Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.


Capricious luminosity in the Grand Canyon
Localized moisture creates a rainbow in an area with distinct spots of light.
The biggest of the biggest
The Hellisheidi geothermal plant, the most powerful in the world, with a production capacity of 303 MW of electricity and 400 MW of hot water.
cows in fog
Cows bar the way to traffic in the fog from the top of the island.
From day to night
Sun sets west of Playa Benijo, southwest of Tenerife.
Sunset over Pacific Ocean
Catamaran passengers admire the distant sunset over the Pacific Ocean.
The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.

It is probably not new: the term photograph originally means, from the Greek, to paint with light.

With more or less processing and more or less electronics, that's what any camera does.

Light in Photography is therefore crucial.

And if the selection of the situation or the scenery or landscape are important for that “painting”, the choice of light that illuminates them is equally important. After all, a good combination of these elements makes for the best photographs.

We know that light can be of natural or artificial origin. In this article, we're just going to dedicate ourselves to explaining to you three of the main variables that influence the greater hardness or softness of sunlight.

We start with four unavoidable notions about Light in Photography:

1- Light is made up of several wavelengths – dark blue; light blue; green yellow; Red; orange and its variants. These wavelengths and as such light change all the time.

The change is due to several factors but mainly due to the position of the sun in relation to the terrestrial horizon and to the weather.

2- The more oblique the sun is to the horizon, the softer and warmer the light. This is because the more oblique it is, the more atmosphere it has to pass through the sun's rays. 

The atmosphere scatters the bluish wavelengths of light and lets it pass in dust.dominating the reds and oranges.

3- Natural light with a predominance of “warm” tones (oranges and yellows) and little contrast – because it is very filtered by the atmosphere – is what we call soft.

It is, as a rule, the most valued for a wide range of photographic purposes. 

4 - The cloud layer blocks and “cools” light reaching the Earth's surface so everything you read below does not apply on foggy or overcast days.

Meteorology aside, let's see when we're supposed to have the softest and hardest light when it comes to:

time of day

On days with clear or slightly cloudy skies, shortly after sunrise and just before sunset, these are times when natural light will be softer and better. 

During and just after sunset, it is normal for the sky, the clouds (also its reflection in the water) to be covered with pink or magentas. Are colored by a kind of “remnants” of light direct of the sun.

À As the Earth rotates, these tones fade and are replaced by a darker and darker bluish, then dark.

On the contrary, the worst time to shoot in soft light will always be, by theory, midday and the remaining hours of the day when the sun is at its highest. 

Time of Year and Latitude 

The interaction of the height of the year or season of the year (Translation of the Earth) with the latitude makes the logic of the time of day much more complex than described above.

With the necessary caveat for the long winter in the Arctic and Antarctic extremes where sunlight is practically non-existent, the higher the Latitude (close to the poles) the smoother and better the natural light will be.

It's just not because these places have their own summer.

In the summer of the top and bottom of the Earth, sunlight falls directly on for many hours (less obliquely than at other times of the year). 

In the summer months of northern or southern places, the light is practically continuous (it can last up to 22, 23 hours a day in June in places like the Alaska, to Lapland or Tierra del Fuego).

If the sky is clear, it may happen that, at these times, several hours are of harsh light, too intense if, for example, it is reflected by snowy ground. 

On the other hand, many others will be of soft light since the sun remains for a long time low above the terrestrial horizon.

On the contrary, in Ecuador (0º latitude) and contiguous latitudes:

There are no seasons – there may be monsoons. Sunrise and sunset (approximately 6:18 and XNUMX:XNUMX) vary little.  

You can count on about 12h of daily light, a little more or less à As the latitude increases and the distance from that part of the Earth varies from the sun. 

Viewed in a simplified way: in equatorial or tropical areas directly exposed to the sun or in summer from intermediate latitudes, such as, for example, Portugal (or the Uruguay, in the Southern Hemisphere) the hours of the day with soft light are from shortly after dawn to 9:30 am or 10 am and from 15:30 pm to 16 pm at sunset.

