Golden Light - Hawkins-Weeks Photography

A field filled with fluffy, white wild thistle seed heads glowing in the warm, direct sunlight of a late afternoon.In the foreground, a tall, dried wildflower stem stands on the left, while a dense patch of thistles stretches across the middle ground. Large, leafy green trees form a dense border in the background, with bright sunlight filtering through their branches from the top right, creating a soft lens flare. The sky above is a pale blue with scattered, light clouds.

The light was really beautiful one evening last week sat with friends in Suffolk, having a few drinks. We have the most severe drought that we have ever had in England, with high temperatures and very little rain for the last few months; this is far more serious than I remember the last significant drought in 1976 being. From a climate perspective, it is really concerning and now becoming the new ‘normal’ with water shortages and significant wildfires, notably not far from where we sat chatting that evening. We do need to urgently move to more substantial carbon reduction and adapt to the changing environment.

A triptych of three square photographs displaying different views of the sky.The left image shows a dramatic sunset or sunrise sky filled with dark, heavy clouds illuminated underneath by a vibrant, fiery orange and red glow. Silhouetted trees frame the bottom left and bottom right corners.The center image features a bright blue daytime sky filled with light, wispy altocumulus clouds scattered across the center, with a few darker, thicker clouds appearing in the bottom left corner.The right image shows a moody twilight sky where dark, stormy clouds along the bottom are edged with a deep red and orange sunset glow, transitioning into a pale blue and dusky purple sky above.

However, there are always some upsides to everything and with this comes some gorgeous evening light and fabulous skies, all as a result of the higher levels of dust in the atmosphere at the end of the day.

A close-up photograph captures dried thistle seed heads. The brown, textured seed pods are splitting open to reveal delicate, feathery white fluff, or pappus, catching the soft golden light. The background is a softly blurred, warm green and brown field, creating a dreamy, shallow depth of field that highlights the intricate details of the plant.

This golden light does give some superb photographic opportunities, especially with the low light late in the evening. These fluffy thistle heads give some beautiful reflections of the light, especially when backlit and are really the only plants that seem to be surviving well with the lack of water and high temperatures.

A dense patch of wild thistle seed heads catching the warm, golden glow of evening sunlight.The fluffy, white down of the mature thistles is backlit by the sun, making the delicate fibers shimmer and stand out against the shadowed, spiky bases of the plants. The composition is tightly cropped, creating a textured, glowing field of soft seed heads and sharp stems.

No further rain or reduction in temperature is currently forecast, so I just hope we have no more significant wildfires. Though, we can still celebrate some of the beauty even if we are living through substantial environmental change.