Blue hour happens twice a day; immediately before sun rise, and immediately after Golden Hour and sun set. During this time the sun has taken its final bow, passing below the horizon. In the absence of its brilliance a softer, gentler light emerges; unassuming, subtle and patient. For a brief moment its glow reflects off the atmosphere gracing all things below in etherial, supernatural beauty.
Blue Hour doesn’t last long; the morning’s gentle hues slowly emerge from the darkness – but are soon overpowered as the sun emerges – its drama dominating all things. In the evening, blue hour brings a coolness in the air, as the sun’s rays recede, then fade to twilight, then darkness. Stars emerge and the point of demarcation softly slides away.
Blue hour has no definitive beginning nor end, and by God’s grace, happens every day. Blue Hour is my favorite time to photograph. It’s the time when the drama is over and others have packed up and headed home. Often during this time one is free to simply wander, explore and shoot in peaceful evening light.
Years ago while returning from a workshop in Zion National Park I found myself a bit sad, driving through central Utah realizing I wouldn’t to be able to return for a while. That’s when the idea for Blue Hour Journal began. Initially as a structured approach to exploring and documenting my back yard. Since a young child I’ve been fascinated by geography. Understanding connections and relationships between areas has been, for whatever reason, an ongoing source of delight and fascination.
Since that day returning from Zion National Park, exploring the region of the United States known as the Intermountain West has become my life’s work. Regularly traveling, exploring, connecting, photographing, documenting the land from Colorado’s Front Range on the eastern edge, to Washington’s Cascade Range and California’s Sierra Nevada Range to the West.
I don’t take for granted the ability to do this; I realize not everyone can. What I want for you while reading Blue Hour Journal, is to wander in peace and explore these destinations with me. Often times while out, I’m thinking of you. Ultimately the message of Blue Hour Journal is to inspire you to get out into your area, where ever that is in the world, and explore. Discover.
As I move toward developing my personal projects a bit more I thought it helpful to define the ecosystem containing several creative efforts. Some of you may have come to Blue Hour Journal from my other site, the F6 Project. Since providing the “Become a Patron” button, I thought it good to identify just what you’re becoming a patron of. Blue Hour Journal can be thought of as the Crock Pot, where all creative efforts coalesce to form something new. Exactly what forms is the discovery.
The F6 Project is a web site focused on one camera, the Nikon F6 35mm film camera. I use many cameras, but this particular camera occupies a special role. Let’s face it: camera geekery is only for certain people, and I understand that. The rest of you don’t care what camera a photograph is made with. And – often times I’m working with other cameras either along side the F6 or instead of. Rather than confuse the focus of the F6 Project with non-F6 related information, Blue Hour Journal was born to include everything else. Blue Hour Journal is camera agnostic and a place to drift from topic to topic without constraint.
Much like a crock pot, I tend to throw stuff in and let it cook for a while, not 100% certain what the end result will be. Blue Hour Journal’s ingredients are a lot of (film) photography, a little philosophy, a dash of history and science, some interesting anecdotes, and a little technique all stirred together with a dash of inspiration.
If you’ve made it all the way here, thanks. For me photography is about creating and discovering; about using the camera as a creative tool to unlock personal creativity through the lens. We’re all built uniquely, with a unique vision, point of view and story to tell. As a technical 3D animator, so much of my work is a form of highly structured and procedural creativity. This is required, given the method used to create this type of work. But there’s a whole ‘nother side longing to create without adhering to specific processes, and Blue Hour Journal is my outlet.