Capturing the Magic of Dusk: Photographing the Sky at Twilight

Photographing the sky at dusk is a rewarding experience for both amateur and professional photographers. As the sun dips below the horizon, the sky transforms into a canvas of rich, shifting colors—fiery oranges, soft purples, and deep blues. This brief window of time, known as the golden and blue hours, offers some of the most beautiful natural lighting of the day. Unlike harsh midday sunlight, dusk provides soft, diffused light that adds depth and drama to every shot. It’s the perfect time to slow down, observe, and capture the changing atmosphere.

Timing is critical when photographing the sky at dusk. The golden hour, which begins shortly before sunset, casts a warm, golden hue over the landscape. This is followed by the blue hour, a short period after sunset when the sky takes on cooler tones, transitioning into night. To make the most of these moments, photographers must plan ahead, scout locations early, and be ready to shoot as the light quickly changes. A sturdy tripod is essential during this time to ensure stability as shutter speeds lengthen in low light.

Composition plays a major role in creating compelling dusk sky photographs. Including foreground elements such as trees, buildings, or water bodies can add scale and interest to the image. Silhouettes are especially effective at dusk, as they create strong contrasts against the glowing sky. Reflections in lakes or puddles can double the impact of the colors and create symmetry. Leading lines such as roads or rivers can also guide the viewer’s eye toward the most vibrant part of the sky.

Camera settings should be adjusted to suit the changing light. Using manual mode allows for greater control over exposure. A low ISO (100–400) helps minimize noise, especially as darkness sets in. Aperture settings between f/8 and f/16 ensure a wide depth of field, ideal for landscape shots. Shutter speed can vary, but longer exposures may be needed as the light fades. Filters, like graduated neutral density filters, can help balance the brightness of the sky and the darker foreground.

Finally, post-processing can enhance the mood and clarity of dusk sky photographs. Editing tools like Lightroom or Photoshop allow photographers to adjust color balance, contrast, and sharpness. However, subtlety is key; the goal is to bring out the natural beauty of the sky without over-processing. With patience, planning, and a keen eye for light, photographing the sky at dusk can produce breathtaking results that capture the peaceful transition between day and night

Leica Q2 Monochrom at night

The camera can essentially see at night.  The above shot is taken at ISO 6400.  It’s a 15 second exposure shot about half an hour after sunset.  Shot at ISO 6400, f5.6, 15 second exposure.  You can see the Canadian government buildings on the left with the Ottawa river in front.  In the middle is downtown Ottawa and on the right is the Museum of Canadian History.  I was out for maybe an hour with the Leica Q2 Monochrom.  I know I took a few shots at f16, about a 74 second exposure.  I want to see if I get the starbursts from the lights in the buildings and the lights on the ground.

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It’s time for a huge change

I’m staying with my current employer until March 31, 2023.  After that I’m done.  Moving to Calgary.  I just have to.  Everything in my being is telling me I have to move.  For my own sanity, I have to move.  I’ve been in Ottawa for 39 years.  That’s way too long.  I was in Calgary for 4 months back in 2017.  I fell in love with the nature, the ability to be outdoors, in the mountains within 45 minutes.  I just can’t be in the Ottawa valley anymore. There’s nothing more that I can photograph here in Ottawa.  I have the parliament, some of the museum buildings, some other architecture but that’s about it.  I just miss the mountains, the fresh mountain air, the silence, just being alone in the wilderness.  I really miss it.

What a vacation

So I got my Leica Q2 Monochrome last week and I’ve been playing around with it for the last couple of days.  It’s a completely different system than what I am used to.  The menu system is very simple and not overly complex.  The simplicity is actually making the camera a little harder to use because you don’t have as many options.  I’ve had a few photos accepted onto Shutterstock.  Yes, I’m back to uploading to Shutterstock for a little bit just to see how things go.

On a side note, I’ve been dealing with a somewhat crazy ex.  She sent her new boyfriend with a couple of his friends to my apartment and threatened to do me harm.  Emails were sent to leave me alone or the police will be called along with her employer.  Everything seems to have stopped for now.  Time will tell.  

Now it’s just time to focus on my photography and myself.  I’ve been single for 5 months to the day now.  I’m getting much better emotionally.  With what happened yesterday, I’m choosing to be very single and not chase the opposite sex.  I’m watching a lot of YouTube videos now and I’m seeing society pretty much crumble.  I wish I had the money to buy one of those class b camper vans and just go live in one of those in the woods so I don’t really have to deal with people.  I’d love to just drive around and do photography.  Post stuff online and stay away from people.  

