Photographing in the fog

Deep, thick fog is an exciting weather event to photograph. Fog reduces contrast, mutes colors, eliminates backgrounds and puts everything in a mysterious, atmospheric, even lighting.

Early Morning Tractor in the Fog https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/early-morning-tractor-in-farm-field-edward-fielding.html

When we live on Mount Desert Island Maine next to Acadia National Park, fog was an almost daily fact of life. You’d get reports from friends about one side of the island being fogged in while the other side was sunny. Often people on summer vacation would travel along a road that is right next to Somes Sound or the ocean daily not even realizing that it had an incredible ocean view on sunny days.

Stormy foggy night off the coast of Maine https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/stormy-night-off-the-coast-of-maine-edward-fielding.html

Something like 68% of the days on Mount Desert Island are foggy at least part of the day which kind of wrecks havoc on vegetable gardens and solar panels. It also created a rain forest type moisture which mosses and lichens love.

Here in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont we have some great foggy mornings, usually in the fall and along the valley floor especially the closer one gets to the Connecticut River. Lebanon, NH seems to be particularly foggy as it sits low the valley.

Photographing in the foghttps://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/foggy-autumn-morning-etna-new-hampshire-edward-fielding.html — Photographing in the fog https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/foggy-autumn-morning-etna-new-hampshire-edward-fielding.html

For a photographer who is up early in the morning and prepared to get out and capture the wonderful foggy landscape, it’s a great time to be photographing. The autumn leaves are turning and although the colors are much more muted than in bright sun, the effect of the fog and the colored leaves can be amazing.

Early foggy morning on the farm https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/early-foggy-morning-on-the-farm-edward-fielding.html

Fog consists of visible cloud water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth’s surface. Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud and is heavily influenced by nearby bodies of water, topography, and wind conditions.

For the photographer, the further back one gets to the subject, the more it tends to disappear. Lighting conditions are typically wonderfully diffused although the over all light level might be low and require wide open apertures or a tripod. Be ready the night before to get out and capture the fog early in the morning before it “burns off” when

Apple Orchard In The Fog https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/apple-orchard-in-the-fog-edward-fielding.html

the sun comes up.

To see more great foggy photographs, check out the Fog Portfolio Here