CHASING SUNBOWS
Mount Shasta, USA
Note: You don't have to own a camera to chase sunbows or enjoy this article.
WHAT IS A SUNBOW?
Sunbows? Never heard of them. Rainbows, yes. Sundogs, yes. Rainclouds, yes. Sunshine, yes. Sunbows, no. Actually I hadn't heard of them either until recently when I coined the phrase. I had to come up with something descriptive, because I knew they existed -- I even had them on film to prove it. They are as elusive as unicorns, yet almost as common as rainbows. In a funny sort of way they are a combination of all the above: rainbows, clouds, sundogs, and sunlight, and they certainly have the mystical quality of unicorns, magically appearing one moment, then dissolving into thin air. Sunbows are usually found a mere skip and a jump from the sun's position in the sky. No doubt that is why they go unnoticed, because we are not accustomed to looking in the direction of the sun on a bright day. Intriguing, isn't it, that something so exquisitely beautiful is often present, emanating a divine blessing for all who wish to receive, yet almost never seen.
Time for a change. Time to begin anew, to enjoy one of nature's most delicate art forms. Let's not wait for the resolutions that form like wings on the heels of each new year. That's too long to wait. We need only to gaze upward, tune into the cosmic energy of a summer sky, and resolve to see -- to experience the next sunbow, a precious gift from Amun, Egyptian god of the sun. The invitation, however, must come with a stern note of caution: DO NOT LOOK directly at the sun. Just like the warnings that accompany celestial events like solar eclipses, it is equally important to protect your eyes from the possibility of permanent damage. Fortunately sunbows reveal themselves some distance from the sun, thus making it quite easy to frame them in your viewfinder without including the sun.
Let's try to define a sunbow. Certain cloud formations, usually the light wispy variety or the hazy sleepy family, tend to refract bright sunlight into bands of color, very much like the spectrum of light produced in a rainbow.
The pattern of hues and the configuration will depend very much on the type and shape of the cloud and its distance from the sun. Because clouds are almost always moving, sunbows are ever changing as the cloud approaches or retreats from the sun. Often only the outer edge of a cloud will refract the sunlight, as the center is too large or too dense to allow the light to pass. Thus by their very nature, sunbows are backlit -- in contrast to the rainbow that always appears in an arc around a point directly opposite the sun. Because sunbows only appear at locations on an imaginary arc around the sun itself, and because the clouds that give birth to them are moving, sunbows can be fleeting, and even when remaining for a period of time, they often peak to a color intensity for only a few brief seconds. That makes chasing sunbows an uncertain pursuit, and the successful sighting of a sunbow all the more joyous an event.
THE PURSUIT
Now that we know what to look for, how does one go about tracking a sunbow? When should we be keeping our eyes open, and how can we spot them? I have almost always seen sunbows when I am wearing sunglasses, because the glasses produce a darkened sky and make the bright areas near the sun easier to see. Polarized sunglasses seem to work best, probably because of the added protection for the eyes. Often when I have spotted a sunbow beginning to emerge, I will take a peak at it without my sunglasses, only to discover that it has completely disappeared! Does that mean a sunbow is only a figment of our imagination -- something that can only be produced with polarized sunglasses or with the right photographic filter? Absolutely not! The reason we cannot see it very well with the naked eye is because it is too bright for our eyes to adjust to. To best observe a sunbow, isolate the shape in your viewfinder (blocking the direct sun from the image), then either watch it while wearing sunglasses or by pressing the depth-of-field preview button to f/16 in order to darken the viewing area. Certainly the simplest way to gain a ticket to one of nature's most ethereal spectacles is to wear shades on a partly sunny day -- and look up a lot! For me, sunbows have proven to be the classic example of the truism that we can only photograph that which we first can see.
I started chasing sunbows one day by photographing a sundog and realizing that it was changing shape slightly, due to the nature of the cloud that was reflecting it. The cloud changed shape so much that it was no longer a sundog, and for me a light went on - the beginning of a new and colorful dimension to my photography - and sunbows were born.