And summarizing everything we saw above, following the same logic, a combination of latitude and height where we are guaranteed soft light will be, for example:

in the first days of the year – end of winter, in the higher boreal latitudes. In this case, the weak and short-lived sunlight increases significantly from day to day.

Altitude

The true color of the sky is black. During the day, we look at the sky illuminated and colored blue above all by the scattered bluish spectrum of sunlight.

Only à As altitude increases, the air becomes thinner. As it is more rarefied, it disperses less and less of this spectrum.

As a result, the sky becomes less blue and blacker. this can to affect the brightness of images that are underexposed (darkened).

The effect is perfectly visible at altitudes from 3.500 to 4.000 meters.

PRACTICAL CASES OF LIGHT MANAGEMENT IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Because they directly influence both the spectrum and duration of light as well as the weather, latitude and time of year are the first factors to influence the type of photographic work you will find on a given trip.

It is one thing to travel to the equator where the sun is guaranteed to rise around 6 am and set around 18 pm.

Another thing is traveling to the Iceland on June 20, when there is light 24 hours a day.

Thus, we have learned from experience that:

In equatorial and tropical countries

1- The ideal is to wake up as early as possible, preferably before sunrise and make the most of the soft light that goes from dawn to 9:30 am to photograph landscapes, scenery, situations, portraits in the softest possible light.

2 - From 11am onwards and until practically 16pm, except for some exceptional places, it will be difficult to continue to achieve this with good quality.

You can take advantage of this period to cover a dense tropical forest (the only time the light is likely to enter), certain specific alleys of a colonial city, images of translucent sea (better with the sun at full), closed markets or other interiors.

Otherwise, it's a good time to organize next days of work or rest.

3 - From 16 pm to 16:30 pm onwards is again a crucial time of day for good photographic work.

In the summer of a northern or southern country

1 – The fact that there is probably light 24 hours a day raises problems in the selection of work and rest times.

For a start, don't forget that the “time bands” of sunrise and sunset almost always create special luminosities.

Organize your work and rest time so that you are available for both.

2- If you have this privilege, guide your work according to the pleasure that the discovery is giving you.

In this type of geographical and seasonal framing, it is easy to find yourself physically on the skids without having taken advantage of the place without being “behind” the camera precisely because it went into “automatic mode” and photographs obsessively fascinated by the place.

3 – Another important issue: places located at high latitudes have complicated and unstable weather conditions.

Preferably, keep yourself with access to the Internet, informed about what is expected for each place and available to travel to the places where the best weather is expected.

4- Take advantage of periods of heavy and unequivocally long rain to rest.

The period of demobilization or storm relief almost always offers special luminosity.

Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Style Passaport-Type Photography

In the late 80s, two Japanese multinationals already saw conventional photo booths as museum pieces. They turned them into revolutionary machines and Japan surrendered to the Purikura phenomenon.
Natural Light (Part 2)

One Sun, So Many Lights

Most travel photos are taken in sunlight. Sunlight and weather form a capricious interaction. Learn how to predict, detect and use at its best.
Jaffa, Israel

Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

Tel Aviv is famous for the most intense night in the Middle East. But, if its youngsters are having fun until exhaustion in the clubs along the Mediterranean, it is more and more in the nearby Old Jaffa that they tie the knot.
Chã das Caldeiras, Fogo Island Cape Verde

A "French" Clan at the Mercy of Fire

In 1870, a Count born in Grenoble on his way to Brazilian exile, made a stopover in Cape Verde where native beauties tied him to the island of Fogo. Two of his children settled in the middle of the volcano's crater and continued to raise offspring there. Not even the destruction caused by the recent eruptions deters the prolific Montrond from the “county” they founded in Chã das Caldeiras.    
Passo do Lontra, Miranda, Brazil

