Friday, October 3, 2014

AM Golden Hour, Portland Oregon


The Golden Hour is the time just at sunrise and sunset when the sun is at the horizon. Because we're not fully turned to the sun, light has farther to travel through the atmosphere and hits more particles. Blue light is scattered and more red gets through. The light is warm but at a short angle, it seems to come sideways from the horizon and makes the best shadows.
Flowers shot during AM Golden Hour, Portland OR
Golden hour flowers on my work table, 7:34AM PDT 3 October 2014

My favorite time to shoot is the Blue Hour, when the sun is below the horizon. It only lasts a bit over a half hour or so. Red light isn't passing through the atmosphere yet, there is more blue light and things look cooler and crisper to me. Shadows aren't pronounced as the sun isn't over the horizon.

Blue hour cherry tomatoes, 7:04AM PDT 3 September 2013
If you want to try shooting in your area during the Blue and Golden Hours, you can find a Blue/Golden Hour calculator here at jekophoto.eu