I think this article has been done to death but there is another angle to this article which few people have ever brought up.
That the magic hour is not really a fixed value of time that is consistent with every country in the world. Each country has it’s own Magic hour as well as it’s own conditions which one must follow in order to make full use of it.
For example I have lived in Penang, and now I am in KL. I can honestly tell you that the magic hour for these places varies so anyone who says its a fixed specific hour is saying it relative to where they usually take their photos.
First let me state this, it is very hard to take sunsets or sunrise in Malaysia why? Because we hardly ever have a clear blue sky unlike countries found in the Northern or Southern hemisphere (there is also an exception to this such as developing countries like China where the skyline is rarely seen anymore caused due to haze and pollution caused by industrial development but for argument’s sake we will say that generally countries found in those regions have a better chance of clear skies). So whenever we do get a blue clear sky, you will see me take the day off from work and go out and just to have fun with my photography.
Why is clear sky important? Isn’t obvious? The reason is so the light from the sun as it rises over the horizon can actually be seen instead of being filtered through cloud or haze turning its golden rays into dull Grey. Which makes everything look like crap. Though there are some possibilities of turning this event to your advantage but I’ll save that topic for another day.
Here is an example of when the sky is just right in Malaysia for a great sunrise.
