Known to photographers as The Golden Hour, the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset has long been held to the best light for shooting. Contrast is low at these times, giving a more balanced exposure for images without having to resort to neutral density graduated filters, or, more recently, HDR (High Dynamic Range) image processing. I personally prefer the extremities of the day because of the quality of light: the warmth of the setting sun, or the delicate hues of a clear dawn.
In the first picture I was attracted by the latter - and the mirror-like surface of the water, and I stopped as I rode along the edge of Poole Harbour shortly before 5:30 this morning specifically to photograph the light. The fact that the Brittany Ferries' Cotentin hove into view at the time was a bonus.
The second photograph was made some 40 minutes later: a skein of Canada Geese flying off to feeding grounds. A skein, the collective noun for flying geese, only applies when several are flying together, but once they form a 'V' formation it is known as a wedge.
Top: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor (VR off). 1/640 second at f/4. ISO 400. Monopod
Bottom: 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor. 1/8000 second at f/2.8. - 0.33EV compensation. ISO 400. Handheld.
© 2010
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