The Flooded Brazil of Passo do Lontra

We are on the western edge of Mato Grosso do Sul but bush, on these sides, is something else. In an extension of almost 200.000 km2, the Brazil it appears partially submerged, by rivers, streams, lakes and other waters dispersed in vast alluvial plains. Not even the panting heat of the dry season drains the life and biodiversity of Pantanal places and farms like the one that welcomed us on the banks of the Miranda River.
Castro Laboreiro, Portugal  

From Castro de Laboreiro to Raia da Serra Peneda - Gerês

We arrived at (i) the eminence of Galicia, at an altitude of 1000m and even more. Castro Laboreiro and the surrounding villages stand out against the granite monumentality of the mountains and the Planalto da Peneda and Laboreiro. As do its resilient people who, sometimes handed over to Brandas and sometimes to Inverneiras, still call these stunning places home.
Big Zimbabwe

Great Zimbabwe, Endless Mystery

Between the 1500th and XNUMXth centuries, Bantu peoples built what became the largest medieval city in sub-Saharan Africa. From XNUMX onwards, with the passage of the first Portuguese explorers arriving from Mozambique, the city was already in decline. Its ruins, which inspired the name of the present-day Zimbabwean nation, have many unanswered questions.  
Izamal, Mexico

The Holy, Yellow and Beautiful Mexican City

Until the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, Izamal was a center of worship for the supreme Mayan god Itzamná and Kinich Kakmó, the one of the sun. Gradually, the invaders razed the various pyramids of the natives. In its place, they built a large Franciscan convent and a prolific colonial houses, with the same solar tone in which the now Catholic city shines.
Cape Coast, Ghana

The Divine Purification Festival

The story goes that, once, a plague devastated the population of Cape Coast of today Ghana. Only the prayers of the survivors and the cleansing of evil carried out by the gods will have put an end to the scourge. Since then, the natives have returned the blessing of the 77 deities of the traditional Oguaa region with the frenzied Fetu Afahye festival.
Fish River Canyon, Namíbia

The Namibian Guts of Africa

When nothing makes you foreseeable, a vast river ravine burrows the southern end of the Namíbia. At 160km long, 27km wide and, at intervals, 550 meters deep, the Fish River Canyon is the Grand Canyon of Africa. And one of the biggest canyons on the face of the Earth.
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Jaisalmer, India

There's a Feast in the Thar Desert

As soon as the short winter breaks, Jaisalmer indulges in parades, camel races, and turban and mustache competitions. Its walls, alleys and surrounding dunes take on more color than ever. During the three days of the event, natives and outsiders watch, dazzled, as the vast and inhospitable Thar finally shines through.
Uzbekistan

Journey through the Uzbekistan Pseudo-Roads

Centuries passed. Old and run-down Soviet roads ply deserts and oases once traversed by caravans from the Silk RoadSubject to their yoke for a week, we experience every stop and incursion into Uzbek places, into scenic and historic road rewards.
Table Mountain, South Africa

At the Adamastor Monster Table

From the earliest times of the Discoveries to the present, Table Mountain has always stood out above the South African immensity South African and the surrounding ocean. The centuries passed and Cape Town expanded at his feet. The Capetonians and the visiting outsiders got used to contemplating, ascending and venerating this imposing and mythical plateau.
Florida Keys, USA

The Caribbean Stepping Stone of the USA

Os United States continental islands seem to close to the south in its capricious peninsula of Florida. Don't stop there. More than a hundred islands of coral, sand and mangroves form an eccentric tropical expanse that has long seduced American vacationers.
Dali, China

The Surrealist China of Dali

Embedded in a magical lakeside setting, the ancient capital of the Bai people has remained, until some time ago, a refuge for the backpacker community of travelers. The social and economic changes of China they fomented the invasion of Chinese to discover the southwest corner of the nation.
Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Nepalese Masks of Life

The Newar Indigenous People of the Kathmandu Valley attach great importance to the Hindu and Buddhist religiosity that unites them with each other and with the Earth. Accordingly, he blesses their rites of passage with newar dances of men masked as deities. Even if repeated long ago from birth to reincarnation, these ancestral dances do not elude modernity and begin to see an end.
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Easter Island, Chile

