The Secret of the Blue Hour! Welcome to the 68th Metamorphosis Monday!

A Sneaky Metamorphosis...The Blue Hour

Tonight, I thought I'd share something very cool I only recently learned about.  It's something I find totally fascinating! Remember THIS tablescape? I created it one summer out on the porch for Tablescape Thursday. Here's a daytime shot...




This table setting was created about the the time I first started attempting to take candlelight pics of my tablescapes. The night I downloaded the pics from my camera to prepare this tablescape post, I fell in love with this pic below. It was unlike any pic I'd ever taken. The sky was the most amazing blue! I never noticed how blue the sky was at the time I was taking the photos, but when I downloaded them--WOW! (You can view this tablescape in full, HERE.



Now I know why I didn't notice it at the time I was taking the pic--it's because I couldn't SEE it at the time I was taking the pic. Why? Because it was during the "Blue Hour." Yup, the Blue Hour! Have you heard of it? I had not until recently.

Wikipedia defines the Blue Hour this way:
The blue hour comes from a French expression, l'heure bleue, which refers to the period of twilight each morning and evening where there is neither full daylight nor complete darkness. The time is considered special because of the quality of the light at this time of day.

Ever since I took that photo with the amazing blue sky, I've been attempting to take another one like it, but with zero success. The reason why I haven't been successful is I kept looking for an evening sky that was really blue, and the blue hour isn't visible to the naked eye. You can't really see it, but the camera can. Keep reading and I'll share the secret of when you can catch the blue hour in your pics.

Remember this tablescape from last week. I decided that evening to see if I could catch the blue hour again in my pics. I had done a bit of reading about the blue hour and I was determined. Here's a photo taken during full daylight, white, sunny sky.




Oh, it's starting to get a bit darker.  I think I see a little blue in this pic. The metamorphosis is just starting!




Bluer still...




There it is! The blue hour!




I was jumping up and down, and doing twirls on the porch! Yes, I was twirling.  I was sooooo excited to have finally captured the blue hour once again!  (This table setting can be viewed in full, HERE.



So how do you catch the blue hour since you can't see it with the naked eye? It's easier than you might think. Just go to this site, appropriately called, bluehoursite.com, and it will tell you the short period of time each morning and each evening in your area, when you should take photographs to get great blue hour pics. Where I live, for this time of year, the evening blue hour starts at 20:38 and ends at 21:14 (8:38-9:14 PM.)

As it gets further into that window of opportunity, the sky gets deeper and deeper blue. When you look through the camera, you don't see the blue at all. Once you take the pic, there it is in your viewfinder...the blue hour! Is that cool or what?  Have fun taking your Blue Hour pics!




Check out these blue hour pics taken by Bonnie...thanks Bonnie for sharing these! This was her Halloween table setting. Spooky! Love it against the blue hour sky.







Wow...this is sooo beautiful!




Delores shared this pic of the side of her home in the "blue light." Her home is actually a tan color. It's so mysterious looking, isn't it?




If you'd like to see even more beautiful Blue Hour pics, click HERE.




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