Time of Day

All the aspects of natural light that I’ve discussed so far in this chapter — color, direction, and quality — are influenced to a large degree by the time of day that you’re shooting. In fact, from the very first rays of light that turn night into day until day slips back into night, the color, direction, and quality of the sun’s light are constantly changing; that’s what makes outdoor photography so interesting and unpredictable. I always find it fascinating that you can drive by the same roadside hotdog stand year after year, and then one day the light hits it just right and you are compelled to pull the car over and get the shot (see 7-28). Great light can be a total surprise like that, but it can also be somewhat predictable if you kno....