"Photography is the art of painting with light"

Once upon a time a long time ago in land far far away i befriended a professional photographer who lived a few doors down my street. He was an elderly Jamaican gentleman by the name of Winston. He became a mentor and inspiration for me. He had published a few books based on the hardships Jamaican immigrants faced in London in the 50's and 60's. These where all black and white reporter style images. Dramatic, often graphic scenes of social taboos but very very cool.  Although not my style, i stored his advice and now i have the means to pass it on.
 Winston, god bless his soul had a phrase we would discuss often over a rum or 3
"Photography is the art of painting with light"
Light is all around us. It is strong, soft, harsh, dirty and clean. It is why flowers are red and the sea is blue. It creates shadow and contrast and it is the most important ingredient in a photographic masterpiece!
Winston would sometimes take an absolute age composing his shots. Getting the light right, just right. Easy to do when you have all the time in the world and a subject that has no place to go.
But in our busy world things don't stop so you have to be quick if you see a great shot. So here are a few rules i apply in my photographic expeditions

1. When the sun is low in the sky, between 20-60 degrees it is a great time for landscape and outdoor portraits. The sun is clean and pure in the morning. Colour has greater saturation and is more dramatic.
2. In the evening the sun gets contaminated by the days dust and pollution. This light can provide strong shadows, great for sunsets, portraits and high contrast shots.
3. In the middle of the day when the sun is at its peak, light is harsh and can create unfortunate illusions on faces but is great for shooting architecture, cars, bikes etc

This is an early morning shot taken facing the sun as it crept over the hill in the background

A great late evening shoot for the family. The low sun created a fantastic contrast with dark shadows and light highlights

The sun was high but not at its peak for this shot. It has a great shadow and good colour. If the sun was higher the shadow would have been too small to distinguish and if the sun was too low there would not have been any shadow at all