Bob Eckert Photography
  • Home
  • About
  • Clients
  • Projects
    • 2022 New Mexico Treasures Calendar
    • 2022 Pic of the Day
    • Abiquiu Dam
    • Abiquiu Livestock Sale
    • Adjective Challenge
    • Aerial Photos
    • Albuquerque Aquarium
    • Albuquerque Sunport Lowrider Show
    • Alt Fashion
    • Amish, Kalona, Iowa
    • Angel in Albuquerque
    • Astro Zombies Murals
    • Birds
    • Black Mesa, San Ildefonso Pueblo
    • Cabezon Peak
    • Cell Phones
    • Cerro Pedernal
    • Chicano Park Murals
    • Churches
    • Circus Behind the Scenes
    • Cloud Photos
    • Colors
    • Descansos
    • Design photographs in the style of Charles Sheeler
    • Detroit Street Photos
    • Dogs
    • Fisheye Lens Photos
    • Lowriders
    • Gay Pride Parade
    • Ghost Ranch
    • Goggles Sunglasses and Masks
    • Goofing Around with mime Mark Wenzel
    • Industry
    • Infrared Photos
    • International Center of Photography
    • Isolated Trees
    • Isolation Photos
    • Juxtaposed
    • Lady of Guadalupe
    • Landscape Photos
    • Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
    • Matachines de Alcalde
    • Mirror Images
    • Moon Photos
    • Moving Arts Espanola
    • Moving Landscapes
    • Murals in Espanola, New Mexico
    • New Orleans Street Photography
    • NM Treasures 2023 Calendar Image
    • Northern New Mexico
    • Norteno Artist Portraits
    • Panoramic Photos
    • Photographers
    • Pic of the Day
    • Plants and Flowers
    • Portraits
    • Port of Portland
    • Portraits of Strangers
    • Repetition in Photos
    • Road to Pedernal
    • San Francisco Chinatown
    • Snow Photos
    • Still Life Photos
    • San Francisco Street Photos
    • Service People Portraits
    • Shadows
    • Storm and Rain Photos
    • Street Photography
    • Surplus Love
    • The Yin/Yang of Families
    • Trailer Landscapes
    • Trees
    • Urban Landscapes
    • Vintage Ford and Cadillac Manufacturing
    • Vintage - Pre -digital photos
    • Widelux Panoramic Photos
  • Selected Writing/Published
    • Behind the Scenes at the Circus
    • ​​Book Review: "Orale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico"
    • Carlton, Oregon
    • Cumbres Toltec
    • Day of the Dead, Albuquerque's Marigold Parade
    • Fog Smoke Haze in Photos
    • Gordon Tooley, Apple Guru
    • Indian Market Native Costumes
    • In Praise of Kit Lenses
    • In Praise of Manual Lenses
    • Instagram
    • Jeff Brock and Bombshell Betty
    • John Lea's Painted Truck
    • Kaleidoscope Photos
    • Light Quality
    • National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
    • Pet Store Animal Photos
    • Rio Arriba: A New Mexico County
    • Rocket Heads Jewelry
    • Scale in Photography
    • Shooting Into The Sun
    • Spanapalooza
    • Tibetan Monk Sand Painting
    • Timing in Photography
    • United Farm Workers
    • Variations on a Theme
    • Why I Take Photographs
    • WWII Reenactment
  • Archive

Shooting Into The Sun

Picture
A small church used in a movie filmed at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico

In the days of film photography, one of the “rules” that seemed to be set in stone was always to have the sun at your back. It was a real no-no to aim your camera into the sun.

One of the reasons was your subject was likely to be underexposed.

When you purchased a roll of Kodak film, in the box with the film was an instruction sheet. It offered suggestions on exposure in various lighting conditions and tips of the best way to take a good photo. One of those suggestions was, yes, “Don’t photograph with you camera aimed at the sun.”

I’ve always been a bit contrary, and following rules wasn’t my favorite exercise.

With that said, I find myself taking photographs often into the sun.

A few of the reasons I often am aiming at the sun: I like to experiment and shooting into the sun often results in surprising, unexpected results; a photograph taken into the sun often results in cool sunbursts and sun stars. And I like silhouettes, which are often the result of a backlit subject.

Sometimes there are silhouettes and a sun star or sunburst — how cool is that?

Including the sun in your image also offers a really strong point of focus for the viewer’s eye. Put the sun behind your subject and the eye is immediately drawn to it.

Below are some examples of my pointing my camera lens at the sun. My apologies to Kodak.

