Natural Light in different seasons.

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Andy
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Just after a techy science answer here...
How come different seasons prevent totally different lighting? I understand clouds offer different light as diffusion etc. But the last 2 days the sky has been so cloudy but the sun has seemed brighter than ever, giving really strong soft light which looks absolutely beautiful for portraits. It is the hour before sunset so it is classed as golden hour but it just looks more golden than normal.

Is this seasonal or is this just how the light is and I've never payed this much attention before?
 
As far as I'm concerned that 23.5° tilt of the earth's axis could account for almost all of your mysteries.

Varying ambient temperatures give more or less 'dirt' in the atmoshpere affecting colour temps and more/less diffusion without atmosheric disturbance. Given that tilt causes more/less of the atmosphere to be penetrated, creating more/less difussion.

Many years ago when the Amateur Photographer delved more into Science there was a lot more to the subjects they published .... Oh, how I remember Mr Paterson and his formulas, sorry digress. But I do recall an article describing "Actinic Properties of LIght" - now there's something you might like to investigate.
 
As far as I'm concerned that 23.5° tilt of the earth's axis could account for almost all of your mysteries.
This and the time of day alters the amount of the atmosphere that the white sunlight has to go through. The air partially acts as a lens with horrific chromatic aberration and partially the dust in the air scatters the different wavelengths of light in different directions.
 
Just a little off tack but still on the subject of light... Some time ago I read a thread on another forum in which they were cooing over the light in some pictures and that above a certain latitude (I forget which) the light takes on this special quality. I looked on a map and discovered that I live above that latitude (Middlesbrough area.) I often get frustrated that my free time seems to coincide with lifeless light days with no detail in the white/grey sky and it all looks just horrible at times and I think I just don't need another dead light picture of my local area. But, the same dead light in another place with a different subject might look just lovely.

I think the best, as in clearest and loveliest, light I've seen was in Kazakhstan. It was just lovely, even indoors. I still look at the pictures I took with my Canon 5D and Sigma 50mm f1.4 today and think they're lovely.
 
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Just a little off tack but still on the subject of light... Some time ago I read a thread on another forum in which they were cooing over the light in some pictures and that above a certain latitude (I forget which) the light takes on this special quality. I looked on a map and discovered that I live above that latitude (Middlesbrough area.) I often get frustrated that my free time seems to coincide with lifeless light days with no detail in the white/grey sky and it all looks just horrible at times and I think I just don't need another dead light picture of my local area. But, the same dead light in another place with a different subject might look just lovely.

I think the best, as in clearest and loveliest, light I've seen was in Kazakhstan. It was just lovely, even indoors. I still look at the pictures I took with my Canon 5D and Sigma 50mm f1.4 today and think they're lovely.
I'm the same I'm from Middlesbrough, went to stewarts Park today and came back with nothing.. Nothing cutting through the trees, no depth. Nothing at all.
 
I'm the same I'm from Middlesbrough, went to stewarts Park today and came back with nothing.. Nothing cutting through the trees, no depth. Nothing at all.
It's often like that when we go to Saltburn or up the hills and as I take my camera with me I think I should take a picture of something but finding anything that wont be deleted once I see it on my screen at home can be difficult.
 
It's often like that when we go to Saltburn or up the hills and as I take my camera with me I think I should take a picture of something but finding anything that wont be deleted once I see it on my screen at home can be difficult.

Very true. It doesn't matter how good you are, or how much gear you have to hand, nobody can just go out randomly and expect to come back with a set of great images. It just doesn't happen. Those photographers who do that kind of thing and manage to produce more than their fare share of magic, they really have to work at it - hours of work researching locations, travelling around, and walking for days on end.

You need an interesting subject and good light - the equipment and the photographer usually come third. I often have to take illustrative photos to go with equipment reviews and it's bluddy hard to come up with something to a deadline that's anything more than half-decent or merely competent. I narrow the odds by checking the forecast and going to places like the Cambridge colleges and market, a nearby zoo, or the local cathedral where there's always something interesting to be seen, but the light is still with the Gods.

When the weather's crap and everyday subjects mundane, the only advice I can give is to take a macro lens and look down rather than up. Or have a go at studio work - you can make anything happen there :)
 
Yup. I do close up shots and play with angles and perspective to try and keep things interesting but all of these things are still affected by the light, unless you bring it with you. Often I end up with nothing more than record shots. Poor light shots have their place and can be interesting in themselves but it's when they become the norm and I can't for whatever reason go to a different area with something different to photograph rather than the same old places and things that it all gets a bit... trying. Going somewhere different and finding something different at least breaks up the monotony.
 
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