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Golden Light

August 23, 2008 By Paige Balcer

 

There’s a specific time each evening when the light is perfect and everything has a beautiful golden glow. Right now it’s about 7pm in my area (I’m sure that there’s a similar golden time each morning, but I wouldn’t know because I don’t get up that early). I try to schedule all of my photo sessions to start at about 6:30pm so I can be sure to catch it. And I’ve been experimenting more lately with shooting toward the sun during this time of day. It definitely takes more thought in terms of settings and exposure, but can produce some really gorgeous results. I’ve been noticing some shots in our Flickr pool that clearly utilize this golden time of night, but I’d love to see more! Go experiment and show us your results.

Comments

  1. Tracey Clark says

    August 23, 2008 at 6:57 am

    These are gorgeous images that work so perfectly as a pair. You inspired me Paige. Thank you.
    http://maypapers.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-golden-girl.html

  2. Marcie says

    August 23, 2008 at 8:37 am

    Here’s one that was taken at that almost magical golden evening hour:
    http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=496

    And – here’s one that was taken in the early morning gold:
    http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=496

    I do most of my shooting in early morning light.

  3. Chris says

    August 23, 2008 at 8:53 am

    I just LOVE the golden hour, morning and evening. Everything is always so prettier then.
    http://jeroldssis.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/my-favorite-time-of-day/

  4. kristin says

    August 23, 2008 at 11:29 am

    paige those images together are so lovely. inspires me to get some tonight if the sun shines… this is not as late as that, but the golden glow was sure present. my eldest. http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2657244728/

  5. Jen says

    August 23, 2008 at 11:44 am

    I have fallen in love with this picture of my daughter taken during a beautiful sunset:
    http://flickr.com/photos/jlynn28/2789470436/

  6. ELK says

    August 23, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    Paige what a glorious shot!

    http://redorgray-dependsontheday.blogspot.com/

  7. shelli says

    August 23, 2008 at 12:44 pm

    Your photos are lovely.

    I may have used this before, but it’s one of my favorites. I took it at that time of night.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/spabis/2610625567/in/set-72157605811901074/

  8. amy says

    August 23, 2008 at 1:17 pm

    i love that sunset hour. it is beautiful, and full of warmth!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/amysahba/2745223357/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/amysahba/541555034/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/amysahba/2413466821/

  9. MelodyA. says

    August 23, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    Those two really are golden. Lovely.

    We let the girls swim into the darkness for the first time last week. They thought it was the best thing ever. Swimming at sunset:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/hipmommatexas/2773226926/

  10. ~ kristina ~ says

    August 23, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    Ahh, the wonderful evening light! So peaceful. Here are a few of my favorites.

    http://meadowlarkdays.blogspot.com/2008/08/evening-light.html

    http://meadowlarkdays.blogspot.com/2008/08/marigold-at-sunset.html

    Enjoy the rest of the summer evening light, everyone.

  11. claudia says

    August 23, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    I’ve been desiring this light more and more lately, maybe it’s knowing that summer is coming to an end…
    http://flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/2785901154/
    http://flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/2785901474/in/photostream/
    however, there is something to be said about early morning gold…
    http://flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/2788794435/

  12. SH says

    August 23, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    Beautiful, beautiful images.

    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1400/831278796_4576b22a9a_o.jpg
    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1011/758320640_f9bb08bf54_o.jpg

    I think this is one of the best pictures I’ve ever taken:
    http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1320/538260909_fe22582c74.jpg

  13. Lan says

    August 23, 2008 at 2:59 pm

    http://whatiseeclicks.blogspot.com/2008/08/sunlightinyoureyes.html

    happy Saturday!

  14. Paige says

    August 23, 2008 at 3:21 pm

    Great examples everyone! SH, I couldn’t comment on yours but they are all gorgeous! Wow!

  15. Angie says

    August 23, 2008 at 3:27 pm

    Funny you mention it, I was also just experimenting myself with it the other day. I’m glad I’m not the only one that can’t seem to get up early enough to photograph the morning.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/thethiers/2740489998/

  16. jfrancis says

    August 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    Light and late
    win the gold.

  17. Puna says

    August 23, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    I’m so glad I was directed to your site. Your pictures are lovely and inspiring. I will get up early every morning…almost every morning.

  18. tonya says

    August 23, 2008 at 4:19 pm

    Oh yes, the most magical light ever! A few faves from this time of night:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyadoughty/2774927319/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyadoughty/2765677112/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyadoughty/2507807920/

  19. cotterpin says

    August 23, 2008 at 4:30 pm

    Not quite as good as the post photo- but my own version…photo #4.

    http://cotterpinhouse.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/a-fair-day/

  20. ~kristina~ says

    August 23, 2008 at 4:52 pm

    My blog doesn’t seem to be showing the flickr images…hmm. Here they are on flickr:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/30626128@N00/2789627692/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/30626128@N00/2788773069/in/photostream/

  21. Shawna says

    August 23, 2008 at 6:08 pm

    Mmmm, juicy light. I didn’t realize how infrequently I’ve captured this light on film. I certainly enjoy it enough, why not save it to warm me up all winter long?

    http://tumblieweed.blogspot.com/2008/08/golden-delicious.html

  22. Terri says

    August 23, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    I love that kind of light.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondaysmemories/2743010906/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondaysmemories/2743001710/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondaysmemories/2733942098/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/mondaysmemories/2733907732/

  23. SH says

    August 23, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Thank you Paige! They are from my old flickr account, so I linked direct to the images to avoid confusion.

