Whether you're shooting portraits, real estate or just chasing a good sky, this is when the light works in Manchester. Every time below is computed live for Manchester's coordinates and updates for any date. 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: Reflections double golden hour: water, glass buildings and wet pavement all pick up the sky's color in the hour around sunset.
In Manchester, sunset ranges from 4:11 PM in December to 8:29 PM in June. Evening golden hour lasts about 43 minutes at the summer solstice and 46 minutes at the winter solstice. Times below are local to Manchester (America/New_York).
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour (evening) | Length | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:14 AM | 4:36 PM | 3:52 PM – 4:36 PM | 44 min | 9h 23m |
| February | 6:43 AM | 5:17 PM | 4:37 PM – 5:17 PM | 40 min | 10h 34m |
| March | 6:57 AM | 6:52 PM | 6:14 PM – 6:52 PM | 38 min | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:03 AM | 7:28 PM | 6:50 PM – 7:28 PM | 38 min | 13h 25m |
| May | 5:22 AM | 8:02 PM | 7:21 PM – 8:02 PM | 41 min | 14h 40m |
| June | 5:06 AM | 8:26 PM | 7:43 PM – 8:26 PM | 43 min | 15h 21m |
| July | 5:20 AM | 8:22 PM | 7:40 PM – 8:22 PM | 42 min | 15h 02m |
| August | 5:51 AM | 7:48 PM | 7:09 PM – 7:48 PM | 39 min | 13h 56m |
| September | 6:25 AM | 6:55 PM | 6:18 PM – 6:55 PM | 37 min | 12h 30m |
| October | 6:59 AM | 6:03 PM | 5:24 PM – 6:03 PM | 39 min | 11h 04m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 4:22 PM | 3:39 PM – 4:22 PM | 43 min | 9h 44m |
| December | 7:10 AM | 4:11 PM | 3:25 PM – 4:11 PM | 46 min | 9h 02m |
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.