More photos for sale

 

Last night, someone bought a picture of a timber wolf I took several years ago at Parc Omega.  Fine Art America just paid for itself and then some.  Thank you to the buyer in Colorado.  

 The above photos were taken in the Ottawa Valley on October 10, 2020.  No one around and it was very peaceful.  Even went out for dinner.  Considering Ottawa is in another lockdown, we had to go out of town to get something to eat.  Gotta love the draconian levels of government in Canada. 

Both pictures are available for sale here and here.  Hopefully they'll be approved on my Adobe stock portfolio and my Deposit Photos portfolio.

Algonquin Park - Landscapes

It is 23:15 on Saturday night.  Just got home from Algonquin Park maybe half an hour ago.  I transferred all my photography and videos from my various SD cards and here are the first two shots that I edited from our day at Algonquin Park along the Highway 60 corridor.  Quite the successful afternoon from the park.  3 moose and lots of lakes that were photographed.

From looking at most of the photography today, it looks amazing.  Tomorrow will be more video stuff from the Tulip Festival here in Ottawa.  Thankfully they opened up the city parks this past week.  Most people are social distancing thankfully.  I still think this whole corona virus is way overblown as pretty much all the deaths are in long term care facilities which everyone knew was going to happen.  But that's just my opinion.

A social distancing drive to a small Canadian town on the border

Plus 13 degrees Celsius with a blue sky and some white, puffy clouds in it and they want people to stay at home.  I don't think so.  This coronavirus pandemic is a total farce.  How many people die from cancer, lung disease, HIV, AIDS, old age?  There is no cure for death.  Death has a 100% success rate.  No one and I mean no one has come back from the dead.  Well, except maybe one guy.  But that was over 2000 years ago now.

The fiancee and I decided to goer a drive to Cornwall, Ontario today.  Cornwall sits on the Canadian, US border.  Not surprised that the border was still open.  We saw a lot of people with New York State license plates in Cornwall.  We saw a few cars with Ontario and Quebec plates heading towards the border.  I am pretty sure 99% of these border crossers were unnecessary.  This pandemic was created in a lab in Vuhan, China.  The Chinese of course have a cure for it but are not releasing it or are asking an exorbitant amount for it.  On the world scale, more than a few trillion dollars.  Would not put it the Chinese Communist Party to do this.  Anyone believing that the Chinese Communist Party is a benevolent government has their head so far up their ass, they'll eating Coronavirus for breakfast.

It's time to open up the economy in North America and bomb the shit out of Beijing.

Shooting with the Sony A7R II and the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-240MM

I picked up the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-240MM lens today to complete the Sony setup.  I have the Sony a7R II body which has the 42.4 megapixel sensor.  I really didn't get to test it out today as the conditions weren't right.  High winds and hardly any light.

I have to say I am impressed with the Sony a7R II body and the 24-240MM lens combination.  The files sizes coming out the camera are spectacularly huge.  I am shooting uncompressed RAW files.  They are coming out at roughly 85.6 megabytes.  Those are huge files.  The dynamic range is just amazing.  I can hand hold the camera at 1/5 of a second and the pictures are tact sharp.  The colour science is just as good as any other camera brand although I find Canon's colour science just a tad ahead of Sony although I think Sony is catching up quickly.

I have to knock the image back a bit in jpeg format to 99% quality to get it just under 25 megabytes.  At 100% resolution, the JPEG file is about 42 megabytes in size.  

Tomorrow (March 14, 2020) is supposed to be nice and sunny with a high of 2 degrees Celsius.  I think a trip to either Algonquin Park or Parc Omega is due.  The only reason I want to go to Parc Omega is to go do some photography and got some fresh maple syrup right out of the trees.

I think I will have to take 2 128GB SD cards with me tomorrow.  I have to learn not to spray and pray  with the photography.  The early 2013 MacBook Pro can edit the photos easily.  I'm going to test editing the photos on my Windows 10 machine as well along with the 2018 Apple iPad Pro.

Mud Lake in winter

I went for a short walk at Mud Lake today located in the west of Ottawa.  Have not been there in quite a while.  I took my Sony RX100 Mark VII with me.  Spent about 45 minutes just walking the groomed trails there.

Yesterday I bought myself the Sony A7R II camera body with just one battery.  When I get paid next week, I will be buying the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-240MM lens along with the battery grip and two additional batteries.  

I want to enjoy my time with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I'm not going to sell it.   I believe it's a fantastic little camera.  My photography is evolving.  This summer I want to do a lot more camping on the weekends and I want to do a lot more exploring.  I figured a high megapixel, full frame camera is what I need to accomplish my goals.

