Tag: blue hour

Tiburon

Corinthian Island, Tiburon, California

This is a photo of Corinthian Island in Tiburon, California, taken during the blue hour.

Here’s another photo I took in Tiburon, California.  It’s of the west side of Corinthian Island.  I took this photo during the evening blue hour.  The blue hour is my favorite time for landscape images.  The evening blue hour begins a little after sunset.  There is a blue hour before sunrise as well.  If I were to shoot the island’s east side, I would shoot it before sunrise.

According to Wikipedia, the blue color spectrum “is most prominent when the Sun is between 4° and 8° below the horizon.  When photographing during blue hour it can be favorable to capture subjects that have artificial light sources, such as buildings, monuments, cityscapes, or bridges.”

While I’ve never timed it, my recollection is that the blue hour starts about 15 minutes after sunset and fades away 30 to 40 minutes later.

Landscape

Corinthian Island at Twilight

Photo of the west side of Corinthian Island.
Corinthian Island at Twilight

Corinthian Island is one of two inhabited islands on the Tiburon Peninsula.  It straddles a jurisdictional line separating Tiburon and Belvedere, California.

This photo was taken during twilight which is that time between sunset, when reds dominate, and dusk when there is no light (or color) to be seen, except to the extent the moon (or artificial light) is a factor.  During twilight, blues become dominant.  Twilight is sometimes referred to by photographers and painters as the blue hour or “l’heure bleue.”  The length of twilight is determined by the latitude of the observer.  Around the San Francisco Bay Area I think of it as lasting roughly half an hour. Twilight is also that time between dawn and sunrise.  It is a great time to photograph.  It’s also a great time to see wildlife.  Some animals are most active during the twilight hours.  They are referred to as “crepuscular.”

Next time you plan to photograph at sunrise or sunset don’t forget twilight time.  For two good programs to tell you when twilight is for your area, click here and here.