effect.
Wrapping Up
After about 20-30 minutes, the deep blue started fading into black. The magic window was closing. Packed up my gear carefully – don’t want to drop anything in the dark.
Got home, loaded the photos onto the computer. Some turned out better than others, as always. A few really captured that mood I was going for. It takes practice, and sometimes luck with the conditions, but it’s always fun trying to capture that fleeting blue moment. Definitely worth getting out there for.
