IN THE FIELD: Magical Light

Although I don’t have a favorite time of the day to be out shooting, I am drawn to morning sunlight. Early in the morning, the light is on the cooler side of the spectrum. By about mid-morning the light has warmed up to a point somewhere between the cool light of early morning and the harsh bright light of mid-day.

However, afternoon light ain’t too shabby either. Later in the day, the color temperature of sunlight changes from bright harsh light at mid-day to the warmer, cozier side of the color spectrum. There are situations I find shooting in the afternoon to be better for a particular location.

This past weekend, we took the dogs to a park in the city for a morning adventure. It is a relaxing place to go for a walk, as there are pathways meandering through various perennial gardens. This is definitely not a time to leave the camera at home or in the car. Plants are blooming profusely with the accelerated spring weather we have had here.

One of the garden areas was planted in multiple plots, each about five feet square with pathways in between. This gave me the luxury to walk around all four sides of each one, looking for the best compositions and lighting.

These lupines were backlit by the early morning sun, and I was able to position myself to capture the magical light as it glowed through the flower petals.

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