I don’t have the opportunity to do silhouettes like this very often. Today I saw some coneflowers that were on the side of a hill where the sun would be rising directly behind them. It is the kind of shot that requires a bit of prevision because once the sun is up, you can’t really compose anything through the viewfinder. Not only is it just too bright, but also very dangerous to your eyes. It is usually safer to do this type of thing with a morning fog, or those mornings where the sun is a bright orange-red ball. But today it was clear skies, typical summer day and the sun was at its full intensity as soon as it came over the horizon.

Once the sun was fully in the frame, all you could do is take a very, very quick glimpse in the viewfinder to try to check composition and sharpness. What I found difficult was anticipating where in the frame the ball of the sun would end up as it rose higher. Since it rises on a slight arc, I was constantly having to adjust my tripod slightly to compensate. (I was working with this group as found in the field) You then lose your original composition, and have to reposition things somewhat blind.  Moving your tripod then brings other objects into your background which I didn’t want   This is where digital shows a big advantage because I could at least snap a few frames and see the result on the LCD.

You also have some technical issues to contend with here. You have to shoot fairly wide open otherwise the sun will start to take the shape of your aperture blades in your lens. This means your depth of field is going to be limited and your subject selection for the silhouette as well. Fortunately this group of coneflowers were on the same plane enabling me to shoot at f5.6. .  It is best to use simple shapes without a lot of mergers. .  I have seen these work well with dragonflies and birds. .  It is best to plan everything out, compose and focus before the sun gets in the frame and try to anticipate the arc.

These are fun to experiment with, but also require a lot of caution. Who would have thought flower photography could be hazardous to your well being?