Today’s post condcludes my Foggy Morning series, with two images taken on the second day of my adventures in the fog last week. In case you missed it, here’s the link for Foggy Morning III, posted yesterday.
I shot this one overlooking Cedar Lake from the ridge trail in Ceres park. I like the way the fog softens the light. It’s almost magical. Who would have thought that soft, flat lighting could give a sense of depth like I’ve captured here. I never photographed in the fog before. Now I’m hooked.
This image was taken on a section of trail that I had never explored before. I didn’t realize it was there. Great. Now I have new locations for new adventures. The effect of the fog is more subtle in this image but it’s still there. I think the secret (one of them anyway) to good photos in foggy conditions is crisp detail, especially shadow detail in the foreground.
The woods make me think of going round the battlefields at Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Shiloh. Nice shots, the foggy conditions can fool a camera meter, that’s when an incident light meter comes in handy.
More nice images, John. I think that yesterday’s entry is still my favorite–I think it’s the strongest composition of the “in the fog” series–but these are very nice as well. They certainly are well-suited to the foggy conditions. And, I’m glad to here that you’ve “seen the light” (pardon the pun) of shooting in fog.
BTW, with regard to the above comment about fog fooling a camera’s meter–it’s true. Even with a spot meter, if you shoot at the recommended setting (which is attempting to turn everything into a neutral mid-tone, after all), you’ll underexpose the seen every time. A good rule of thumb when shooting with film is to spot meter on the brightest foggy area and open up roughly one-and-a-half stops. (With digital capture, the LCD’s histogram is your best friend.) In any case, your shots have looked just fine in this regard so obviously you’ve learned this lesson well.
Thank you Kerry. Yesterday’s image is my favorite as well. Thank you again for the inspiration. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to shoot in the fog last week. Two days in one week was a real bonus.
I did have my incident meter with me and used it as a sanity check. Shooting B&W film and developing in Diafine gives me an advantage. Diafine has the reputation of producing rather flat negatives but that’s a plus when you scan as I do. I always scan 16bit tiffs so I have plenty of wiggle room with curves. This time my negs produced scans that didn’t need much tweaking.
I learned another lesson re: sharpening. Over sharpening kills the softness of the fog. I try not to oversharpen and was ever so careful with these images.
The second photo looks so ghostly with the effect you put into it. And I like it so much though both are very good photos.
The second one is cool with the curvy sweeping branches and the straight massive trunks. You can tell it’s near the magical moment when the fog is close to disappearing.
I’ve enjoyed all these foggy photos. Now you’ve got me motivated to go to our local park the next time it’s foggy, although that might not be until spring.
Hi John. I’ve enjoyed all the foggy morning shots. Can’t say that I have a favorite, I love them all. The fog gives an almost ethereal feeling to the pics.
Of these last three, I like the last one’s dreamy quality. I expect mythical creatures to be hiding in the leaves and behind each piece of wood!
amazing midtone DOF — excellent black and white composition and processing. thank you. kareninkenai
Fantastic image!
The fog is palpable as is the atmosphere in the forest!
Lovely shots! Wish you a great weekend!
Irene
Thanks for sharing this lovely post. Have a nice weekend.
These are breathtaking. In the first, the fog appears to be progressing to the foreground, as though seeking to envelope the waning foliage. The second, my favorite, looks as though it would be snow should the temperature drop just a mite.
I like the layout of the new trail. I can almost envision what you may capture there come frosty winter and spring.
Red.
Yes, I think you’re right about the foreground detail. The first shot is my favourite though.
Very nice! It adds a whole different dimension to everything…
Magic!
Path photos are tantalising – one wants to walk into the frame and beyond.
It is wonderful light and it really comes through in the images. I have a addiction to fog also!