Light and Photography — Journal — Tristan Parker Photography

Light Makes Me Happy!

So, I was driving to my second job as a SPIN instructor the other night (on a side note, I have noticed I start a lot of Blogs with the word "so"), I will give you a little context... I left my main job at about 4pm and it was pissing down rain... I ride a bike to work, and I only live about 2k from work, so I ride in normal clothes... Now when I say pissing down rain, Im talking thunder bolts and lightning, very very frightening... Oh my... I digress... So, we get the idea, there is lightning and thunder, Im wet through, and riding home... I have had a cracker day, so this little hurdle isnt getting to me one bit... I come home, get changed, jump in the car and drive to SPIN, its not far away... When I get in the car its still black and gloomy outside, and still belting down rain...

Best time of day for Street Photography

So I have sort of covered this in a round about way in a couple of other posts. I will reference these at the appropriate points below. Im currently sitting at home as we start to enter the Winter months in Melbourne. As a photographer I search out light for my work. Granted we have high tech gear these days, and even with film of old, that allows shooting in very low light conditions. So, based on this, when is the best time to shoot on the street.

I would argue that any time is a good time to shoot on the street, but some times will prove a lot more challenging that others for various reasons.

The Golden Hours and Street Photography

What is the golden hour? Its that first and last hour of light each day when the light is at its best. If you are a photographer you will know what I mean.

There is a glow in the light, and this will be reflected by your subjects.

How does this impact artists when they are working on the street?

There are other things that happen during these hours in the street that need to be take into account as well. For the golden hour of the morning there will likely be less people around, and the same could be true for the afternoon as well depending on where you are in the world. This does impact the street work, I for one would find this to be a positive at times. I have written a blog post on shooting street photography in crowds from my perspective, and its something that I find a challenge.

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