The Wonder of the Blue Hour
Whenever I visit Houzz, I can’t help but notice all the stunning “blue hour” photos. Have you heard of the blue hour? The term, blue hour, originates from a French expression, l’heure bleue. It represents that special time occurring each morning just before the light of day, and again in the evening, shortly before darkness blankets the earth. I only recently became aware of this enchanting time of day, and I have been completely intrigued ever since.
The blue hour is a special time of day for several reasons: 1. The quality of the light is truly amazing, making it a popular time for outdoor photography with professional photographers. 2. During the blue the sweet scent of the flowers in your garden will be at their strongest.
Actually, it is much easier to “show” you the blue hour than to tell you about it. There are many, many blue hour pics posted here at Houzz, so many I had a very difficult time narrowing it down to just 15. Here are just a few of my favs, including one I captured completely by accident. :-)
The blue hour is a special time of day for several reasons: 1. The quality of the light is truly amazing, making it a popular time for outdoor photography with professional photographers. 2. During the blue the sweet scent of the flowers in your garden will be at their strongest.
Actually, it is much easier to “show” you the blue hour than to tell you about it. There are many, many blue hour pics posted here at Houzz, so many I had a very difficult time narrowing it down to just 15. Here are just a few of my favs, including one I captured completely by accident. :-)
Wow, as if this home was not stunning enough, the views are amazing...especially during the blue hour.
The nighttime, blue hour sky really brings out the color blue in the beautiful stonework of this home.
The blue hour is just getting underway in this photo. Can you just imagine the star-studded view of the nighttime sky dining beneath that pergola?!
This completely takes my breath away. I picture a romantic honeymoon somewhere wonderfully exotic. Do you think there's a gorgeous full moon waiting in that deep, blue hour sky? For just this moment, let's dream that it's there. ~~~sigh~~~
I'm torn..do I stand and gawk in awe at that amazing chandelier? Or, at the all-too-fleeting blue hour just outside that amazing wall of windows?
Light...glorious light! Truly inspiring! The blue hour sky only enhances the magic of the view of this energy-wise home.
The blue hour shot of this lovely estate beautifully shows how well-designed, landscape up-lighting, can create awe inspiring curb appeal.
You can capture a blue hour pic right from the comfort of your home...or, from a porch, as depicted here. Notice how the blue color of the evening sky contrasts nicely with the green of the seating area and the warmth of the wood surfaces.
The name, blue hour, is a bit deceiving. It turns out, the blue hour really isn't an hour...it's more like a blue, 20 minutes.
As if that wasn't tricky enough, here's the real clincher...you can't really see the blue hour with the naked eye. Nope, but your camera can. Are you scratching your head and saying, huh?
Well, so was I for the longest time. It happened one evening as I was downloading pics to my computer of a tablescape I had created for my blog, I was stunned to find this photo in the grouping. How had I NOT noticed this amazing, evening sky when I was out on the porch taking the pictures?
Ahh, therein lies the rub. So, since the human eye can't really see the blue hour sky, how is one to know when it's blue hour, photo op time?
To complicate matters even more, the morning and evening blue hour times are always changing, just as the days grow longer and shorter.
Fortunately, for us blue hour fans, there's a site, appropriately called, bluehoursite.com. It will show you the exact window of opportunity when you will be able to capture your own blue hour pics...like this fine example.
I'm not sure if this was actually taken during the blue hour, but just viewing it is a mini-vacation. Do you hear seagulls? Yes, I'm pretty sure I hear seagulls. :-)
Have you captured the elusive blue hour? Maybe you did and didn't know it until later when you viewed your photos. Please share your blue hour pics...would love to see them! :-)
Have you captured the elusive blue hour? Maybe you did and didn't know it until later when you viewed your photos. Please share your blue hour pics...would love to see them! :-)
Bonus Pic: Thanks LittleSunshine for suggesting this pic...gorgeous! :-)