- Hide menu

Magic Hour – why we love it

Magic hour, which realistically only lasts only a few minutes either side of sunset or sunrise has long been my favorite time of the day to capture many forms of photography. Why? Depth of colour, the fast changing hues through the sunrise or sunset, and the softness of the light all lead to options for lighting a subject that you can’t match in the middle of the day.

Air to air photography also gains from shooting at magic hour.

RetroBomb Magazine editorial

All cameras have technical limitations on dynamic range (the digital range giving details on file from pure white down through to black) which is primarily why I chose to work with the Nikon D800 as my primary day to day camera a few years back. The 14+ev range of the sensor is still hosting one of the widest dynamic ranges on the market, and when it’s a 37MP file we have a giant amount of detail to work with.

While this means it’s one of the best cameras for shooting under the harsh midday Australian sun, where I’m happiest is in the air during what we call magic hour. Having the huge dynamic range of the Nikon during magic hour means we’re getting massive amounts of shadow detail while still shooting fast enough to keep the movement of the aircraft captured sharp and without sacrificing highlight data.

 

RetroBomb Magazine editorial

Huge thanks to the crews at Fighter Pilot Adventure Flights for the bookings that scored us the shots on this post as we shot promo for Brisbane Valley Airshow.

Kat and FlyWaco at Archerfield

Leave a Reply