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For some years, the December issue of Bangkok Photo Walks has been a thematic one
instead of highlighting a specific area of Bangkok. Traditionally, that theme has been to ‘see
the light’, as you can see in issue 84, from December 2022. While keeping with the spirit of
this tradition, we decided to be more specific about the light, this year, choosing the beautiful
natural light of golden hour and blue hour.
Golden hour is the hour immediately after sunrise or immediately before sunset. With
the sun only just above the horizon, the light it casts is naturally softer and redder, as well
as being dimmer than during other times of the day. This is because the light has to pass
through more of the Earth’s atmosphere to reach you, acting like a giant softbox. More of
the illumination is indirect light from the entire sky than the direct light you get from the
sun during the rest of the day. In photographic terms, golden hour is when the sun is acting
more like a fill light than a key light. Additionally, more of the blue light gets scattered by
the atmosphere, giving the sky its distinctive red hue. The longer shadows you get from the
sun being so low in the sky often add to the dramatic effect of this light, if used correctly. It’s
hardly surprising, therefore, that many photographers know golden hour as “magic hour”.
Blue hour, on the other hand, is the hour immediately before sunrise or after sunset, when
the sun is illuminating the sky but is not directly visible, being below the horizon. It’s more
commonly known as “twilight”. The blueness is a result of the Earth’s ozone layer absorbing
the shorter blue wavelengths of light and not the longer red, orange and yellow wavelengths.
As with golden hour, this means the sky is acting as a giant diffuser, but one with a blue
gel on the front. The light is also very soft, creating tranquil moods. As you can see on this
issue’s cover, it’s an especially good time for shooting architecture and cityscapes as you can
capture artificial lights such as streetlights without losing too much detail in unlit areas.
An outstanding 51 people attended the walk around Bangkok’s Benjakitti Park to experience
these iconic hours, many of them joining us for their first photo walk. Sadly, it was too cloudy for
golden hour, but we got some great shots of blue hour. In total, we recieved submissions from
38 BPG members, including some who saw the light elsewhere in the world.Have fun,
Greg, Mark, Chutima, and Ben.Bangkok Photo Walks
Magazine Issue #96 • Walk #
Bangkok Photo Walks is a not-for-profit, community-created
publication. All photographs herein are copyrighted by their
respective creators and published only with their permission.
Reproduction of this magazine in any form is not permitted
without the written permission of the publishers.
Please contact: [email protected]
Head of BPG Greg Rhodes
Magazine Editor Ben Reeves
Photo Walk Coordinator Mark A. Hathaway
Photo Walk Support Chutima Panjapan
Logo Design Ubonpayom Ongsara
Front Cover Photo Kent van Vliet
Title Page Photo Goran Ehren
Group Photo Greg Rhodes
Back Cover Photo Narz
© 2023 Bangkok Photographers GroupMay Your Days Be Merry and Bright