This summer I will be travelling a lot more on weekends.  I want to discover the areas farther around Ottawa before we move out west.  

The above photos were actually edited on my Windows 10 laptop using Affinity Photo 1.8.  I actually love Affinity Photo.  I cannot stand Photoshop.  Photoshop is bloated software.  I refuse to pay a monthly subscription to Adobe.  Just no Adobe.  Affinity Photo is about $50 and you actually own the software.  And you get the updates too.

Back to just doing phtotography

I think it's time to go back to just doing photography.  Not just your run of the mill wildlife and animal photography but high end landscape photography.

Yesterday I went to my local photography store and I bought a Sony A7R II camera body.  Just  the body.  I have to wait a bit to buy the specific lens I want.  I'll probably get it in the next week or two.  I was thinking yesterday that Parc Omega isn't worth going to anymore as the entrance fee just keeps going up and up and up.  The fencing is higher now that it ever has been so if I want to photograph the Arctic Wolves for example, it's virtually impossible to get them without having the fence in the way.

I want to get the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-240MM lens for the Sony A7RII body.  I  think it's wide enough and it has enough reach for me to get most things.  The Sony A7RII has 42.4 megapixels so I can crop in to whatever I want.  I think it's going to be the perfect camera/lens combination.

It's early March now and the snow is starting to melt away.  It's supposed to be above zero starting tomorrow during the day at least.  I have pretty much all the camping gear I need.  Sleeping bag, mattress, pillow to sleep in the back of the car.  All I need now is just a cooler to put my food and water into and I can now leave for the weekends to go car camping and do photography on the weekends with the new camera.

I will need to buy an extra set of batteries for this camera as the battery life sucks on this Sony camera.  I'm seeing a picture of the Sony batteries not being so good on most Sony cameras.  But if I'm just doing landscapes, I can just fire off 300-400 shots over the weekend and work with just one battery.  I just want that lens.

New Year. New Decade. New photography

There is one full day left in 2019.  I haven’t done as much photography as I wanted to this year.  Haven’t done as much photography over the past two years as I wanted.  2020 will be different.  I told my new fiancé that in April I want to move out west to Calgary.  I really miss the mountains and the fresh air.  I hate being here in Ottawa.  I miss Calgary.  I hate the humidity of Ottawa.  I hate the winters.  I hate the summers here.  I would rather sleep in my vehicle or a tent under the stars.  I miss photographing the mountain landscapes.  When I was in Calgary 2 years ago, that’s all I did on my weekends.  Just spend my weekends in the mountains.  Now that I have my 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, I have room in the back to sleep.  I have pretty much all the necessary equipment except for a cooler for food and drinks.  But I could just spend $60 on a good sized cooler and use that for weekends.  In the next couple of months I will start looking for a job in Calgary.  I wish I could do landscape photography full time but I don’t know if it’s feasible.  I want and need it to be.  I am totally sick of doing the I.T thing.  My Sony RX100 Mark VII is a great camera to do landscape photography.  I don’t need a DSLR.  Actually for the photography I do, all I need is my Sony RX100 Mark VII and my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  All the software I use is run on the iPad Pro.  I have Affinity Photo.  I have Pixelmator Photo.  Apple Photos is good enough now for doing just the basic edits.  A few months ago, I bought a book for Affinity Photo for the iPad.  I’ve started reading it but never completed it.  That will be my goal for the next 3 months.  Find a job in Calgary to sustain us and finish my Affinity Photo book.

I really don’t want to do any more wildlife photography.  Although it sells a bit on Shutterstock and Adobe Stock, I really enjoy landscape photography.  I like the solitude of being in the mountains.  I gave my fiancé my Sony RX100 Mark VI.  I don’t want to spend any more money on photography equipment.  Not for a while.  The Sony RX100 Mark VII does what I need it to do.  I shot the above photo with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  I shot the below shot with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I’ve sold both images on various micro stock stocks.  A full frame DSLR with an f2.8 16-35MM or an f2.8 24-70MM is not needed.  It’s not the camera, it’s the photographer.

I am a stock photographer

No weddings. No portraits.  No family shots.  Only landscapes of nature and wildlife.  With my Sony RX100 Mark VII and my 2018 Apple iPad Pro.  No huge cameras.  No heavy laptops.  If I need to get closer to something, I walk towards it.  If I need to be farther away from subject, I walk away from it.  Easy as that.  I enjoy my independence.  I would rather be in my car with my camera driving to somewhere new.  Photograph something new.  Experience something new.

