Landscape photography at the most challenging time of year
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The days around the summer solstice (June 20 or 21 in the northern hemisphere) are the most difficult time of year for landscape photography. The sun climbs rapidly in the sky after sunrise and soon is producing bright, overhead light with little modeling of the landscape and deep, harsh shadows. At my home, about 38.5 degrees north latitude, the sun reaches almost 75 degrees above the horizon mid-day. Try to capture the landscape in these conditions and you will return with few if any “keepers.” Contrast this with the winter solstice when the sun reaches a maximum of about 28 degrees above the horizon. Excellent landscape images can be captured nearly all day long, perhaps with a break for lunch.
The best chance to capture appealing images at the summer solstice is at dawn and dusk, which occur very early and very late in the day at this time of year. I know of at least one well-regarded landscape photographer who confines most of his shooting to the period between the fall and spring equinoxes.
Rather than hibernate from photography in the summer, I challenged myself to see what I could capture in the period of May 21 to July 21, one month before and after the summer solstice. I’m a morning person so the dawn hours are preferable for me. But, I’m on the coast of Northern California. It takes the sun 45 to 60 minutes to climb above the coastal ridges in our area, meaning the sun is already 7.5 to 10 degrees above the horizon before it casts any direct rays on the coastal landscape. I found that at best, I had about 30 minutes of direct sunlight before the morning shoot was over. After that, the harsh light regime was well established.
This gallery contains twelve images of the coastal meadows and ocean bluffs at The Sea Ranch, all captured in the morning hours, all within one month of the summer solstice. Eleven of the images were captured in 2024, one is from the same time period in 2022. Enjoy and please use the contact form to provide your feedback.