While it can be enticing if not blinding over time to chase golden hour light I’ve come to savor the moments I can explore a foggy landscape. While photographers will often use depth of field and lighting (ex. rim lighting, naturally occurring spot lighting, back lighting, etc.) to place an added emphasis of focus on a subject fog provides a naturally occurring means of doing the same thing. Fog both obscures and isolates subjects while bringing out naturally occurring color. Leveraging these qualities of fog with the right subject and you can produce a moody and timeless photo.
Around this time last year while driving to the Owens Valley, via Tioga Pass through Yosemite, I was pleasantly surprised that most of high country was socked in with extremely heavy fog. Ironic in such a majestic landscape I could be so excited to have obscured views. Rather than focus on the bigger elements of the landscape the fog provided a means to see the finer details and work to capture them in an intimate fashion. If you’re ever driving through a scenic location with heavy fog my recommendation is duck off the road to a safe spot and explore the area with your camera.
Photo Details
5 image vertical panoramic, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO 320