The ideal time to keep watch is when thin puffy clouds are blowing across the sky. Park yourself outdoors, camera at hand, shades in place, and glance periodically in the appropriate direction - a great excuse for avoiding housework and doing next to nothing! " Sorry I can't help, dear -- I'm on a sunbow watch." If your mate queries what that actually means, explain that it is a complicated photographic term, difficult to translate into lay language, but a lawn chair is a vital ingredient in the process. Every camera club should have a standing (reclining) competition for the best sunbow of the month, and an honorary award for the best sunbow, as well as an honorary award for the slouch who spent the greatest amount of time staring at the sky! And remember, if you gaze forever into the abyss and still don't spot a sunbow, a couple of martinis might help to produce similar psychedelic effect!
SEEING IS BELIEVING
"Seeing is believing" certainly applies to photographing the beauty that surrounds us. Seeing makes us aware, and gives us confidence that we seek indeed exists in the real world, and therefore can be photographed. Seeing is a way of distinguishing dream, myth, or imagination from the world of substance. For us photographers, seeing gives us the necessary material from which we can proceed to mold tokens or mementos of our dreams, myths, and imaginations in the form of graphic images. Good seeing, then, is a first step to good photography.
But I also like to think that "believing is seeing" -- that we really see only after we believe that what we want to see is possible. In other word, we begin by stretching our minds to encompass a wider range of phenomena; we allow our dreams, myth, ad imaginings the possibility to become reality. Indeed we not only allow, but also expect to see the ultimate in beauty manifest itself before our eyes. Does that mean that one can believe something into existence? No. It simply means that the beauty was there all along until we could see it. That may sound somewhat absurd, but it does have profound implications for sunbow chasers. I see sunbows regularly because I believe they exist and that they appear to us regularly. I believe they manifest incredible beauty; therefore I look for those aspects that I find most exquisite. The more I allow myself to be open to this wonder, the more I seem to see them. I wonder how many other aspects of beauty exist around me that I have yet to discover because I am not yet open to seeing and appreciating. It is a tantalizing notion that Paradise sits waiting literally at our doorstep; we have only to discover the right perceptual key.
SUNBOWS ON FILM
It seems rather ironic that a phenomenon as sublime as a sunbow offers little to report about how to render it on film or digital media. It falls quite nicely into the " f/18 and be there" school of thought. Set your exposure override at f/16 or f/22, and if you are shooting at ISO 100, your camera will trigger at shutter speeds of 1/1000 sec. or 1/2000 sec. ISO 25 film is also a good choice here, because as cloud fringes drift close to the sun, the dazzling brightness calls for exposures of 1/1000 at f/22. If you find yourself at the pearly gates without a slow film, or if your digital camera doesn't allow it, you might still be able to record your Shangri-la by throwing on a neutral density or polarizing filter to block the light and bring the exposure value into the acceptable range for medium speed film.
If the sunbows perform for you at sunset or when the sun is relatively close to the horizon, you may wish to try silhouetting a tree or other feature of the landscape. In this case I might search for an angle where my silhouetted object hides or partly blocks the sun itself, providing additional drama to an already sensational image.
My photograph of the Mount Shasta sky is indeed a classic example of a sunbow. In this case the sun had not yet risen over the ridge, but was about to appear any second as it backlit the small wispy cloud that blew across the scene. Because the cloud was small and because the trees were at an appreciable distance, I used my 300 mm lens to record the unfolding of this brief event: 1/2000 sec. at f/22; 17 exposures in 30 seconds. It is reassuring to know that the photographic results are so reliable at the technical limits of fast shutter speeds and small lens openings. Don't be afraid to shoot a few extra exposures, varying the manual override on your automatic camera. I call this "fine tuning" my exposure. A little extra cost at this time may pay off in big dividends, as it did for me with the Mount Shasta sky -- a choice for the National Geographic 1993 calendar.
May your next roll of film, or digital media, be adorned with drama, impact, and a sunbow of radiant colors!