Shooting the sun

[twister!]

To accompany my desert shots, for which some of you have kindly offered some suggested locations (ie beaches) on another post, I want to get some shots of the sun.

Does anyone have any tips for doing this. Ideally, I'd like these shots to look a bit like the ones in 'Duel in the Sun' - to give the impression that it's REALLY hot in this desert. How is this possible without a) going blind and b) ending up with just white footage!!!???

[sn-films]

Here's a wacky thought that you may want to test. For each shot with the actors, get a quick shot from the same angle without the actors. In post, overlay the shot with the actors on top of the shot without the actors. Apply a ripple effect to the background layers, and see if you can get the sand/sky in the shot with the actors to be transparent. If you're lucky, this will create the 'heat waves' that you see on a road when the sun is shining.

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[ilpostino]

Why not underneath the camera hold something hot like a toaster! Then you get the heat haze passing inf front the lens, waving infront of the sun!!

[The Cavity]

Good question. Make sure the exposure is as low as possible, use a yellow filter and a polarizing filter, then in post-production darken it more or less to your hearts desire, add ripple effects if wanted, and bingo.

Oh, and wear sunglasses. Thick sunglasses.

[twister!]

Hey, brilliant idea about the 'hold something hot under the camera lens'!!!

[ilpostino]

;-)

[Jim Bird]

Hi,

Oh, and remember to go to Spain, there's not much sun in the UK, is there?

Jim Bird.

[twister!]

And the flight would be cheaper than an a 'rip-off' ticket to Cornwall or somewhere on one of this country's death trap trains!!!

[twister!]

I've just read that pointing cameras at very bright objects (like the sun) is bad !

Am I going to trash my camera by doing these shots? Has anyone tried it - what can I do?

[eddie]

you are more likely to wreck your eyes than your camera.
The reason they say that is because you are effectivley holding up a magnifying glass over a peice of film, which would burn the film, or possibly burn the inside of the camera. But if you use a reasonable filter (polarising) you should be OK. Dont look through the eyepeice though. Id suggest setting up the camera on a tripod using a white sheet of paper (you can 'project' the image of the sun through the lens, and out the eyepeice onto the paper to line it up)