Neudahn · Palatinate Forest
A sunstar at Neudahn’s gate
The ruins of Neudahn Castle are worth an early start in spring. The sun only shines through the archway briefly – and the hills delay its appearance.
There’s hardly any room in front of the castle. I needed 14 mm to fit the whole ruin in and had to correct the converging verticals afterwards. Then comes the wait: the sun has to clear the hills before it can shine through the archway.
Capture settings
- Time
- Spring · shortly after sunrise
- Camera
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
- Lens
- Sigma 14 mm f/1.8
- Focal length
- 14 mm
- Exposure
- 1/50 s · ISO 100
How to plan it in Celeris
Enable “Predefined 3D models” under Settings → 3D display and let the terrain load.
Stand in front of the castle
Use the map’s magnifying glass to search for “Neudahn”. Move the crosshair onto the open ground in front of the rock, not onto the castle. Starting position: about 49.16317° N, 7.75663° E.
Choose a spring morning
Tap the sun symbol above the date and start with 15 March for your trip. Move the time band to shortly after sunrise. In the sunrise times, also check the later time when the sun clears the terrain.
Frame the archway
Tap “3D” with the cube icon at the top. Choose landscape with the rectangle icon on the right and pinch to about 23 mm for this preview’s framing. Drag the sky towards east-southeast, around 106°, and tilt about 14° up.
Find the short window
Move the time slowly through sunrise. Adjust your map position until the sun shines through the archway. When the edge of the gate cuts into the sun’s disc, Celeris shows the sunstar.
Save and fine-tune on location
Save using the bookmark. Small steps make a difference at the gate. Arrive early and set up before the sun appears.
The castle model is simplified. Check the exact opening and fine-tune your tripod position on location.
How to plan the sun and moon with terrain and 3D objects
Model: Neudahn Castle · Sources & licences