I'd guess that a lot of photographers are put off by fog. Even if you're not someone who enjoys photography, you might imagine the train of thought -- fog obstructs or robs clarity and definition from the subject, not to mention the damage moisture might do to the camera and/or lens. That was the way I thought about it for a while.
My approach started to turn around in mid-April 2012, the morning I got outside early and shot landscape scenes in a heavy mist above the still waters of Wasatch Lake in Owen County, Ind. I saw how wonderful of an element the mist added to my shots -- an "ah ha!" moment. I include an example from that shoot at right; the the mist lifts lazily above the water in the background of a shot of swans on the lake.
Then a couple years ago, I read an article in a photography magazine (either
Shutterbug or the former
Popular Photography) that challenged photographers not to run away from mist or fog, that we could get some striking, dramatic images from such rare environmental elements.
On Feb. 11, our first full day in Ormond Beach, Fla., we awoke shortly after 6 a.m. to a thick fog. We'd gotten a beach-side room overlooking the ocean, which I had been hoping to exploit for at least one good sunrise morning. But on that first morning, the combination of fog and my cob-webbed brain frustrated me when I tried to make sunrise pictures from our balcony.
None of the shots really amounted to much; I present the two best that I made at left and right.
In my frustration and disappointment, however, I happened to recall that magazine article. I put down the camera and went online to see how long the fog would be around, and when the forecast said it would stick around until 11 a.m. or thereabouts, I slurped down some coffee, threw on some clothes and headed to the beach. The shots in this first post from Ormond Beach are from that shoot. I won't try to argue that all or even any are masterful, but ... I hope it gives photography enthusiasts ideas about what you can come up with ... if you simply put yourself in a position to get it.
There were two other environmental elements at work while I did this shoot. When I walked south along the beach, I had the sun in the southeast sky facing me, which meant there was back-light to contend with. Yes, fog was filtering the light, but there still was enough of it to present back-light issues you would expect when shooting into the sun. But hey, no one ever said silhouettes are bad, did they?
The silhouettes, in turn, availed opportunities to convert a lot of the images to monochrome, which I elected to do in large quantities for this post. The fog and back light also muted a large percentage of hues in the images, so going monochrome just made sense.
You can see
all images from the shoot -- original color and any monochrome conversions in a gallery at my site at SmugMug.com. To view a larger, sharper version of an image, simply click on it. This is particularly helpful if you are accessing the blog while using a mobile device.
Photo geek stuff: All images were taken with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm Di PZD VC lens and bracketed for three images for three exposures, which I usually do to allow for compositions to be treated in high-dynamic range (HDR) software during post-processing. This time, I did the exposure bracketing to increase the likelihood of catching optimum exposure for each composition. All of the pictures here are single-frame shots.
Above: This man would be a focal point for quite a few of my photos on this shoot. I snagged this because I was timing when his shadow would fall in the small opening between the birds in the foreground.
Above: I saw several large flocks of birds on the sand this morning. I composed this to integrate them with the couple and the human shadows falling into the areas of the birds.
That man appears again in the photos above and next two below. I loved the wings element in the one above. I'm not sure if the man was appreciating what I was ... or he was annoyed I was taking his picture. In the first photo below, the child entered the frame, and I just adjusted the focal range and tripped the shutter. In the second photo below, the man had proceeded on his walk and was passed by a morning jogger. The footprints on the right add a secondary element to the composition.
Above: This shot is a great illustration of how fog can affect the contrast, visibility and sharpness (depth of field) of your subjects when only a few feet separate them, which was the case here with the solitary seabird on the left in the foreground (and the primary focal point), the group of birds in the center, and the couple you saw previously on the far right -- and even farther in the background.
The man in the lifeguard chair served as my focus for three illustrative compositions. Above is the normal monochrome conversion. On a separate shot, I decided to play with the contrast, darkening it (first below) to offer a more dynamic luster. I was still facing the sun for that shot. For the third composition (second below), again still facing the sun, I did a closeup of just the head and flag. When I got on the other side of him, I took the fourth photo below ... and present it in its original color. This view has the sun behind me.
Above: Of all of the fog-shrouded shots I took that morning, this was the one I was most excited about at the moment I made it. I thought the specter of the large building and the horizontal lines of its facade would render me a dynamic shot, even though it was surrounded by thick fog. When I brought up the image in post-processing, I wasn't quite as enamored with it, even though I still find it somewhat intriguing. I might have been hoping the discrepancy in size between the huge building and the small staircase (bottom right) and palm trees (in front of the structure) would have given me the "wow" factor I had envisioned. I ended up being more pleased with several other shots.
Different bicyclists (above and first two below) didn't let the fog stand in their way of enjoying a morning ride on the beach. I took the pictures of the cyclists above and first below while looking toward the fog-filtered sun; the second below was with the sun behind me. In the photo above, notice the dramatic drop-off of definition and clarity between the rider in the foreground and palm trees in the background. The same is true of the rider in the second photo below and the birds near the water.
Above: At the point of shoot of this shot, I was curious to see how the sway of the tree trunks would present themselves in a finished image.
Above and below: Relaxing on the beach ... The above is another three-distance depth of field composition. I could have presented the color version of the one below because it's pretty normal. But since I'm in the throes of a B/W theme ...
Above: Another jogger, and for the sake of just doing something different, I composed this to include the vacant beach chair in the foreground. The focus was on the runner, but because of how quickly fog clouded clarity of things in the distance, the chair almost appears to be the focus.
Above: If I could get away with leading off a post using a picture with a vertical orientation (I avoid it because they take up so much room at the top before getting to the text), this would have been my selection for a lead-off. It's my favorite from the shoot, even though the fog (in the background above the water) is very subtle. The original color version of this is pretty nice, too, I thought.
Above: An exit/departure shot, and because I'm in a mood (call it "mischievous") to veer from expectations in this post, I give you the color version.
Next up: Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse
My approach started to turn around in mid-April 2012, the morning I got outside early and shot landscape scenes in a heavy mist above the still waters of Wasatch Lake in Owen County, Ind. I saw how wonderful of an element the mist added to my shots -- an "ah ha!" moment. I include an example from that shoot at right; the the mist lifts lazily above the water in the background of a shot of swans on the lake.
On Feb. 11, our first full day in Ormond Beach, Fla., we awoke shortly after 6 a.m. to a thick fog. We'd gotten a beach-side room overlooking the ocean, which I had been hoping to exploit for at least one good sunrise morning. But on that first morning, the combination of fog and my cob-webbed brain frustrated me when I tried to make sunrise pictures from our balcony.
No comments:
Post a Comment