The Take-off and Fall of the Bird-Man Cult

Until the XNUMXth century, the natives of Easter Island they carved and worshiped great stone gods. All of a sudden, they started to drop their moai. The veneration of tanatu manu, a half-human, half-sacred leader, decreed after a dramatic competition for an egg.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
safari
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
Faithful in front of the gompa The gompa Kag Chode Thupten Samphel Ling.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 15th - Kagbeni, Nepal

At the Gates of the Former Kingdom of Upper Mustang

Before the 1992th century, Kagbeni was already a crossroads of trade routes at the confluence of two rivers and two mountain ranges, where medieval kings collected taxes. Today, it is part of the famous Annapurna Circuit. When hikers arrive, they know that, higher up, there is a domain that, until XNUMX, prohibited entry to outsiders.
Treasures, Las Vegas, Nevada, City of Sin and Forgiveness
Architecture & Design
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Full Dog Mushing
Aventura
Seward, Alaska

The Alaskan Dog Mushing Summer

It's almost 30 degrees and the glaciers are melting. In Alaska, entrepreneurs have little time to get rich. Until the end of August, dog mushing cannot stop.
Australia Day, Perth, Australian Flag
Ceremonies and Festivities
Perth, Australia

Australia Day: In Honor of the Foundation, Mourning for Invasion

26/1 is a controversial date in Australia. While British settlers celebrate it with barbecues and lots of beer, Aborigines celebrate the fact that they haven't been completely wiped out.
Dotonbori, Osaka, Japan
Cities
Osaka, Japan

Osaka's Urban-Jovial Japan

Japan's third most populous city and one of the oldest, Osaka doesn't waste too much time on formalities and ceremonies. The capital of the Kansai region is famous for its outgoing people always ready to celebrate life.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Lunch time
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Horseback riding in shades of gold
Culture
El Calafate, Argentina

The New Gauchos of Patagonia

Around El Calafate, instead of the usual shepherds on horseback, we come across gauchos equestrian breeders and others who exhibit, to the delight of visitors, the traditional life of the golden pampas.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
Young people walk the main street in Chame, Nepal
Traveling
Annapurna Circuit: 1th - Pokhara a ChameNepal

Finally, on the way

After several days of preparation in Pokhara, we left towards the Himalayas. The walking route only starts in Chame, at 2670 meters of altitude, with the snowy peaks of the Annapurna mountain range already in sight. Until then, we complete a painful but necessary road preamble to its subtropical base.
Jingkieng Wahsurah, Nongblai Village Roots Bridge, Meghalaya, India
Ethnic
Meghalaya, India

The Bridges of the Peoples that Create Roots

The unpredictability of rivers in the wettest region on Earth never deterred the Khasi and the Jaintia. Faced with the abundance of trees elastic fig tree in their valleys, these ethnic groups got used to molding their branches and strains. From their time-lost tradition, they have bequeathed hundreds of dazzling root bridges to future generations.
ice tunnel, black gold route, Valdez, Alaska, USA
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

Sensations vs Impressions

Music Theater and Exhibition Hall, Tbilisi, Georgia
History
Tbilisi, Georgia

Georgia still Perfumed by the Rose Revolution

In 2003, a popular political uprising made the sphere of power in Georgia tilt from East to West. Since then, the capital Tbilisi has not renounced its centuries of Soviet history, nor the revolutionary assumption of integrating into Europe. When we visit, we are dazzled by the fascinating mix of their past lives.
View from Pico Verde to Praia Grande, São Vicente, Cape Verde
Islands
São Vicente, Cape Verde

The Volcanic Arid Wonder of Soncente

A return to São Vicente reveals an aridity as dazzling as it is inhospitable. Those who visit it are surprised by the grandeur and geological eccentricity of the fourth smallest island in Cape Verde.
Maksim, Sami people, Inari, Finland-2
Winter White
Inari, Finland

