sunrise...its never to late to capture it....

Anyone witnessing an unforgettable sunrise forever wishes to capture the moment of splendour on camera. Many try, but few succeed. Either we are too late, or too early, at the wrong time or the wrong camera. But whatever the ailment, we have all had our moments where we longed to capture the beauty of sunrise.
Capturing a gorgeous sunrise on camera is not as difficult as you may think. It is all about preparation and timing, both of which have to be perfect. Being prepared means to pre-think the shot and be ready, before the sunrise arrives.
It is important to include elements in your sunrise photos in order to create a sense of scale and depth. Plain sunrise, without additional elements, is boring. Cloud formations, water, buildings, or people add drama that draws the viewer into the photo. When choosing elements to include, remember that everything in the foreground will be in silhouette. If you use a flash, you will ruin the effect of the glowing light. Another important point to consider is location. Scout around your neighbourhood in order to find a perfect location that gives you a full skyline view of the horizon. This site might be a city skyline with the buildings in silhouette. The trick is to scout the location for several days and note the position of the sun at different times of day. Now, assuming you have picked your spot and have the camera its time to consider the almighty exposure. There are as many tricks of the trade as there are photographers but there are several tired and true formulas that will give you great photos under most circumstances. One of my favourite methods is to use a grey card, or anything that reflects the same amount of light such as a sheet of newspaper. Hold the newspaper or grey card facing the setting sun. NOTE: Your back should be towards the sun to do this. You want to meter the side of the card facing the sun not the backside, which will be in shadow. Take a reading with your camera's meter then set the exposure accordingly. This will give you a great starting point. Bracket your shots 2 up and 2 down. Another method is to meter the brightest part of the sky and then close two f-stops to get a starting point. Here too, the key is to bracket. You can also try turning your body away from the sky at a 45degree angle and then metering the sky in that direction for a middle tone range. Remember these are just starting points and you should always bracket your shots. Keep shooting until the sun well above the horizon as some of the most shots come from the glowing sky. The techniques for shooting sunset are virtually the same but in reverse.