The Golden Hour.
The morning Golden Hour.
My favourite time of day.
Where all evil from the night is being washed away.
An Angel, the Sun, awakening from slumber to light the shadowy land.
In photographic terms, the golden hours are the best times to take warm, soft photos. You wonder why people photograph sunsets and sunrises all the time? Why can anyone take a photo of it and the picture will be magnificent? Because these are the two hours – the first hour of light and the last – where the light is typically more diffused. But that’s not why I love sunrise.
I love sunrise, not because of the colours or its physical beauty, but because of all the other senses and emotions it triggers.
The freshness, crispness of the air. The morning chorus; birds fluttering and singing. The feel of the light trickling onto the lawn, across flowers and burrowing creatures, then finally seeping onto your hot bed skin. You feel a sense of relief as light washes over you, the night is finally lifting. Every breath is magnificent. Seemingly pure, untainted air fills your lungs, leaving you on a natural high. You fall into a state of euphoria as you inch closer to the understanding of life on this Earth than ever before. It’s a subconscious connection, without words. You can’t describe, but you can feel it on your fingertips. As though you have become one with the grass, the birds and the air all around you. You are no longer part of your physical body, but a spirit floating in the calm air. All your stress is lifted away with the night, and you are left with a shell. Your original shell. The one you were born into. Where you have no worries.
This is why I describe it as a natural high. But to be able to, you have to release yourself. Don’t worry about going to sleep or the day ahead. Forget about the things you have to do in a couple of hours. Forget it all. All that matters is those few moments of the Golden Hour, where you can just breathe.
Feel the morning due on the blades of grass. Watch the mist gathering, hovering above the ground. See the rays bursting out of the horizon. Freshness like you’ve never tasted or felt before.
Summer or Winter. Autumn of Spring. Sunrise is the most glorious.