Keeping it real: The no-filter Instagram images that prove you don’t need Photoshop for a stunning shot
- Golden Hour is the time just before sunrise and again just after sunset when natural light conditions are best
- Photographers refer to it as nature's best filter, and have submitted their own examples to a new website
- According to a recent study, only 30% of Brits post holiday snaps without first applying an Instagram filter
Are you the sort who wouldn't dream of posting a boastful holiday snap to Instagram without first slapping on a filter?
If so, you're in good company. According to new research, 70 per cent of Brits confess to editing their photos before sharing them on social media.
But there is a way to harness the power of nature's most flattering light in a way that scores you beautiful images and the kudos of a #nofilter tag.
It's called Golden Hour - the time just before sunrise and again just after sunset - which offers the natural best depth, colour contrast and image saturation.
In celebration of this, American Express has teamed up with Instagram photographers from around the world to create Amex Golden Hour, an online showcase of filter-free snaps taken during this time of day.
From a sun-drenched Australian beach to Dubai's cloud-wrapped cityscape, here is a selection of the best.
A new online hub showcases the best filter-free Instagram photos from around the world, including this one of Dubai's tallest buildings poking their spires through the clouds
All the photos, such as this one of India, were taken at Golden Hour - the time just before sunrise and again just after sunset - which offers the natural best depth, colour contrast and image saturation
The light here is soft enough to throw a gentle pinkinsh cast across the pummelled sand, taken on a beach in Australia, without bleaching it out
These scattered cloud puffs only serve to enhance the fiery red hues in the sky, and the dappled mossy rocks of Iceland
With the sun not hammering its rays directly downwards, a more delicate effect is produced from behind the houses on this quiet Mexico street
As London winds down for another evening, its stately buildings are bathed in a golden orange glow - one not enhanced with digital wizardry
The silhouettes of two children in Spain make for a much more interesting photo thanks to the position of the setting sun
A breakdancer captured mid-spin on the streets of Canada as the sun peeks through a gap in two buildings and casts shadows across the gold-streaked pavement
Captured from high up just as the sun slips beneath the horizon, these Hawaii waves are painted in shimmering bronze
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by John A C 28