The Blue Hour

Shrimp Boats at Dawn, Folly Beach, SC  © Doug Hickok 
(Canon 5D Mark II camera, 24-105mm f4 lens, at 32mm, 3.2 sec, f8, ISO 100, tripod)


Dawn or dusk. The blue hour of twilight is my favorite time of day to photograph. Whether you're shooting film or digital, the cool tones of the light spectrum are easily recorded. This image shows a pair of shrimp boats at dawn reflected in a tidal creek near Folly Beach.


I'm often fascinated by the psychology of color and its emotional impact on the mind.  Blue is traditionally a color of calm and tranquility, but can also be a color of sadness.  Like so much in our world, color is subjective. Its emotional impact is relative to the surroundings.




Quick take: If you're interested in really retro photography, National Geographic has a cool feature article about Abelardo Morell's camera obscura photographs.
Maybe you can try this at home. Enjoy!