For photographers, there is a plethora of resources out there, both digital and physical, from workshops to books, online tutorial videos to ebooks, to help us grow and develop our craft and business. A lot of it is gold, but of course, a lot of it is complete rubbish, or at least repetitive. Craft and Vision, however, have well and truly placed themselves in the former category as a resource of photography ebooks for irresistible prices. I have a growing collection of them, but I’ve only recently got around to reading them and putting my newfound knowledge into practice.

Which brings me to Below The Horizon. This offering from Dave Delnea focuses on shooting during twilight hours (while the sun is below the horizon). I know for myself that in the past I have fallen for the trap of shooting the colourful and dramatic sunset, then packing up and going home. Dave manages to pack a lot of material into this relatively short ebook, from describing the different twilight periods to essential gear to technique to balancing and adding light. There is a lot to think about and put into practice. This is a time of day that opens up a whole new world of unique light and possibilities, and this ebook will give you the knowledge and techniques to get out there and capture it well. I’m sure I will keep coming back to it repeatedly.

After finishing reading through it, I made the most of having the evening to myself and went out with the intention of staying out until well after the sun went down to try this stuff out. I got to St Kilda beach here in Melbourne about half an hour before sunset to scout around for a good location to shoot the disappearing light, and decided on this old pier. With a thousand people around me shooting the sunset on their phones and point-and-shoot cameras, I waited patiently for the sun to go down and the light to really start to fade, all the while making test-shots and playing with various compositions. When the balance of the light in the sky, on the pier, and in the light at the end of the pier was just right, I got the shot I’d been envisioning since I walked onto the pier an hour earlier.

Nikon D3s, 5s, f/11, ISO200, 70mm.
Click on the image to license or buy a print.

All of Craft & Vision’s ebooks are $5, so give up today’s coffee and go buy one. They come in PDF and iPad format. You won’t regret it.