sun shot

plural sun shots · alternative sun-shot

1. A measurement of the angle of the sun, made using a sextant, usually at noon.

   Not so long ago, most surveyors thought that sun shots and star shots were more trouble than they were worth.

   1987, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, ACSM technical papers, page 167

   2 more examples

   I first learned to navigate by using hand-held sextants to take sun shots, star shots, or by looking out the window reading a map.

   2014, Cecil G. Foster, MiG Alley to Mu Ghia Pass: Memoirs of a Korean War Ace, page 144

   Al can't take sun shots in the fog to check their location, so David adjusts the propellers to climbing pitch and opens the throttles to maximum boost, easing the control column back.

   2014, Cynthia J. Faryon, Incredible Tales of the Royal Canadian Air Force, page 26

2. A photograph that includes the sun.

   I then salvaged both by sandwiching them with sun shots made with a 400mm lens.

   1981, Petersen's Photographic Magazine - Volume 10, Issues 1-6, page 122

   2 more examples

   When hunting for subject matter for your sun shots, investigate the picture possibilities you previously passed up as being run-of-the-mill scenes.

   1949 December, Ray Atkeson, “Get the Sun In Your Pictures”, in Popular Photography, volume 25, number 6, page 159

   So we had these three different types of sun shots; and each required its own discipline and technique."

   2007, Cinefex - Issues 108-111, page 29