Magic Hour

Light! We wake up everyday and expect the light to be turned on. The sun does a fantastic job of being consistent. It shows up to work every day but it has one obstacle to overcome. Clouds! For many reasons clouds deflect, reflect, refract, and diffuse the radiant light from our personal star. However, up to 80% of ultraviolet rays still manage to make their way through the clouds. On sunny days, depending on the time of day, the time of season, and the latitude, there is a magical window of one hour where light hits our planet with a near perfect display of visual effects that hit the back of our retinas. In most of the world, this hour balances around sunrise and sunset. In the polar regions above and below the arctic circle, it is nearly all day. There are 3 times when light is so incredible that photographers will envision their dream picture being captured. The blue hour is the time about 20 minutes after sunset, and 20 minutes before sunrise. It lasts approximately 20 minutes during nautical twilight. It is a rich hue of indigo where there is still sufficient light to capture a photograph, and though it is not the optimal time, it is incredibly magnificent and pleasing to the eye. Then there is the golden hour, which is the half hour after sunrise, and the half hour before sunset. This is where the hues soften and create a beautiful glow on the landscape and sky. It is an good time to capture photos. However, the optimal time to take pictures is what cinematographers call the Magic Hour. This is the time between the golden hour and the blue hour. It lasts for about 20 minutes just prior to sunset, and 20 minutes just prior to sunrise. It is the optimal time to capture photographs. This is why any place near the arctic circle, where the sun sets at a very shallow angle, the magic hour lasts for a several hours. It is truly magical to relax and get all the shots you want and need instead of rushing and preparing to get a shot in less than 20 minutes at a normal latitude. My first time near the arctic circle allowed me to spend nearly the entire day shooting pictures because the angle of the sun either allowed virtually perpetual golden hour quality, because the sun remained near the horizon for very long periods of time, or it allowed the light of the magic hour, which lasted for at least a 2-3 hours, where the sun stayed just below the horizon as it is during the magic hour in lower latitudes. A long, drawn out magic hour is a photographers dream. It certainly was for me. I was up at all hours of the night wandering around taking pictures. It turned out to be a sleepless vacation, but it was the most invigorating and energizing experience. Less sleep is more time to capture the essence of a place and the light it reflects. I have taken tens of thousands of photographs. About 1% of all the photos I have taken were near the arctic circle. Yet, they account for about 50% of my all time favorite shots. These shots did not even require the time and preparation to acquire. They were fairly easy. It felt like an experience that some athletes talk about when they are in the zone. Everything just becomes easy and flows. Their performance looks like magic. It only happened to me once, where I felt like I was in a zone, where every photo turned out magnificent. It was magic. It was during the magic hour, but it lasted all day and night, but it all happened so fast. I guess that is how magic works!