I honestly don’t need the latest and greatest anymore.  I am truly happy with what I have.  I have the best camera.  I have the best computer.  Why?  They are always with me.  I have decided to just do photography and shoot footage with the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  High quality photography and high quality 1080p video.  4K files are way too big and take too much time to process.  The 2018 Apple iPad Pro just flies through 1080p footage.  I keep learning about the iPadOS everyday.  Learn something new with it.

April 2020, I have decided to move to Calgary and be near the mountains.  I want to pay off my debt and just live simply.  That is my goal.

More Parc Omega photography with the Sony RX100 Mark VII

So I took a day off from work last week to go to Parc Omega for the day.  We got our first snow fall of the season and I wanted to photograph some animals in the fresh snow.  I’ve been trying to convince myself that I need a full frame, high megapixel camera and a really fast computer to do landscape and wildlife photography.  That just isn’t true.  I’ve been using my Sony RX100 Mark VII camera and a 2018 Apple iPad Pro with the 12.9” screen and a 512GB hard drive for the past six months to do all my computing and photography work.  If I didn’t say what equipment I was using no one would know unless they asked and I told them what I was using.  It is not the equipment, but rather the photographer.  Photography is pretty easy to learn.  Anyone can shoot decent photos.  You just have to have an eye for it.  You have to see the composition.  You just have to take the camera with you.

The above photo was taken at Parc Omega in Montebello, Quebec.  It was taken with the Sony RX100 Mark VII, edited on a 2018 Apple iPad Pro in Pixelmator Photo.  Literally just one click and voila.  Does not take much.

Photography with the Sony RX100 Mark VII

Got this resting male wood duck at Mud lake about a week ago.  I love my Sony RX100 Mark VII camera.  It’s small and compact and takes amazing photos and video.  It’s a perfect travel camera.  On my next few trips I will be taking it with me all the time.

My next goal is to get the Sony A7RII camera and the Sony f3.5-6.3 24-240MM lens with the battery grip.  I’m a small time photographer with a small blog and small portfolios on Adobe and Shutterstock so I’ll never get sponsored or have equipment sent to me.  One can only dream.  But I’m a total fan of the Sony line of cameras.  I used to shoot Canon for the longest time but I switched to Sony 2 years ago because of the technology.  Just love Sony cameras.

Back to using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC

So after several months of using my 2018 Apple iPad Pro 12.9" with the 512GB hard drive, I am back to using my 2013 Apple MacBook Pro with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC.  It is totally frustrating.  I've been using my Sony RX100 Mark VII as my main photography camera.  Apple has not updated the RAW engine so my photos are incompatible with iPadOS.  They are incompatible with Windows 10 as well.  Recently Adobe released the RAW software for the Sony RX100 Mark VII and the Sony AR7 Mark IV.  I absolutely love my Sony RX100 Mark VII.  It's my go to camera/camcorder.  I know the 2013 Apple MacBook Pro can handle editing pictures and 1080 video from the Sony RX100 Mark VI and VII.  Just takes a while to edit 4K footage.  

I was at Mud Lake for a bit today and I was thinking that I really want to use the photos from the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I read somewhere online that Adobe finally updated the RAW plugins for its software suites to finally use the Sony RX100 Mark VII.  I'm going to use Lightroom Classic CC on my MacBook Pro for a while.  

I really wanted to use my iPad Pro with the iPadOS but iPadOS and the photography software is just not there yet.  Maybe give it another year and it'll be there but it's not there yet unfortunately.  The apps I use have to be fully upgraded for use with iPadOS and external hard drive support.  I'm just going to use Lightroom Classic and Affinity Photo even though I do have access to Photoshop.  I like Affinity Photo much better.

My most popular photograph

I was in Banff, Alberta when I took this photograph: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rocky-mountains-on-spring-day-615715556.  When I took the photo, I thought it was just a generic mountain shot.  The lighting was harsh since it was taken at mid day.  I did not like the photo in colour.  I converted it into black and white.  I uploaded it to Shutterstock and hoped that it would be at least accepted.  It was accepted a few days later and at that point I thought it would never sell.  At all.  Today it sold 3 times.  It's sold for a grand total of 225 times since April 2017 becoming my most popular photograph ever on Shutterstock.  I have it on my own website as well if you would like to purchase it and hang it on your wall:  http://josefpittner.photos/featured/14-the-rockies-josef-pittner.html.  This photo is the reason I want to go back to Alberta as soon as possible and get more shots like this.  I do miss the mountains of Alberta.  I miss being outdoors in the Rocky mountains.  I want to go to all the national parks in Canada and the USA that are located in the west.  I believe it is my calling.