The Guardians of Boreal Europe

Long discriminated against by Scandinavian, Finnish and Russian settlers, the Sami people regain their autonomy and pride themselves on their nationality.
silhouette and poem, Cora coralina, Goias Velho, Brazil
Literature
Goiás Velho, Brazil

The Life and Work of a Marginal Writer

Born in Goiás, Ana Lins Bretas spent most of her life far from her castrating family and the city. Returning to its origins, it continued to portray the prejudiced mentality of the Brazilian countryside
Terra Nostra Park, Furnas, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal
Nature
Vale das Furnas, São Miguel

The Azorean Heat of Vale das Furnas

We were surprised, on the biggest island of the Azores, with a caldera cut by small farms, massive and deep to the point of sheltering two volcanoes, a huge lagoon and almost two thousand people from São Miguel. Few places in the archipelago are, at the same time, as grand and welcoming as the green and steaming Vale das Furnas.
Girl plays with leaves on the shore of the Great Lake at Catherine Palace
Autumn
Saint Petersburg, Russia

Golden Days Before the Storm

Aside from the political and military events precipitated by Russia, from mid-September onwards, autumn takes over the country. In previous years, when visiting Saint Petersburg, we witnessed how the cultural and northern capital was covered in a resplendent yellow-orange. A dazzling light that hardly matches the political and military gloom that had spread in the meantime.
Namibe, Angola, Cave, Iona Park
Natural Parks
Namibe, Angola

Incursion to the Angolan Namibe

Discovering the south of Angola, we leave Moçâmedes for the interior of the desert province. Over thousands of kilometers over land and sand, the harshness of the scenery only reinforces the astonishment of its vastness.
Matukituki River, New Zealand
UNESCO World Heritage
Wanaka, New Zealand

The Antipodes Great Outdoors

If New Zealand is known for its tranquility and intimacy with Nature, Wanaka exceeds any imagination. Located in an idyllic setting between the homonymous lake and the mystic Mount Aspiring, it became a place of worship. Many kiwis aspire to change their lives there.
View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Characters
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

At age 30, the Scottish writer began looking for a place to save him from his cursed body. In Upolu and the Samoans, he found a welcoming refuge to which he gave his heart and soul.
Baie d'Oro, Île des Pins, New Caledonia
Beaches
Île-des-Pins, New Caledonia

The Island that Leaned against Paradise

In 1964, Katsura Morimura delighted the Japan with a turquoise novel set in Ouvéa. But the neighboring Île-des-Pins has taken over the title "The Nearest Island to Paradise" and thrills its visitors.
Mauritius Island, Indian voyage, Chamarel waterfall
Religion
Mauritius

A Mini India in the Southwest of the Indian Ocean

In the XNUMXth century, the French and the British disputed an archipelago east of Madagascar previously discovered by the Portuguese. The British triumphed, re-colonized the islands with sugar cane cutters from the subcontinent, and both conceded previous Francophone language, law and ways. From this mix came the exotic Mauritius.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Street Bar, Fremont Street, Las Vegas, United States
Society
Las Vegas, USA

The Sin City Cradle

The famous Strip has not always focused the attention of Las Vegas. Many of its hotels and casinos replicated the neon glamor of the street that once stood out, Fremont Street.
Ditching, Alaska Fashion Life, Talkeetna
Daily life
Talkeetna, Alaska

Talkeetna's Alaska-Style Life

Once a mere mining outpost, Talkeetna rejuvenated in 1950 to serve Mt. McKinley climbers. The town is by far the most alternative and most captivating town between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Hippopotamus moves in the flooded expanse of the Elephant Plain.
Wildlife
Maputo National Park, Mozambique

The Wild Mozambique between the Maputo River and the Indian Ocean

The abundance of animals, especially elephants, led to the creation of a Hunting Reserve in 1932. After the hardships of the Mozambican Civil War, the Maputo PN protects prodigious ecosystems in which fauna proliferates. With emphasis on the pachyderms that have recently become too many.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.