  24. stephamama says

    August 23, 2008 at 7:52 pm

    My favorite time for photos as well:

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/2776166575_feef3974dc.jpg

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2790536102_1fe72af1b0.jpg

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3202/2777022156_d4e5f11a22.jpg

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2789687419_9547d0d81f.jpg

  25. Kathleen says

    August 23, 2008 at 8:04 pm

    Here’s my friend and her unhappy little guy at the "golden hour." I took inspiration from a previous post here (a while ago) about catching all parts of childhood – not just the happy, posed moments.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ko2008/2775961397/

  26. NatureMama says

    August 23, 2008 at 9:11 pm

    I do a lot of my photography in evening light. I have a friend who says that morning and evening light are like butter… Here are some of my favorites.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturemama/2777322974/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturemama/2776452733/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturemama/2780643256/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturemama/2779679721/

  27. mary says

    August 23, 2008 at 9:19 pm

    Oh, it is my favorite time of day!

    http://inasoftlight.blogspot.com/2008/08/flare-out.html

    http://inasoftlight.blogspot.com/2008/08/golden-light.html

  28. mary says

    August 23, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    I guess I really love this light — here is one more!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/2418908624/in/set-72157601529462268/

  29. Sugar says

    August 23, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    I’ve been thinking about my lighting lately and how I rarely use backlight. I love the glow but worry about the shadows. I guess I’m just going to have to start playing around with this some, hmmm?

  30. Cheryl Doran-Girard says

    August 23, 2008 at 10:16 pm

    Those lovely beginnings and ends–

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheryldoran-girard/213052925/

  31. Kate Baumert says

    August 23, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    http://happyinthehamptons.blogspot.com/2008/07/plant-sitting.html

  32. Christina says

    August 24, 2008 at 12:18 am

    These are just gorgeous shots! It doesn’t get any better than the natural light of the evening.

    http://www.soulaperture.typepad.com

  33. Julie Alvarez says

    August 24, 2008 at 3:02 am

    I am mostly using the morning light now, but I adore the evening light, for pictures or just for life.
    This morning:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2790660899/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2791517654/in/photostream/
    One evening:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2393531871/

  34. Liz says

    August 24, 2008 at 3:59 am

    not quite golden but still light that i love:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilybeth29/2780759328/in/set-72157606464330839/

    very golden:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilybeth29/2791698300/

  35. Michelle S says

    August 24, 2008 at 6:04 am

    I love the golden light of the photos above and those featured in the post. Beautiful.

    Here’s a shot of my nephew, Chance, from a couple of weeks ago.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/26029966@N02/2791932230/in/photostream/

  36. Naomi says

    August 24, 2008 at 10:34 am

    We’re just about to head into spring here in the southern hemisphere, so there has been lots of golden afternoon light recently to capture:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2786571254/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2786571250/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2770550256/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2770550254/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2770550250/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2770550248/in/photostream/

  37. Christina says

    August 24, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    I’m not able to take advantage of the golden hour very often, as the sun doesn’t set until about 9 at this time of year here. I am looking forward to an early sunset as the days get shorter – and cooler!
    I do love the golden tones in this one:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/christinator/2640664179/

  38. Jess says

    August 24, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    I went to the Minnesota State Fair last night and got these shots of lovely evening light:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesspunky/2792793720/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesspunky/2791942079/in/photostream/

  39. sandra says

    August 24, 2008 at 8:50 pm

    I posted this one a while back on my blog. It’s a photo of the morning glow coming through my bedroom window.

    http://artfullife.ca/?p=225

  40. Jodyangel says

    August 25, 2008 at 6:49 am

    Yep. I love the warm glow of sunset. "Golden Hour". Perfect title. This is one of my sunflowers with the sun glowing on it.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/13732519@N07/2772173492/

  41. Jodyangel says

    August 25, 2008 at 6:51 am

    …my brown sunflower in the evening sun…

  42. Julia says

    August 26, 2008 at 1:39 am

    I just took these the other evening – my favorite time of the day!

    http://jewels.esmilde.com/2008/08/blooms-in-august.html

  43. charley*star says

    August 28, 2008 at 6:09 am

    ahh, the gorgeous golden light.

    some of mine:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/charleystar/1327276899/in/set-72157601877526906/

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/charleystar/2253198278/in/set-72157603876271258/

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