Blue hour

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A blue hour seascape seen in wide angle. Clearly seen is the zone near the sun where red and green takes precedence over blue, which fills almost the entire hemisphere. The effect is due to Rayleigh scattering
A blue hour seascape seen in wide angle. Clearly seen is the zone near the sun where red and green takes precedence over blue, which fills almost the entire hemisphere. The effect is due to Rayleigh scattering
The blue hour
The blue hour
Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, Germany, during the blue hour
Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, Germany, during the blue hour
The Colosseum during the blue hour
The Colosseum during the blue hour

The blue hour comes from a French expression (l'heure bleue) which refers to the hour experienced between the hours of daylight and darkness (i.e., twilight). The time is considered special because of the quality of the light at this time of day (also in photography; it is considered especially flattering for people with blond hair) and because in the summer, this is often when the smell of the flowers is at their strongest.

In Scotland this time of day and the attendant light quality is known as gloaming.

Contents

[edit] A time of innocence

The phrase is also used to refer to the Paris immediately prior to World War I, which was considered to be a time of relative innocence.

[edit] Influence in popular culture

As a result of the perceived specialness of this time, around the world there are restaurants, theatres and hotels called "L'Heure Bleue," and there is a women's perfume by Guerlain (1912) of the same name. The Norwegian rock band Madrugada (Spanish for early morning) were also named after this time.

[edit] Youtube

A famous youtube profile named the blue hour where a man named Eugene talks about tech related discussions.

[edit] Songs

The blue hour is also a common theme in popular music and the subject appears in various songs:

[edit] Books

  • a novel by T Jefferson Parker
  • a book by Carolyn Forché
  • the cover background of The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada volume 5
  • Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
  • A novel by Kate Thompson

[edit] Films

  • a 1991 film by director Marcel Gisler
  • the first portion of the 1987 episodic film "4 aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle" by Éric Rohmer.
  • a 2007 film starring Alyssa Milano.

[edit] Art

  • "l'Heure Bleue" is a concept often expressed, in his works and in his thought, by the contemporary artist Jan Fabre. [1]

[edit] See also

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