Light through the day

The exercise involved taking a photo an hour (or more) of a landscape scene to see what happens to the light as the sun moves.  For this exercise I chose the view from an upstairs window, facing slightly south of west and mounted the camera on a tripod to keep the view the same.  I imagined that the ideal moment would be early evening when the sun is lower as there would be a warm glow striking the houses.  The camera was set to the Auto Landscape setting so as not to accidentally change the view whilst changing settings - all I had to do was open the window and press the remote release!  The exercise took place over 6 and 7 April, starting at 11.30am.

11.30

At 11.30 the light was still quite blue, but starting to become harsh - the shadows are very well defined.

12.27

An hour later, the light is brighter/whiter with the shadows quite harsh.

13.26

Another hour on, and the light continues to become whiter...

14.34

As the afternoon progresses the light continues to be bright and harsh and white...

15.25

16.25

17.25

Until it is facing the camera and completely blows out the picture

18.25

By half past six, the light is warmer, the shadows are softer and longer.

18.58

Half an hour later, the light is warmer with a golden glow bouncing off the houses from the setting sun.

This is the best light for this scene.

19.27

By 7.30pm, there is a red tinge in the sky and you can see red reflections in the houses.  The road is now completely in shade.

19.57

Half an hour later still, and there is not much light available, but the light that there is is warm.

20.28

By 8.30pm, the light has virtually gone and the scene is now orange from the streetlamps.  Towards the horizon there a bit of reddish/purple.

5.17

Rude awakening, no daylight yet.

5.59

By six pm the sun is rising, and the light is blue.  The shadow that is visible is from the streetlamps.

6.29

Half an hour later, the colour of the light is a bit washed out, and the shadows are starting to appear, but are soft.

6.59

Half an hour later still, no real change.

7.30

By 7.30, the light is starting to have an impact - there is shadow and brightness.  The colour is still blue.

8.30

8.30 - the light is still blue.

9.25

Again at 9.30 - the light is still blue.

10.29

The final shot and here you can see that the light is now starting to become less blue.










As predicted, the best light for this particular scene was the early evening light: the direction of the sun meant that the houses were able to pick up the golden glow.  Had I been shooting from an East-facing window, it may have been the early morning light that was preferable.

I particularly enjoy the evening light in landscape photography.  This was shot on 1 April at 6.30pm and you can see the glow of the golden evening light from the mountain sides.

And then, what a pity this wasn't the allotted day for the exercise....this was taken at 8pm on 26 April just behind the houses in the original shoot!