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Learning From Photos: Sunsets

Atmospheric Perspective

Sunsets are a tremendous sight to behold! However, short of painting like Flash Gordon, using a camera is about the only way to truly capture these wondrous gems.
Atmospheric perspective can be simply described: as colors go into the distance, two things happen. First, they become cooler (the atmosphere colors them), and they get lighter in value. A dark shadow in the distance is never as dark as the shadow at your feet.

To the left is an excellent example of atmospheric perspective in a sunset.

Examine the image to the left. The sunlight is still enough to lighten the sky (albeit somewhat hazy), and in fact, the direct sunlight hitting the top of the clouds is actually quite bright.
Examine the atmospheric perspective between the two mountain ranges. The foreground mountain range is entirely in shadow, while the second is catching some of the hazy reflected light.

Consider this bright sunset (even though the sun is pretty much obscured by the hanging clouds).
In addition to the changes in value and intensity with the two main mountain ranges, look to the lower left corner for an excellent example of the level of detail and intensity of color diminishing rapidly as two or three more planes are introduced.

If treelines, vegetation, or foliage are used in your sunset landscape, be sure to "match" them to the sun's intensity as well. To the left, you'll see an image containing three distinct treelines, each "softer" than the previous.
Note that the sky colors, a series of violet hues, can be seen "misting" into the trees. Remember this reflected light in your landscape! In these types of paintings, the trees are not necessarily green. :-)

During a sunset, the sun doesn't necessarily need to be rendered with high-chroma colors. In the photo to the left, you can see a very subtle rendition of the sun. This type of "hazy" image represents a softer sunset.
Of course, rendering a hazy sun means that the amount of reflected/direct light you should show in your painting diminishes significantly. Keep that in mind. :-)

As a final example, consider this simple image, showing atmospheric perspective on a smaller scale. Look between the two ridgelines - the sun is peeking through, causing the foreground ridgeline to be in shadow, while the second ridgeline is in haze.
Also notice how the haze diminishes the more left your eye travels in the image.

See you next time!

	Sunsets are a tremendous sight to behold! However, short of painting like Flash Gordon, using a camera is about the only way to truly capture these wondrous gems. Atmospheric perspective can be simply described: as colors go into the distance, two things happen. First, they become cooler (the atmosphere colors them), and they get lighter in value. A dark shadow in the distance is never as dark as the shadow at your feet. To the left is an excellent example of atmospheric perspective in a sunset.
	Examine the image to the left. The sunlight is still enough to lighten the sky (albeit somewhat hazy), and in fact, the direct sunlight hitting the top of the clouds is actually quite bright. Examine the atmospheric perspective between the two mountain ranges. The foreground mountain range is entirely in shadow, while the second is catching some of the hazy reflected light.
	Consider this bright sunset (even though the sun is pretty much obscured by the hanging clouds). In addition to the changes in value and intensity with the two main mountain ranges, look to the lower left corner for an excellent example of the level of detail and intensity of color diminishing rapidly as two or three more planes are introduced.
	If treelines, vegetation, or foliage are used in your sunset landscape, be sure to "match" them to the sun's intensity as well. To the left, you'll see an image containing three distinct treelines, each "softer" than the previous. Note that the sky colors, a series of violet hues, can be seen "misting" into the trees. Remember this reflected light in your landscape! In these types of paintings, the trees are not necessarily green. :-)
	During a sunset, the sun doesn't necessarily need to be rendered with high-chroma colors. In the photo to the left, you can see a very subtle rendition of the sun. This type of "hazy" image represents a softer sunset. Of course, rendering a hazy sun means that the amount of reflected/direct light you should show in your painting diminishes significantly. Keep that in mind. :-)
	As a final example, consider this simple image, showing atmospheric perspective on a smaller scale. Look between the two ridgelines - the sun is peeking through, causing the foreground ridgeline to be in shadow, while the second ridgeline is in haze. Also notice how the haze diminishes the more left your eye travels in the image. See you next time!