Blue (Da Ba Dee Da Ba Dah) Hour Contest Winners

Blue Hour. It's that magical time of day (just before sunrise and right after sundown) when the sky gets legit ethereal. During blue hour, the heavens take on a deep, saturated blue hue with a cold color temperature. There's usually a gradient of colors from blue to orange, which you can spy in the place of sunset and sunrise.

If you've got mad skillz, you know how to time a shoot perfectly to make the most of that (super)naturally beautiful light and even enhance it using tools like MagMod gels.

Blue Hour was the theme of March's #MadeWithMagmod photo contest, and Ramiro Cervantes emerged as the MagDaddy of Blue Hour Masters. His winning image is a sophisticated fashion portrait that makes the most of geometric architecture along with fantastic lighting. Ramiro wins $250 MagBucks for snagging grand prize. Congrats, Ramiro!!!

He also wins the eternal admiration of 18 photo nerds in Tucson. Each month all of Team MagMod squeezes onto a gigantic sofa sectional for a viewing party during which we choose 4 winning images from among dozens and dozens and dozens of entries. Ramiro's image made us all stop in our tracks. We dig the composition. We're in love with the color. The posing. And, of course, ya know we dig the lighting. (Do ya see that yummy triangle of light under the model's right eye?! Bam.) #TeamRamiro

Don't forget that there's a new #MadeWithMagMod contest each month. Next month's theme is "April Showers," and we wanna see how you use MagMod to capture the rain. Contest details are up now in our Facebook group. You can enter as many times as you want, so don't be a drip! Enter now!

Here’s how to enter the contest:

1. Join the #MagModCommunity on Facebook to see this month’s contest deets.
2. Shoot an epic image using MagMod gear.
3. Look for the pinned contest post in the Community and attach your entry as a comment.

Want some inspiration? Scroll down to see this month's winning images.

Here's how Ramiro got the shot:

"I shot on a Canon 5D with Canon's 11-24mm lens (ISO 400 f4 1/125 sec). I used an AD 200 with MagGrid and Full CTO gel as main light. The light was positioned at 8 o'clock camera left, up high with a slight tilt to form a Rembrandt pattern on the face. I used an additional AD 200 with MagGel as a back light to illuminate the geometric structure. The main light was metered at f4, back light was metered at f/5.6."

Chad explains how he got the shot:

"This shot began with me hanging off the dock with my 'old' Nikon d750 and a 24-70 (@ 32mm) really close to the water. Beth, my lovely fiancé, held the flash high and to the couples left with a MagSphere & 1/2 CTO gel to warm up them up and help make the blue sky really pop! Camera settings were 1/200, f5, ISO 100 and the speedlight was around 1/4 power. The flip screen of the d750 really came in handy with this shot as it allowed me to get that super low angle, and live view helped me expose for the background perfectly to quickly nail this shot. The quicker I can nail this shot, the less chance I have of dropping my camera into the water . . . and MagMod helped me nail it!

Here’s how Jesse got the shot:

"We had tested the boat earlier in the day to make sure it wouldn't sink. Once a few beverages had been consumed, we sent the bride and groom out to the middle of the pond with a speedlight in tow. I exposed for the ambient light (end of sunset/blue hour) then set the flash to 1/32nd power. The groom placed the light on the bottom of the boat and pointed it straight upward. A MagSphere had already been attached to spread the light evenly and reduce highlights. I took around 15 frames then waved the newlyweds back into shore. Camera settings: 1/200th, f/2.8, ISO 640

Here's how Mystic Studios got the shot:

"I was composing the other side of the small pond. Flash is placed on the right side of the couple. Used MagSphere with a MagGrid and yellow gel."

Ready to see more amazing photography from your peers? Join over 38,000 of us on Facebook in the #MagModCommunity!