Let’s talk about the Golden Hour… you know it, but you might not know that you do!
My dear old Dad. I remember him well, offering advice and guidance on how I should take photos. ‘Son, make sure you take your photos between 10 and 2 when the sun is at its highest and brightest’. He didn’t mean any harm, and he absolutely did know what he was talking about with a camera around his neck. That would be with a 50mm fixed lens. He was just giving me advice in line with the times. He also encouraged me to not take too many photos. Given the costs of film and processing at the time, I would have done the same as him to any offspring I had, if I was footing the bill.
Anyway, I digress. There are not really many secrets to how I make images. One them though is to understand light. In the Sydney area there are a lot of really good photographers who take photos of anything and everything with the sun just about level in the sky, i.e. just about to set, or just having risen. That’s the way you get the golden glow. The so-called ‘Golden hour’ just after sunrise and just before sunset.
Why is it so appealing? A good question, maybe all that glitters is gold? One reason though is that is is much less harsh – the suns rays pass through a lot of atmosphere late in the day thus the light is more diffuse. Our eyes like warm colours in general.
So, the next time you want to take a landscape, or portrait, take it early or late. (Don’t get your portrait subject to look into the sun tho, rather at an angle to avoid squinting eyes). Look carefully at your results. I will not need to say anything more.
Thanks for reading.
Andrew Barnes
The Berowra Photographer
I took this image in Berowra Valley National Park, just after sunrise. Yes I admit I may have slightly warmed it with a saturation layer, but not much.
