Summer Solstice
The common feature of these three photos is that they were all captured on the shortest day of the year, when the sun coincidentally rises and sets from as far to the north as it’s going to. Most of the time these walls will be in shade, no direct sunlight or shadows cast.
A wonderful website for tracking such things can be found at Gaisma. This link will take you to the Kansas City page, but the whole world is included.
A wonderful website for tracking such things can be found at Gaisma. This link will take you to the Kansas City page, but the whole world is included.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c010a95377a58061c2f82c00c5b73b022e6e06cbc39e4cad5b84e98225feb661/Dougherty_Incidental_2024-06-20_520_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8a45ceefcd8a73c5ac278dba7324a65a8cd4623a218ed27fc4351db22c6fc9a4/Unsorted-Other_2024-06-20_083344_0898_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/80d92b0a6a251c96f820af8b6a8a89fec7d126b4100d5ff027b8b2abb767d2c8/Unsorted-Other_2024-06-20_083728_0903_web.jpg)
This is the north-facing window in our bathroom, taken on or about the solstice in 2021.
I’m always surprised, brushing my teeth one summer morning every year to see sunlight here. We’ve got other windows facing the same direction, but they don’t catch the sun like this one does.
Besides demonstrating a celestial phenomenon, I think this is a beautiful example of the kind of ambient light I’m always looking for in photos.
I’m always surprised, brushing my teeth one summer morning every year to see sunlight here. We’ve got other windows facing the same direction, but they don’t catch the sun like this one does.
Besides demonstrating a celestial phenomenon, I think this is a beautiful example of the kind of ambient light I’m always looking for in photos.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b374a0c5b89b5a5001765893922313fa123aba4c3748fcd9b8970b4b1e107e06/Dougherty_SolsticeWindow_20210622_2.jpg)