For photographers and filmmakers alike, there’s only 2 moments of the day that really count. They call it the “Golden Hour,” aka the magic hour, and it comes around twice a day. The golden hour is that moment shortly after sunrise, or, before sunset, during which daylight is both soft and red because of the sun’s height in the sky. As a result, there’s less harsh, direct light.

Earlier this month, a popular online photo printing service called Posterjack hosted a national photography project, wherein over 100 photographers from Northwest Territories to Newfoundland joined together to capture Canada’s Golden Hour.

The project was organized to “showcase the beauty of Canada and connect the story of its cities, places, and landscapes at the same time across the country.” Among these 100 photographers, were two local artists: John King and Michael Allan. John King is involved with King’s Photography and Michael is the man being Michael Allan Photography.

You can find all the photos from this project here: http://www.canadasgoldenhour.com. Michael’s is so stunning it made the website’s landing page, as well as the overall Top Dozen photos from the project. Here it is:

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Michael Allan chose Signal Hill, simply because it’s his favourite place to photograph. The photo captures the headlights of people parked to watch the sunrise. You can check out some of his photos on the walls of Gracie Joe’s this month.

“Photography, in my opinion,” Michael says, “is a practice where art and science can find its balance.” He certainly has fun with it: here’s his picture of Cape Spear’s lighthouse, swirling with stars:

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John King took his photo in the town of Salvage, near Terra Nova National Park. It’s one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America, and a total living postcard. John was drawn to the “charming architecture of its fishing stages, and rugged beauty in its landscape and many hiking trails.”

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