Photographer captures the most spectacular sunset and sunrise pictures

Paul Reiffer, 35, travelled the globe catching the beauty of the sun setting and rising over some of the world's most spectacular and famous scenery.

He lingered in the dusk and dawn in all climes as he waited for the perfect moment to get the perfect shot with his £30,000 80 megapixel Phase One camera.

But while it only takes a split second to press the shutter, he spent hours planning, travelling, and finding the best vantage point.

Dorset-born Paul said: 'You don't get a perfect sunrise or sunset every day - it all depends on the sky.

'The light and colours you get at sunset and sunrise are completely different to the rest of the day. You get stunning colours in the sky and water.

'Normally, if it is completely clear, the shot is boring. You need the right amount of clouds, but when there is fog you can't do anything.'

He added: 'Taking travel and everything else into account, it probably costs about five to six thousand pounds to go and shoot somewhere.

'I will never leave a place without two or three images that I'm happy with.

'Generally, if the first shot I get is bad I'll go back the next day and the day after that until I get it.

'There is one shot I have been trying to get for about 10 years, which is of the Golden Gate Bridge peaking out of the fog at sunrise. I have been there 40 or 50 times.

'I need a lot of things to be in the right place at the right time. I need the sunrise to be in the right position with lots of low fog, a clear sky and no wind.'

With sunrise, the three windows happen in reverse order. 

Reiffer said there are three windows of time at sunrise and sunset when the light conditions are best for taking photographs.

At sunset, just before the sun hits the horizon you can take stunning shots of reflections on water before the light goes flat.

When the sun hits the horizon there is a 'clear golden glow' which only lasts for about five minutes.

The final window lasts for about 20 minutes after sunset, when bright colours decorate the sky.

He added: 'A photographer once told me to remember that, at any given time, half of the world is behind me.

'Some of my favourite shots - like the ones of the Moeraki boulders and Glenorchy - were taken facing away from the sun.

'I also like the Bay Bridge photo because it was the first time I learned that if you have to struggle and hike somewhere to get a sunset shot, you will also be struggling in pitch black to get back.

'Another one of my favourites is the one of Pulpit Rock at Portland in Dorset because it's literally two minutes away from where I live in England.

'It's always above my desk, wherever I am. It's home.'

(dailymail.co.uk)