A (Photo)Trip To Horsley Hills - Pursuit of Ephemeral Sunsets

Sunset painted sky from the top of Horsley Hill

Me, and my other two friends, set out for this trip on a random Sunday afternoon, hoping to catch some beautiful sunset and night-time pics. Let’s jump straight into the details …

Route, Day, Time, Weather and Roads

• Bangalore, Karnataka → Horsely Hills, Andhra Pradesh (Google Maps Route)
• February 18
  Moderately hot during daytime, with temperatures hovering around 39°C to 41°C
  Comfortably cool during night time, with temperatures hovering around 18°C to 24°C
• Clear skies throughout.
• Route is a combination of National and State Highways. There were patches of broken roads during the last leg of the trip (around 60 km remaining). These patches were also a bit dusty, with sand (and soil) blowing in the air.
• If you are planning for a short, one-day trip, plan so that you reach by sunset. There is not much this place has to offer, apart from the view.

Photography Considerations

Major focus was on sunset and night time photography (starry landscapes). Also read my medium article on “why night photography?”

The blurring in the foreground is caused by shaking trees. It was a very windy night.

We were carrying 2 DSLRs and 2 tripod stands.

The tripod should be heavy enough to be stable in the wind.

To capture the stars properly, make sure you know how to focus your lens at infinity.

You can only shoot in manual mode, if you are aiming for the stars :)

Shutter time is generally between 10–25 seconds and aperture at F/3.5 - F/8

ISO should be above 800 (adjust according to shutter time)

Amenities (at the hill-top)

• For food, there are a lot of restaurants open till 10 pm. One of them is managed by state government tourism. Since you are at the top of a hill, there is a main road going around in a circle, along which, many shops are situated.
• For stay, you would require booking at the resort, which is situated at the hill-top itself! The hill station and resort are effectively the same.
• For washroom, you again have to use the state government tourism managed washroom facility. It’s clean, well managed, and free. It is the only available public washroom available at the top. Its situated just beside the restaurant we talked above.

Make sure you carry some warm clothing too (at-least a jacket), as you can expect chilly winds at the top.

Well, this was a memorable trip. The night drive back, was traffic free and pretty enjoyable too!