After-Dinner Light
March 20, 2022
This past Monday I walked around the neighborhood with the camera after dinner. I’ve mentioned before that my prefered time to take photographs is in the morning. One reason is that when you lose the really good light, you can still shoot in the less-good light. In the evenings, when you lose the really good light, you have to give up shooting—unless you lug a tripod, and I don’t like to lug a tripod. I’m happy that I was able to take advantage of our new Daylight Savings Time and find these photographs. The light was interesting, well worth the extra time I had to spend in Lightroom to make them look the way I wanted.
1 First stop: Rock Pond with the sun just beginning to set.
2 Weeds near Wildflower Hill glowed in the slanted light.
3 So did these on the hill.
4 Some of the grasses retained a bit of green.
5 White aster seed heads were everywhere on Wildflower Hill.
6 Remnants of vines persisted.
7 Some of the swamp milkweed hadn’t finish dispersing the next generation.
8 From this perspective trees looked like giant weeds at the top of Wildflower hill.
9 The moon waited for its turn as nature’s primary illumination.
10 And facing the other way on the hill a bit later, it looked like it wouldn’t have long to wait.
Romancing Reality 
I love your sensitivity to light. These are beautiful.
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March 20, 2022 at 6:52 AM
Thank you, Clare. I think I’ve been missing something by not courting this evening light more often.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:23 AM
Have you ever shot #10, of the path, in the winter around 4-ish? With snow, the path might be blue, depending on the moon, or sun’s location. This is a lovely picture for early spring, too.
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March 20, 2022 at 8:44 AM
I just checked, Kathy, and the answer is no, I haven’t. For many years I spent the whole winter in Florida. Now that I’m in Ohio during winter I have the opportunity, but, you know, it’s really cold out there in the winter. Will try to honor your suggestion next winter, but I don’t promise.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:43 AM
It’s good that the extra hour of late daylight worked in your favor. I like the curves of the long dry leaves in #4. Milkweed seeds and pods, as in #7, always invite nature photographers; you did right in accepting the invitation.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:08 AM
Thanks, Steve. Before I began hunting for photographs, I don’t think I gave grasses much attention. Now they grab it quite frequently.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:48 AM
That first shot really drew me in, Linda and #8 is outstanding. I’m not much of a morning person but here in Webster, we are blessed with continuous overcast skies year around. It’s almost always very even light but hardly dramatic.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:44 AM
Thank you, Ken. I wish I could get excited by overcast sky and its even light; I know that many, maybe even most, photographers do. But give me blasting sun any day—along with the luck to get the shadows in the right places.
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March 20, 2022 at 10:54 AM
You made a good point about losing the light altogether but these really do convey a beautiful time of day. There’s a certain serenity. I just love #3 and I wish I could think of something more intelligent to say. #4 intrigues me – first I’m very attracted to the symmetry and linearity and then I wonder, Huh? How did that happen? That was an excellent find! #7 is my other favorite (with #3 & 4). Beautiful light, restrained palette, fine details, and a hint of motion. Plus, I remember seeing those, and I don’t see them anymore. 😉 The series is nicely bookended by the first and last images. A lovely evening walk!
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March 23, 2022 at 9:10 PM
I agree with what you say about that time of day. I miss a lot, I think, by not getting out then. You don’t need to say anything intelligent about #4. “Just love [it]” will do. I think what’s going on in #4 is that two kinds of grasses are shown. One has the lie-down behavior, and one has the stand-up behavior that has been partly flattened by earlier snow. I guess that’s not really saying much. Anyway, I’m glad you like the photograph. Too bad you don’t see the swamp milkweed anymore; it’s really lovely. It was a nice walk; thanks for taking it with me, Lynn.
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March 23, 2022 at 9:49 PM
Yes, Swamp milkweed is a really nice plant…all the milkweeds are, at least from what I’ve seen…and that was helpful about the grasses…good old stand-up behavior, why can’t more (fill in the blank) be that way?
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March 24, 2022 at 5:41 PM