Behind the scenes of the classic golden-hour sunset photo and bike sesh in the Coast Mountains.
“Bring on the night. I couldn’t stand another hour of daylight.” –Sting
Probably vampires like sunset more than anyone, but photographers have to be a close second. Those final moments when that burning, life-giving ball of flame dips below earth’s horizon brings incredibly warm, sideways-beaming light into our world. It’s a noticeable moment in a cycle that, even though it happens every day, can often blend together into a summer blur of adventures and patio sessions as the Northern Hemisphere gifts us with extra hours of summer daylight and sunsets that often take place after your second-grade bedtime.
But don’t take those summer sunsets for granted; there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. The sun is about 1.4 million kilometres in diameter (as wide as about 110 Earths) and around 150 million km away from us (93 million miles). Travelling at the speed of light (just under 300,000 metres per second), a beam of sunlight takes about eight minutes and 20 seconds to make it to Earth.
“Golden light and long shadows. It only gets better and better…until it’s gone.”
And at sunset, that white light is coming in at such a low angle it has to push through an extra amount of atmosphere (and all the dust, ash and whatever particles are contained therein). As such, some of the colours with shorter wavelengths—like blue and green—get scattered out of the beam and the result is that “golden hour” light photographers dream of.
“Golden light and long shadows,” says photographer Joel Ducrot. “It only gets better and better…until it’s gone.”
Unless you get a photo. –Feet Banks
“Work ended at 5 p.m. and I rushed home, loaded my bike and, on a whim, decided to grab my camera. Sometimes I lug the camera around without taking a single photo—what I call ‘taking my camera for a walk’—but it’s nice to have it for spontaneous moments like this. I remembered this specific shot but had never been there for sunset. To me, this photo captures the thrill of chasing your friends down a dusty trail and makingthe most of a long summer day with nothing on your mind aside from how perfect the moment is. Shooting at sunset takes timing (and fighting off mosquitoes), but it allows me to create imagery that feels like pure bliss and reflects what I feel out there at the end of the day.” –Shota Ida
“Summer is a busy time for photographs and I can get overwhelmed, watching the season pass by quickly. We get out for weekend sessions, leave Saturday and hike-a-bike for an overnighter in the alpine—spots with fantastic views where you rarely see anyone else. Hiking with bikes and gear can be demanding, but that’s when I decompress. The physical exhaustion makes me feel carefree. Then at the top, watching the sun start sinking down and seeing this magical light. Sunsets from new vantage points in our extended backyard recharge my soul and my creativity. I can’t just sit and enjoy it. I have to take photos.” –Justa Jeskova
“We started hiking up at 4 p.m. in the blazing heat with bikes and overnight gear, and we suffered mightily. The biggest challenge (apart from those incessant bastard mosquitoes!) was that everywhere I looked was an epic shot but there was so little time to shoot. Being up in the alpine at sunset, I had the feeling of being somewhere that few people ever tread, and at a very special hour—that moment when the shape of everything is silhouetted against the golden light…and then darkness falls. It’s fleeting, but that may be why we find sunsets so beautiful.” –Michael Fox
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“Our camp setup is easy and light—a tent without the fly, sleeping bag, mattress and a couple of drinks to enjoy at night with just a few protein bars and a sandwich to last us the evening and morning. The rest of the pack is filled with camera gear. When the light goes out, we just sit outside by the fire (if it’s possible) or in the dark and watch the stars and chat for hours. I love that quality time and we never really lose out, even if we don’t get the photos we were hoping for.” –Justa Jeskova
“There’s something finite about a sunset, even though it happens every day. I think that’s because it’s tied to where you are and what you did just before it. This shot is on Goat Ridge. The route we set up for took longer than anticipated, and with weather supposed to come in overnight we decided to head back to the valley. I saw this shot while traversing a ridge. We didn’t have much time, but dark clouds making for spotty light and calm water seemed like a good combination. I’m a sucker for a good reflection, and we still made it to the truck just before the headlamps came out.” –Joel Ducrot
“May 10, 2024. Well after sunset but the aurora borealis gave us a show that almost left us in disbelief. I contacted Sandy Ward at 4 p.m. to see if she wanted to capture something. She had zero hesitation. It was on. We had a plan but it all went out the window. At around 10:30 p.m. we decided to head up to join some friends who had been riding a rock slab. Sandy admitted she had backed out of riding this slab in the daytime and now she was going to do it in the dark for her first time. Needless to say, she crushed it. The beauty of it all caught me off guard and we stayed out until the early morning hours, capturing probably the most unique form of art I’ve ever been witness to.” –Shane Roy
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