Dark skies on sunny days - makes for majestic photography

Vincent and Claudia at Halfmoon Cay with the Nieuw Amsterdam behind.

Dramatic lighting has a way of making a scene pop when it may otherwise be somewhat ordinary.  In the scene above, the Holland America ship is illuminated by the sun against a dark sky.  The couple in the foreground are highlighted against the dark sea behind them.

This was photographed in Alberta 22 years ago - the dark skies making an ominous background.

The problem with getting these shots is that everything has to be just right.  You need a heavily overcast sky with breaks in the cloud cover to illuminate your foreground while your background is dark.  You can do this with flash, but the problem is that a flash will only illuminate the subject and not the entire foreground.  There are exceptions, such as the photo I took of my wife while staying in Hawaii overnight on a cruise ship.

Night provided the dark skies while artificial lighting illuminated the foreground.

The contrast between foreground and background, both in subject and light, produces a compelling image.  The requirements for such images do not come along very often.  When they do, take advantage of them.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com