Canon EOS Digital SLR Product Range - Eos40D, Eos400D

Filters can add a new dimension to your digital photos and are a great asset for anyone who owns a digital SLR camera. They can help you to compensate for certain problems related to lighting and allow you to add some interesting effects to your digital photos.

Sunsets are among the most popular photographic subjects, although shots taken around sunrise can be almost as appealing, if not equally dramatic. When the sun is close to the horizon the light from it passes through a thicker layer of the atmosphere than it does when the sun is directly overhead. If the air contains dust, haze and pollutants, the light rays will be scattered, producing an increasing orange-red hue. At sunrise, this 'warming' effect is less because the airborne dust has settled during the night so the light that characterises sunrise is closer to normal daylight colours than at sunset.

These two pictures show the main differences in the quality of the light between sunrise and sunset. Sunrise is characterised by a cooler, clearer light, while sunsets are usually warmer in hue.

1. A digital camera
2. A tripod
   
   A word of warning: DON'T look directly at the sun - or point your camera at it - until it is low enough in the sky to have turned red. This is particularly important with long telephoto lenses, which act like a magnifier to increase the intensity of the light. Direct exposure to this light can damage your eyes. It can also damage your camera's image sensor.

It's safe to point your camera at the sun when the sun is very close to the horizon, particularly when the light has to pass through a layer of cloud. It would have been unsafe to take this shot if the sky had been cloudless.	A borderline shot when the sun is a little too bright for the camera's sensor. The 'star' effect is caused by light-scatter within the lens.

Compose shots with something blocking the direct sun. It could be a branch, tree trunk, person, cloud or building. Silhouetted against the light, these elements can improve the composition of sunrise and sunset shots as well as protecting your eyes and camera sensor.
	Blocking the direct sun behind the branch of the tree produces an interesting silhouette without risking the camera's sensor - or your eyes.

1. Arrive at your location long enough before the event to find a good position. If you know where the sun will rise or set you can be in the right spot to take pictures when the sky looks best.
2. Use a tripod. Exposure times of one or two seconds are common when shooting sunsets and sunrises.
3. De-activate the flash - unless you want to expose foreground elements. In this case, knock the flash exposure back by about a stop to prevent over-exposure of the foreground (which results in an unnatural look.)
4. Expose for the sky. If more than two thirds of your shot consists of sky, the camera's exposure meter should give a correct reading; if more than two thirds of the shot is land (foreground), the sky is likely to be underexposed. Point the camera at the sky, positioning the sun so it's just out of the frame. Take a reading and use the exposure lock or set the exposure manually with this reading as reference.
5. Watch your composition. The most boring sunrise/sunset shots are those in which the horizon passes straight across the middle of the picture. Aim high - or aim low. Include foreground elements that add interest - and meaning - to the shot.

6. 	Cropping a shot allows you to focus the viewer's attention on the main components in the subject.

   Keep shooting after the main event - especially at sunset. The glow of the sun remains visible in the sky for some time after the sun has gone down and can result in some wonderful pictures. A tripod is essential to ensure the camera is rock-steady for the long exposures required. Use the self-timer to delay triggering the camera until any vibrations created when setting it up have subsided.
7. Don't be afraid to crop shots to improve pictorial composition.

1. Very bright objects in the centre of the frame can confuse the autofocus system. Autofocus systems can also find it difficult to focus on low-contrast areas like skies with little or no detail. If your camera doesn't have an AF-ready light to indicate when focus is achieved, switch to manual focusing. Set the focus to infinity unless there are elements in the foreground that you want to appear sharp. Use a small lens aperture (f/8 to f/22) to ensure adequate depth of field. Shooting with the Landscape mode can have the same effect, although you may not be able to adjust the camera settings to improve depth of focus.
2. Some cameras' auto white balance controls will 'correct' the warm colours in sunrise and sunset shots, producing a disappointing result. If your camera has a sunset/sunrise setting in the white balance or scene mode, use it to prevent the colours being recorded incorrectly. Shooting in raw format allows you to overcome this problem by providing post-capture adjustments.

3. 	A light 'tobacco' graduated filter adds drama to the otherwise uninteresting sky.

   Artificial lights - such as street lights and traffic - can take viewers' attention away from the main subject in a sunrise or sunset shot. They may also affect local colours in the subject (sodium lights in particular). The larger they appear and the longer your exposure, the more intrusive they will become.
4. Strong winds can buffet a tripod and ruin long exposure shots. Keep to calm conditions wherever possible.