The Underwater "Golden Hour"

Don Silcock · Issue 46, Jan/Feb 2009 · pp. 37–39

Products mentioned: Nikon D200, Tokina 10-17mm, Inon 240 strobes

The “golden hour” is that time of the day when the best outdoor photos are usually said to be taken and landscape photographers wax lyrically about its effect! What they are referring to is the first & last hour of sunlight each day when the sun is low in the sky and rather than shining straight down, as it does during the brightest part of the day, it’s rays are traveling obliquely through the atmosphere. The sun’s position near the horizon, and the distance traveled, means that the light during the golden hour produces a wonderful softening & warming effect as it strikes objects at an angle compared to the harsh effect created by an overhead sun. The result is that the brightest parts of the image are much less likely to be overexposed, the shadows are much softer and the warming light enhances the colors to make the overall image “pop”… Underwater however, the golden hour does not rea…