Picture
Wind farm east of San Diego, California
Picture
Santa Rosa de Lima church ruins in Abiquiu, New Mexico
Picture
Workers on a film set in Española, New Mexico
Picture
Pelicans, Ocean Beach, San Diego, California
Picture
Giant figure outside Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Picture
Cumbres and Toltec Railroad locomotive prepares to load water at the Chama, New Mexico, station before departing for Colorado
Picture
Penitente morada at sunrise in Abiquiu, New Mexico
Picture
Ohkay Owingeh Puebo, Northern New Mexico, descanso (roadside cross) at sunrise
Picture
Construction workers prepare cement form in Old Town Albuquerque, New Mexico
Picture
Semi with starburst flare, I-25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Picture
Funeral for iconic lowrider Ray Martinez, of Chimayo, New Mexico. The truck shown was one that Martinez had won many hopping contest with over the years. After his death the truck was retired, never to enter a hopping contest again.
Picture
Landscape near Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, Northern New Mexico
Picture
Eppie Martinez winning a lowrider hopping contest with his father Ray Martinez's pickup truck during Lowrider Day in Espanola, New Mexico
Picture
Cerro Pedernal seen from Highway 96 in Youngsville, New Mexico
Picture
A horse illuminated by the rising sun, Espanola, New Mexico
Picture
Santa Rosa de Lima church ruins with rising sun, Abiquiu, New Mexico
Picture
Snowy branches and sunburst
Picture
White Sands National Monument at sunset
Picture
Cross and Rio Chama, at sunrise, Abiquiu, New Mexico
Picture
Weedhopper ultralight aircraft at sunset
Picture
Cemetery in Truchas, New Mexico
Picture
Nearing Coyote, New Mexico, Highway 96, Northern New Mexico
Picture
Mono Lake, Northern California

To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email bobeckertphotography@yahoo.com
​or use the contact form on the About page
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Clients
  • Projects
    • 2022 New Mexico Treasures Calendar
    • 2022 Pic of the Day
    • Abiquiu Dam
    • Abiquiu Livestock Sale
    • Adjective Challenge
    • Aerial Photos
    • Albuquerque Aquarium
    • Albuquerque Sunport Lowrider Show
    • Alt Fashion
    • Amish, Kalona, Iowa
    • Angel in Albuquerque
    • Astro Zombies Murals
    • Birds
    • Black Mesa, San Ildefonso Pueblo
    • Cabezon Peak
    • Cell Phones
    • Cerro Pedernal
    • Chicano Park Murals
    • Churches
    • Circus Behind the Scenes
    • Cloud Photos
    • Colors
    • Descansos
    • Design photographs in the style of Charles Sheeler
    • Detroit Street Photos
    • Dogs
    • Fisheye Lens Photos
    • Lowriders
    • Gay Pride Parade
    • Ghost Ranch
    • Goggles Sunglasses and Masks
    • Goofing Around with mime Mark Wenzel
    • Industry
    • Infrared Photos
    • International Center of Photography
    • Isolated Trees
    • Isolation Photos
    • Juxtaposed
    • Lady of Guadalupe
    • Landscape Photos
    • Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
    • Matachines de Alcalde
    • Mirror Images
    • Moon Photos
    • Moving Arts Espanola
    • Moving Landscapes
    • Murals in Espanola, New Mexico
    • New Orleans Street Photography
    • NM Treasures 2023 Calendar Image
    • Northern New Mexico
    • Norteno Artist Portraits
    • Panoramic Photos
    • Photographers
    • Pic of the Day
    • Plants and Flowers
    • Portraits
    • Port of Portland
    • Portraits of Strangers
    • Repetition in Photos
    • Road to Pedernal
    • San Francisco Chinatown
    • Snow Photos
    • Still Life Photos
    • San Francisco Street Photos
    • Service People Portraits
    • Shadows
    • Storm and Rain Photos
    • Street Photography
    • Surplus Love
    • The Yin/Yang of Families
    • Trailer Landscapes
    • Trees
    • Urban Landscapes
    • Vintage Ford and Cadillac Manufacturing
    • Vintage - Pre -digital photos
    • Widelux Panoramic Photos
  • Selected Writing/Published
    • Behind the Scenes at the Circus
    • ​​Book Review: "Orale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico"
    • Carlton, Oregon
    • Cumbres Toltec
    • Day of the Dead, Albuquerque's Marigold Parade
    • Fog Smoke Haze in Photos
    • Gordon Tooley, Apple Guru
    • Indian Market Native Costumes
    • In Praise of Kit Lenses
    • In Praise of Manual Lenses
    • Instagram
    • Jeff Brock and Bombshell Betty
    • John Lea's Painted Truck
    • Kaleidoscope Photos
    • Light Quality
    • National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
    • Pet Store Animal Photos
    • Rio Arriba: A New Mexico County
    • Rocket Heads Jewelry
    • Scale in Photography
    • Shooting Into The Sun
    • Spanapalooza
    • Tibetan Monk Sand Painting
    • Timing in Photography
    • United Farm Workers
    • Variations on a Theme
    • Why I Take Photographs
    • WWII Reenactment
  • Archive