Light. Sight. Painting with light. The art of seeing. Hallelujah, I have seen the light! That’s what photography is all about, right? The art of using light, especially natural light, to share your vision with others so that they may see the light, too.
Come take a journey with me, up and down the California coast chasing that beautiful natural light. Some times of day are better than others, but we’ll be out at all hours of the day, as every kind of light can capture some mood or be best for a certain subject.
We’ll start at dawn. I’m not much of one for getting up early, so it’s an effort, but it’s worth it. No, don’t roll over and go back to sleep because you peeked out and it was foggy. The soft light captured in those early morning mists can transform the mundane into the sublime.
Stormy days are no reason to stay inside, either. Before long, you may find that many of your most dramatic images were taken on bad weather days. Check out my opening wave for another example.
Besides, you’ll never catch a rainbow without a little rain!
Calm, cloudy days are wonderful for flowers, animals, forest and beachcombing shots. Colors are richer and harsh shadows are eliminated.
Partly cloudy days are good times to learn patience and watch the light change with each passing cloud. You can capture the same scene in many different moods by just staying put and seeing how the constantly changing light transforms your subject.
Bright sun is not my favorite lighting. It works well for some scenes with bright colors and bold contrasts. If you have to pick a time of day to catch some lunch, recharge batteries and catch up on the internet, chose the middle of the day. Sometimes, though, you have to just use what you got and make the best of it as I tried to do with this image of elephant seals at Piedras Blancas Wildlife Reserve.
Bright sun is also good for backlighting, especially during the golden hour.
That’s the golden hour of late afternoon light, followed closely by sunset. My favorite time of day, since I’m a lazy slacker who doesn’t like getting up early in the morning.
It’s not over ’til it’s over. Even if it’s cloudy and you don’t think a sunset is going to happen, the sun may break through at the last minute and reward you with something special. Follow that sunset from the first warm colors to the last.
To the last minute and then some, capturing the last glimmers of natural light deep into the dusk.
Thank you, Amy of The World Is A Book, for bringing us this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Natural Light.
Beautiful! Makes me miss the beaches of my old stomping grounds ❤️
Thanks, Julia!
I love the soft light in the early morning. Beautiful wave captures as light changes. Your gold hour images is stunning. All are beautifully captured. Thank you, Dianne!
Glad you like them, Amy. Thank you for suggesting such a wonderful topic!
Dianne, these are marvelous images from start to finish. But speaking of finish, the light on that beach scene is stunning. Like you I’m a bit reticent to rise before the sun but you’ve proven that when you do the result is marvelous. Well done.
Thank you, Tina.
Wow!
That second picture looks like a painting. And the color of the sky in the Sunset at Pigeon Point picture, breathless!
Thanks, so glad you liked my images! It was a beautiful sunset, glad I could be there for it.
WOW! Great photos. Stunning banner shot. WELL DONE.
Thanks, John!
Wow! These are amazing, but that first one of the tree with the fog and the moon is spellbinding. Surely it’s won an award. The rainbow over the house, too. Fabulous!
Thank you so much for your lovely comments! No award yet, maybe I need to get it out there more! So glad you like my photos!
Dianne, these are such lovely crisp shots. I love CA, but you make it even better than it is. 🙂
Thanks, Marsha!