A big part of photography is understanding light — its strength, tone, and direction. These ten WordPress.com photographers from around the world show us that from dawn to dusk, there are beautifully lit moments just waiting to be captured.

Janice Meyers got this shot of the Salamanca Cathedral in Salamanca, Spain, just as the early morning sky began to turn from black to blue. We love how the warm glow of the streetlights contrasts with the deep, moody sky:

Salamanca, just before sunrise.
Salamanca, just before sunrise.

The sun was a bit higher in the sky when Robin Kent of Photography by Kent caught the first rays of light over Washington, DC’s Tidal Basin, and cherry trees. The pink glow of the imminent sunrise echoes the delicate hue of the famed blossoms:

Daybreak over Washington, D.C..
Daybreak over Washington, DC.

On the other side of the US a full sun bathes different pink flowers — a field of tulips in Washington State’s Skagit Valley. Dawn at Pictures and Paragraphs highlights both a single flower and the rolling field of pink behind:

Tulip foreground, Skagit Valley.
Tulip foreground, Skagit Valley.

WordPress.com photographers found beautifully illuminated fauna along with the flora. During a day at a Yorkshire, England, wildlife park, the blogger behind Photogazette was in the right place at the right time to snap a perfectly placed shaft of light giving form to a lioness’s morning yawn:

Lion's breath.
Lion’s breath.

Of course, good lighting isn’t always about a shaft of light placed just-so. Diffuse light has its own unique and mysterious appeal, as A Gypsy’s Chronicles proves with this photo of morning mist rolling over the Huang Shan mountains of southern China:

A misty morning in the Huang Shan mountains.
A misty morning in the Huang Shan mountains.

Nor is light always cheerful, although that doesn’t mean it can’t also lead to stunning photos. The blogger from “There was a time…” caught a moody moment when she photographed white swans under a brooding sky outside Vancouver, Canada:

Lagoon of the bonny swans.
Lagoon of the bonny swans.

As photographer Laura Macky knows, though, an ominous sky has potential of its own — here, she shares a stormy sky giving way to a joyful arc of color:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

(For budding photographers, Laura co-hosts the weekly Monochrome Madness photo challenge with fellow WordPress.com photographer Leanne Cole.)

As the day winds down, the light becomes warmer and the color more saturated. Dan Sutherland of DanSuthPhoto.com was lucky enough to have his camera at the ready when he saw this colorful blaze cover the South Dakota badlands:

South Dakota badlands sunset.
South Dakota badlands sunset.

The setting sun’s light also creates patterns and shapes that aren’t apparent during the day. Mark Simms found these sinuous shapes in the sand on the Merseyside, England, coast as the sun dipped behind the Irish Sea:

Sand shapes.
Sand shapes.

Even when the sun disappears, light can transform a view. The Roaming Lama‘s Justin waited until the sun sank below the horizon and was rewarded with this multilayered image of Florence, Italy, at dusk.

The River Arno, Florence, Italy.
The River Arno, Florence, Italy.

For more great photography (and some armchair traveling) check out the photography topic in your Reader; if you can’t get enough of the early morning and late afternoon light, try the Golden Hour topic.