“The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
–John Muir
Not many people can say it quite like John Muir. It wasn’t until I read this passage years ago that I’d even heard about gloaming–that time right before dawn or after sunset in which light present in the upper atmosphere illuminates the earth, which is not lit directly by the sun.
During the gloaming, one of my favorite atmospheric events occurs–the earth’s shadow can be seen on the horizon. The dark blue band at the horizon is the shadow of the earth as the sun creeps nearer the horizon. At this time, another phenomenon can be seen; the Belt of Venus is the pinkish band in the sky above the earth’s shadow.
Gloaming, July 2011
There’s a lot of emphasis placed on capturing the sweet light as the sun rises or sets. Indeed, it is sweet…long light on a mountain peak or on desert red rock almost always makes for a pretty photograph. But, one of my favorite times of day is the gloaming hour, when there’s a subtle, but just as grand light show occurring.
What’s your favorite time of day for photography, or in general?
Hey I like this image. I generally tend to shoot at sunset. Too lazy for early hours. But trying to change my habbit 🙂
I prefer mornings — not necessarily sunrise, but before it gets too damn hot…
That’s a great photo Greg. The low-key light and the foreground rock really sing.
I agree on the gloaming, but any time of day works depending on what you are photographing. Many world-class photographs have been made in terrible light. Photographing in the later or earlier hours near dark was not as prevalent and rarely feasible in the film era. Digital has helped lengthen the day for photographers.
Thanks for this comment, David. I agree that digital photography, and other post-processing techniques have almost made time of day inconsequential. But, to me, there’s still something special about being out before the world is up, enjoying a scene all by myself (or with 50 of my closest friends, depending on the icon I’m shooting) and experiencing the world that way.
That said, I think in that in the hands of the right photographer, a camera knows no terrible light. But that comes down to talent and loads of experience.
Sweet shot, Greg. Capturing the Earth’s shadow and Venus’ belt really adds a lot to the soft pastel sky and serenity of the image. The foreground rock, while not exactly so, mimics the upper a bit making for a nice balance….the upper already practicing a bit of a balance of its own.
I’m mostly an early morning person. I love the clean cool air, the soft light and, if I’m really lucky, the morning mists.
I really prefer twilight to sunset/rise light in many cases. I like a good glow, but I don’t necessarily like all my subject matter turning to saturated orange. I feel like I get most of my keepers from the gloaming hours. My #2 favorite is storm light, when you have gloom, spotlight effects, maybe rays and rainbows.
I have a hard time getting up early these days, but I find that I take better photographs in the morning than in the evening. Not entirely sure why, though one element is that I work off-trail a lot. I’d rather bushwhack up in the dark than down, so at sunset I often feel the need to head back to camp earlier and therefore miss that gloaming period.
Its odd but I find myself making better images in the morning than the evening. Not sure why this is. Perhaps its because many trips are coupled with family camping trips and I have a tough time getting out after dinner, or because I am tired by sunset, and sometimes talk myself out of going out again, favoring a book instead.
Either way, I seem to be more on my game early in the day.
I am a sunset girl! I really love the blue hour!
Thanks for the comments, everyone! Seems like there are more sunset people than sunrise. Maybe I’m just up too early, but I’m usually ready for bed by 8:30pm. 🙂
Once in a while I stay up that late too…
Stunning image, love the subtle color and composition.
I don’t remember see anything similar to this before, what a beautiful scene.
Superb work.
Beautiful composition, Greg. I like the foreground detail. Go Gloaming!!
Sharon
Thank you Sharon & Juanli! I really appreciate the comments!
I’ve been playing around with blending images not only for exposure but also for selective focus, trying bring images like this into sharper focus throughout the scene…
Very interesting description of the gloaming hour. I do love the sky then especially for creating long exposure abstracts. The colors can be so fantastic!
Thank you for stopping by and commenting, Roberta. I agree that the colors in the sky this time of day can be very nice indeed. With the low light, long exposures are easily handled, too. I imagine you could create images with a very painterly feel this time of day.
Cheers,
Greg
I’ve never heard the tem “gloaming” – thanks for sharing. I’m looking forward to reading more of your posts!
Thanks, Fred, I really appreciate it!