This week’s column is dedicated to my love for sunsets (and sunrises), as we move further and discuss why the Golden hour is so hyped up in the world of photography.
At such a young age, I’ve had the honor of witnessing the sun setting down in so many places around the world. Be it Sangam Ghat in Allahabad or Pattaya, Thailand – one fact that always remains is that they’re all so different yet the same.
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That’s a paradox, I know, and that only adds to the beauty of it. I’m a sunset lover. I have always had a thing for sunsets, (because initially I couldn’t wake early enough to see the sun rise) lighted hues in the sky, as the sun settles down has some sort of a mysterious sense of beauty attached to it.
Nothing can quite match that. To chase this beauty, to capture it and exhibit it – I’ve used my camera numerous times. It is serene, calm and pacifying. It makes me hopeful. It makes me see the hidden beauty in a world engulfed in chaos and conflict.
Now talking from a photographer’s perspective, sunset and sunrise can be used in a symbolic manner to express a narrative. Together, they symbolize the cyclic nature of something. While independently, on a basic level they have meanings that differ – a sunset represents the end of something while a sunrise represents the beginning of something. Throughout art and literature, there can be found various other hidden symbolism of them. For example, Sunsets and sunrises in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton represent the beauty and goodness in the world.
What is the Golden Hour?
Let us start with the Wikipedia definition of it, the golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky.
Simplifying it further, the golden hour is the time – roughly an hour before sunset and an hour after sunrise, i.e. the first light and last light of the day. During this period, the sun is positioned low in the sky and hence, produces a soft and diffused light. It is also called the Magic Hour.
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Why is the Golden Hour so important?
You must have seen almost every photographer, advocating the golden hour and telling you how it is the best time to click pictures. They are not lying.
I am a firm believer of this as well. In my opinion, the golden hour is indeed the best time to click photographs, specially landscapes.
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You can capture moody images and can get the best possible mood in your photographs. Now, these words – “moody” and “mood” are used way too often in the lingo these days by budding photographers.
Photography is all about capturing emotions, feelings and mood. A great image is one that pulls the viewer into the scene and conveys a mood.
A good photographer is one who can cultivate mood into a picture.
The golden hour offers this wonderful opportunity to photographers, to create photos with mood and depth. Long shadows are created due to the low angle of the sun, the warmer colors of the spectrum dominate the scene, and during this time the photographers have the flexibility to shoot longer exposures and hence can be so much more creative.
Therefore, the golden hour cannot be underestimated. I, being a natural light photographer, can definitely second that.
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(If you have any doubts or queries, or would like me to write about a particular topic, you can mention that in the comments or can hit me up on e-mail. Until next time!)
PS: Here’s a pacifying track, for all the sunset lovers out there. Enjoy.
