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People & Culture

Sunrise, sunset: 10 amazing 'golden hour' images from Can Geo's Photo Club

There's a reason photographers call it the "magic hour"

Dec 04, 2017
392 words
2 minutes

By Alexandra Pope

Photographers love the ‘golden hour’ — the first hour after sunrise or the last hour before sunset. The warm, soft light adds a more than a touch of whimsy to portraits, while pastel skies and lengthening shadows add natural colour and contrast to landscapes. Canadian Geographic‘s Photo Club members are a talented bunch, so it’s no surprise that incredible golden hour shots pop up again and again among entries to our competitions and the Shoot This assignment galleries.

Here are 10 of our favourites uploaded to the Photo Club in November.

1. Lanaudière Region, Que.

Rising mist, burnished trees … this scene has us wishing it could be autumn all year.

Photo: Tina Girard/Can Geo Photo Club

2. Thunder Bay, Ont.

The last surf of the day is always bittersweet — but there’s always tomorrow.

surfing on lake superior near thunder bay

Photo: Richard Main/Can Geo Photo Club

3. Banff National Park, Alta.

Morning in the mountains is wondrous to behold.

Photo: William Shi/Can Geo Photo Club

4. Rivers, Man.

“Red sky at night, sailors’ delight.”

Photo: Mark Duffy/Can Geo Photo Club

5. Pierrefonds, Que.

The seed stage of a goatsbeard plant makes a stunning silhouette against a springtime sunset.

Photo: Marianna Armata/Can Geo Photo Club

6. Algonquin Provincial Park, Ont.

Canoes at sunrise by a still lake: a Canadian classic.

Photo: Yongan Zhong/Can Geo Photo Club

7. Eureka River, Alta.

Smoke and ash particles from nearby wildfires made for particularly vivid sunsets in parts of western Canada this summer.

Photo: Adam Sprott/Can Geo Photo Club

8. Carmacks, Y.T.

Nothing but blue skies, golden cliffs and the open road.

Photo: Geraldine Khan/Can Geo Photo Club

9. Haida Gwaii, B.C.

The scientific name for those heavenly beams is ‘crepuscular rays.’ They occur when fine particulate in the atmosphere — dust, ash, organic aerosols or just plain water vapour — causes the sunlight to scatter and the rays to become visible.

Photo: Laura Sample/Can Geo Photo Club

10. Jasper National Park, Alta.

The Athabasca Falls in Jasper National Park are stunning in any light, but especially with a fiery sunset for a backdrop.

Photo: Iain Reid/Can Geo Photo Club

Related: 10 awesome autumn photos from the Can Geo Photo Club

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