Nautical Twilight Photography

As the Northern Hemisphere transitions into summer, the period of Nautical Twilight is neither too early nor too late to observe. This is the perfect time for astrophotographers to capture the ombre of burnt orange, hazy teal and deep blue.

Nautical Twilight refers to when the Sun is 6° to 12° below the horizon. Historically, sailors used this for navigations whilst the line between the horizon and sky is still distinguishable. This is when the brightest stars and planets are visible amongst an ombre of colours, making it the perfect opportunity for beginner astrophotography.

^taken on the 2nd March 2025 in nautical twilight, this photograph reveals the Moon, Venus, Mercury and even a meteor (Credits: Olesya Rtveliashvili)

The photographing location is important. If photographing before sunrise, the Eastern sky must be unobstructed and photographing after sunset requires an unobstructed Western sky. Avoid heavily light polluted areas as skyglow from urban areas can affect the images. Take advantage of a beautiful landscape — shadows from hills and trees can impactfully contrast the nautical twilight sky. Some locations include at the coast, in a mountainous area or where pine trees line the horizon.

I recommend using a wide angle lens to capture as much sky as possible. In the photograph above, I used 28mm but you may choose instead to use 18mm or even a fisheye lens. Make sure to use the correct file type; as I didn’t stack my images, I used JEPG instead of RAW. On the day, dedicate some time to experiment with different camera settings. For my photograph, I used ISO 320 and an exposure time of 0.5s. However, this is dependent on how well illuminated the sky is and personal preference.

Nautical photography gives us a chance to photograph the ombre of colours observed at dawn and dusk, possibly decorated with the Evening Star or crescent moon.