Golden Time

 
Golden Time … that special, and sometimes magic, time of the day from about 30 minutes before and after sunrise and sunset. It is the time that advertising photographers charge extra. For us mere corporate and editorial photographers, it is still the best time of the day to create a photograph without adding an extra expense on the client’s invoice. 

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Too often photographers think that once the sun passes below the horizon it is time to pack up their gear. Although the 30 to 40 minutes before sunset adds that nice yellow glow to photos, it is the time after the sun has left the sky that often gives the most dramatic lighting. The sky popping to brilliance only seen for a few minutes. How can a photographer tell if the effect will happen. Actually the key is wind and dust.

The amount of dust in the air during the day is directly responsible for the brilliant effects in the sky often seen about 20 to 40 minutes after sunset. The wind during the day will kick up the dust. That is why sunsets are usually more spectacular than sunrises. At night the winds calm. Also that is why some of the best sunsets are in west Texas, where there is plenty of wind and dust.

During the summer, after the sun disappears under the horizon, there is usually a good 30 to 45 minutes before the full effect might happen, during the winter the time span is much shorter, a mere 15 to 20 minutes.

Patience is a virtue, and for a photographer who is willing to wait the reward will come…most of the time.