Another night with the Sony RX100 lines of cameras

The above shot was taken with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.  We were waiting for the finale of the fireworks show across the river on the Gatineau side.  We got there early at 5:30pm to stake out a spot since it was a Saturday in late August.  IT was a warm Saturday night.  We were sitting right on the river with no one in between us and the river but a protective fence.  This was shot at f9, 0.6 seconds at ISO 100.  The camera was on a tripod with an Intervalometerator hooked up to the camera.  I wanted to bring the Sony RX100 Mark VII but Apple hasn’t released the supporting software for the 2018 Apple iPad Pro yet.  So I was stuck with the Sony RX100 Mark VI.

I just a few settings in Pixelmator Pro.  A little colour correction and the name of the hotel on the left of the photo was erased because of copyright.  Can’t upload trademarked names or images. 

I am now much closer to Apple iPadOS coming out next month.  I’ll be so glad when we’ll have a decent file system, the ability to connect external hard drives and we’ll finally have mouse support.  I hope we’ll be able to select multiple files at once.

On a side note, the girlfriend and I are pretty much done with Ottawa as far s getting decent jobs.  Neither of us are bilingual so getting a good job in Ottawa is unrealistic.  We’ve decided to move out west.  I was out there for 4 months and I loved it.  I loved the mountains, the fresh air, the open fields that go on forever.

More pics shot with the Sony RX100 Mark VI

I know a few photographers who would bock at using a point and shoot camera.   Apparently it’s not professional enough.  Can’t control any of the settings on the camera.  That is nothing but snobbery and purely uneducated B.S.  You can control your ISO, f stop and zoom.  The camera has internal stability to take care of camera shake at 200MM.  Yeah it’s not an interchangeable lens camera but it’s not meant to be.  The Sony RX100 Mark VI and VII both come with a 24-200MM lens which is great for wide landscape and up close and personal.  If you need to get closer to a subject, use your feet.  If you want a more panoramic shot, take 2-3 shots and stitch them together in Affinity Photo.  Don’t make excuses for your photography.  Work with the equipment you have.  Adapt and change.  Photography is not static.  Shoot out of your comfort zone.  A few years back, I would not even shoot video because I thought I just wanted to be a photographer.  One day at Parc Omega, I shot a video, edited it and uploaded it to Shutterstock.  It sold within a week for $120US.   That is when I started shooting footage as well.  Money.  Money.  Money.  

My favourite photo from the last 2 years

I can’t believe how time flies.  2 years ago, I was in Calgary, Alberta ready to come home.  Not knowing I was to be extended for another month on my contract for another month and I wouldn’t be in Ottawa until July 2017.  My girlfriend was going to fly out from Ottawa to Calgary and we were going to drive back to Ottawa together.  We were gonna go through the northern states and see some of the National Parks in Montana, Oregon, South Dakota etc. That didn’t happens as I got extended by a month.  Honestly I really miss Calgary and being in the mountains.  I remember getting a smile on my face every time I headed out to the Rockies from Calgary.  It was only about a 45 minute drive.

I took the gondola up the mountains when I was in Banff, Alberta one weekend.  I remember the wind was howling up at the peak of the mountains.  The light wasn’t good as well.  The sun was to my left casting a shadow over the centre mountain.  It had blown out the sky and clouds.  I didn’t think much of the shot at all.  Certainly not one of my favourites at the time.  I decided to turn it into a black and white and throw it up onto Shutterstock thinking it would be rejected.  If it was accepted, it would never be bought.  It would just get lost in the millions and millions of photos.  As it turns out, I sell it once every 2-3 days on average and it’s turned out to be one of my very photos.  I’ve been told by acquaintances that it’s their favourite photo of mine.  You can purchase it here here from my Shutterstock portfolio or here to hang on your wall.  I would really appreciate your support.

My girlfriend and I have pretty much decided that next spring, probably in April, that we will be moving to Alberta permanently as neither of us speak the French language and it’s virtually impossible for us to get permanent government jobs here in Ottawa, ON Canada.  With everything that’s going on with federal politics, and if the current guy in charge federally, we believe, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta will eventually separate from eastern Canada as the two are so different from each other.  But that’s another story.  

Some shots from Parc Omega

Just a sample of my day at Parc Omega this past Tuesday.  Wish I could get out there more often but work gets in the way.