The right light - focus on photography week

If you've ever read books or articles about photography, one thing you've probably noticed is that capturing the right light is always emphasized.  Many experts advise photographers to shoot in the golden light of sunrise, or just before sunset.  The light in early morning or later in the evening is usually golden, soft and magical.  It really is the best time to shoot!

I thought I'd share a few shots that I've taken in the beautiful light before sunset (I hardly ever see the light around sunrise.....I'm not a morning person!).

Here's an old shot of DD in a field of Queen Anne's Lace.  I love how the light plays off the flower she's twirling:

Here's another old shot, of our other DD.  There's nothing remarkable about this shot - she's snuggling with her blanket, the clutter of outdoor toys and our house in the background.  But the light is remarkable:

I love this shot, even though most of it is out of focus.  Maybe that's why I like it: the light steals the show:

It's also interesting to see how this "golden-hour" light changes with the change of seasons.  This shot, of a big magnolia bloom, was taken in March, a bit before sunset.  The light here is cool and unassuming:

This shot was taken just a few days ago - I love how this little insect is positively bathed in yellow, from the light as well as the goldenrod.  There's no doubt that this shot was taken in summer:

My challenge is to try to capture beautiful light in all of the seasons (it's so hard to do in winter) as well as make shots taken throughout the day look as magical as those taken at sunrise or sunset.  I'm still trying to meet those challenges; but in the meantime, I'm going to shoot as much as I can right before sunset (and sleep as much as I can around sunrise!).

-Cheryl