6 Degrees And Under

All the images on this site have been taken when the sun was 6 degrees or lower in the sky.

Great-Haseley-Windmill-3-edit-2.jpg
Old-Man,-Bushy-Park-With-Trunk.jpg
Lifeboat-Sky-and-Foreground-No-Noise.jpg

Thank you for taking the time to visit this site, I hope you find it interesting……

None of the images on this site have been lit by bright direct sunlight. The sun has either been very low in the sky or below the horizon.

The light from a sun low in the sky is less harsh and has lower contrast. Known as the ‘Golden Hour’ this light can have warm tones and high colour saturation. The warm light can bathe clouds in pinks and yellows which are then reflected onto the landscape below. As the sun disappears below the horizon, its light becomes warmer still until it finally dies away.

This is followed by the ‘Blue Hour’ when the warmth disappears from the light but it is still possible to see the view in front. Then onto twilight and night when other sources of light include stars, galaxies, charged particles, and man-made light.

In the morning, light transitions in the reverse order with night followed by ‘Blue Hour’ followed by ‘Golden Hour’

  • When the Sun is higher than 6 degree in the sky

  • Sun elevation between 6º and -4º

  • Sun’s elevation between -4º and -6º.

  • Nautical twilight.- elevation of the sun between -6º and -12º.

    Astronomical twilight - elevation of the sun between -12º and -18º

  • Sun’s elevation lower than -18º

How it all started for me……..

Although having been interested in photography for many years especially whilst on travels, the inspiration for the images here really came from a visit in Jan 2019 to the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Exhibition at the Royal Museums Greenwich and being amazed by the images that had been captured of the night sky. After some research, with new equipment and a trip to the Atacama Desert planned for later that year, the photographic journey had started.

I quickly learned that this type of photography had to be planned, the image had to be visualised beforehand, the location checked out whilst still light, the weather forecast to be good, the kit to take and clothes to wear.

And what to do while waiting for darkness? Well you soon start to notice the soft, warm hues and saturated colours as the sun slips down, and you start taking photos of the beautiful light during the golden and blue hours before (and after) night.

And here we are…………….