The difference between a flat photo and a glowing one in Durham is usually forty-five minutes. The calculator below shows exactly which forty-five minutes — today's sunset, sunrise, golden and blue hour, live. On this side of the country, sunrise is the underrated window — the sun comes up over the Atlantic side and morning golden hour is quieter than the evening one.
The month-by-month table below is in this city's own local time. The live times above follow your device's timezone. Mountains, ridgelines and buildings can shorten the usable window — scout your horizon.
Local tip: Find an open west-facing view for sunset and an east-facing one for sunrise — buildings and hills eat the last 15 minutes of light in most city centers.
In Durham, sunset ranges from 5:01 PM in November to 8:36 PM in June. Evening golden hour lasts about 38 minutes at the summer solstice and 39 minutes at the winter solstice. Times below are local to Durham (America/New_York).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:25 AM | 5:25 PM | 4:46 PM – 5:25 PM | 39 min | 10h 00m |
| February | 7:02 AM | 5:57 PM | 5:21 PM – 5:57 PM | 36 min | 10h 54m |
| March | 7:26 AM | 7:23 PM | 6:49 PM – 7:23 PM | 34 min | 11h 57m |
| April | 6:42 AM | 7:49 PM | 7:14 PM – 7:49 PM | 35 min | 13h 07m |
| May | 6:09 AM | 8:14 PM | 7:38 PM – 8:14 PM | 36 min | 14h 05m |
| June | 5:58 AM | 8:34 PM | 7:56 PM – 8:34 PM | 38 min | 14h 36m |
| July | 6:10 AM | 8:32 PM | 7:55 PM – 8:32 PM | 37 min | 14h 22m |
| August | 6:34 AM | 8:05 PM | 7:30 PM – 8:05 PM | 35 min | 13h 31m |
| September | 6:58 AM | 7:22 PM | 6:48 PM – 7:22 PM | 34 min | 12h 25m |
| October | 7:22 AM | 6:39 PM | 6:05 PM – 6:39 PM | 34 min | 11h 17m |
| November | 6:52 AM | 5:07 PM | 4:30 PM – 5:07 PM | 37 min | 10h 16m |
| December | 7:18 AM | 5:02 PM | 4:23 PM – 5:02 PM | 39 min | 9h 44m |
Golden hour is the stretch just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the low sun turns hard daylight into soft, warm, directional light — the most flattering natural light for portraits, real estate, product and landscape photography. Blue hour follows sunset (and precedes sunrise): a short window of deep, even blue that's ideal for twilight real estate shots and skylines. Both windows change with latitude and season, which is why this page computes them live instead of guessing.
Kanyon Studio is a San Diego photography and video studio — golden hour is our home field. Brand shoots, products, real estate and portraits, planned around exactly this light.
