article_detail

 

LADCC’S monthly competition, entitled ‘Golden Hour’, proved a great challenge to many as this light is only seen up to an hour after sunrise and up to an hour before sunset. In photography terms this is known as ‘the golden hour’ and photographers try to use these golden hues (mainly orange, yellow and amber) to enhance their photos of other things, particularly landscapes and portraits. Several films have even used this technique. In the 1962 ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ film, for example, many of the desert scenes were filmed at this time of the day to make the most of this light to create depth, texture and shadows.

 

Needless to say, not many photographs were taken just after sunrise!!! We have included some more photos in the scroll bar which will give you an idea of the beautiful range of photos produced this month.

 

The winning photo, chosen by the members, was Gary Hull’s beautiful local scene entitled “Embers of last light”. In normal light this area of Los Alcázares, at the top of Calle Isla de Tabarca, wouldn’t win any awards for beauty but, as the sun sets over the distant mountains and AP7, everything gets bathed in warm glowing light and this area gets transformed into something magical.

 

 

Gary wanted to keep this photo as natural as possible and so kept his editing to a minimum. He found that, by slightly editing the contrast, it brought out the detail of the bark on the tree trunks, leaving the golden hour hues untouched.

 

The competition certainly tested the skills of the members and, importantly, their photographic timing. If you are interested in seeing the effect of this light yourself you could try a simple test by taking a photo around midday on a sunny day, of a building, or a landscape, with the sun behind you. Then, standing in the same spot take the same shot within the golden hour (an hour before sunset) and see for yourself if there is any difference in the light on your photo! You might end up with a photo as stunning as Gary’s!

 

This popular camera club usually meets twice a month, at the Las Claras Centre in Los Alcázares, on the first Tuesday of every month and, often, an outing towards the end of the month, where the group gets together to collectively work on the topic for the monthly competition. With modern day technology we can all keep in contact for training sessions, sharing knowledge etc via ‘group chats’. We are interested in hearing from anyone who would like to join us when the opportunity arises. If you would like more information about the Club please do not hesitate to look at our website,

www.ladcc.es, or email us at informationladcc@gmail.com.