Picture This

Picture This!
The Golden Hour

Shutterbug Staff  |  Sep 1, 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
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