Picture This!
The Golden Hour
Shutterbug Staff, September, 2007
The Golden Hour
Our Picture This! assignment this month was the “Golden Hour,” the
magical time of day when the slanting rays of the sun illuminate the world in
a most special way. The light is filled with red and amber colors, all due to
the way the light is changed as it skims the surface of the earth right before
sunset. Those colors always make the sky a glorious display, but also touch
any subject or scene that stands in their glow. The term, by the way, comes
from naturalist cinemaphotographers, who surely know how to exploit the best
available light of the day. Readers responded with images from all over the
world, from pictures that could have come out of On Golden Pond to idyllic seacoasts,
where surf and sand create a dazzling display of color and light.
Country Road |
|
Photographer Rebecca A. Helm made this photo a few miles southeast
of Williston, North Dakota, with a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 and
an exposure of f/4 at 1/125 sec. She wrote that the building was
the Ploom Creek Hauges Norwegian Lutheran Church, built in 1910.
© 2007, Rebecca A. Helm, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Grand Canyon Power |
|
John Timem wrote, “Just before the sun lays down to rest,
one more moment of incendiary power” about this shot of
the Grand Canyon. Exposure was made with a Minolta 700si and a
28mm lens on Fujichrome Velvia film. He mentioned that he did
manipulate color in Photoshop CS2.
© 2007, John Timem, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Cyclists |
|
Cheryle Battrum caught this idyllic cycling image with a Pentax
K10D and a Tamron 18-200mm lens. Exposure was f/6.3 at 1/50 sec.
© 2007, Cheryle Battrum, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Golden Sands |
|
Made at California’s Laguna Beach, William Luby caught the
time and tide just right with a Canon EOS 5D and a Sigma 20-40mm
f/2.8 lens. Exposure was f/9 at 1/400 sec.
© 2007, William Luby, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Summer Sun |
|
Sea grasses and sun make for an elegantly simple composition by
Marie Laplante with her Nikon D70. Exposure was f/11 at 1/2000
sec with the camera set at ISO 400.
© 2007, Marie Laplante, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Columns Of Hercules |
|
Agrigento, Sicily, was the setting for this classical sunset shot
made by Leigh Segel with a Canon PowerShot S80 and an exposure
of f/4 at 1/200 sec.
© 2007, Leigh Segel, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Split Beams And Flare |
|
Rod Hoskin caught the sun through an opening in this monolith
near Richfield, Idaho. He worked with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel
XT and a Sigma 28-300mm lens using fill flash at an exposure of
f/22 at 1/200 sec at ISO 1600.
© 2007, Rod Hoskin, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Magic Moment |
|
Lola Lawrence caught this blazing light at the Indian River Lagoon
in Florida. She worked with a Nikon D1X and a 28-200mm Nikkor
lens.
© 2007, Lola Lawrence, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Sundown At Dallas Divide |
|
Aspens in the fall and sunset light make for a magical combination
in this photo by Kevin Mikkelsen shot near Ridgway, Colorado.
He worked with a Nikon D100 and a Sigma 24-135mm lens with a Hoya
circular polarizer; exposure was f/22 at 1/20 sec.
© 2007, Kevin Mikkelsen, All Rights Reserved
|
|
Death Valley Dunes |
|
Marcus W. Reinkensmeyer was captivated by the rich light and long
shadows while photographing at Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley
National Park. He worked with a Nikon D200 camera and a Nikkor
DX 18-70mm lens and B+W circular polarizer. He had his camera
mounted on a Gitzo G2220 tripod and a Manfrotto 486 head to steady
his f/25 at 1/3 sec exposure.
© 2007, Marcus W. Reinkensmeyer, All Rights Reserved
|
|
|
