Late Night and Sweet Light
WC wandered through some of his favorite local birding spots today, more to see what was there than chasing anything specific. This evening, despite the weatherperson’s predictions, the light was fine. And the birds cooperated. A pair of Horned Grebe, Interior Alaska’s prettiest waterfowl, cooperated.
The long, dark, seemingly endless winter offers in exchange the long, sweet summer evening light. In lower latitudes, sweet light is a brief business. In Hawaii, for example, it lasts less than half an hour. In Ecuador, perhaps ten minutes. But during an Interior Alaska summer that wonderful light last hours; at the height of summer, it lasts all night. It’s a nature photographer’s dream.
Of course, summer doesn’t last all that long. Winter is waiting. So there is this compulsion to get out every night when there’s sunlight. Which means late nights and groggy mornings. But you can always sleep during the winter.
