In the gloaming

In the gloaming, the air stills, birds sound their final calls of the day, and the light often turns golden; we find ourselves introspective as our visual perceptions, attitudes and pace of life shifts. The gloaming symbolizes intertwining of the dark and light.

"Gloaming" is the Scottish word for twilight, that transition time between the day and the night. It is recognized by the presence of weak sunlight, while the sun itself is below the horizon.

On clear days, there is always a yellow, orange or sometimes pink glow to the west where the sun is illuminating the sky from below the horizon. Whereas the glow from the sun can last for over an hour after sunset, the color in the eastern sky is much shorter lived, and changes very fast. In overcast conditions the skylight is always blue and generally much darker, with night falling more quickly.

On clear days, there is often a pink area in the eastern sky at dusk. This phenomenon is called alpenglow. Alpenglow cast a noticeable pink light onto reflective surfaces, such as white walls or water, but is too faint to affect darker surfaces such as foliage. As a result the landscape can look very dark at this time. When the weather is overcast, the eastern sky is just blue.

Twilight is a very special time of day with unpredictable but often very beautiful lighting. Since the sun is not above the horizon, the sky itself is the only source of natural daylight. As a result the light is very soft, with little shadow and contrast and the colors can be very delicate but vividly saturated.