Hiking above the inversion layer, a thick layer of fog below you, is certainly alluring. It feels like you are above a sea of clouds. But hiking into the inversion layer is a whole new experience. The harsh light and the associated shadows get soft while trees and rocks now have a gentle blur. Occasionally, the fog highlights shafts of sunlight passing through the trees.
In this winter scene, all these effects came into play on a sunny day in a snow-covered landscape. I captured a few shots of this fleeting scene just as the fog started to thicken again.
Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Misty Mountains
Backpacking in Wrangell St. Elias late in the season has its risks: you are likely to be at the whim of the Pacific storms which can dump a lot of moisture. And the short summer here means that you are going to be cold, damp and miserable if you are not moving. And if you are really lucky, you are going to be frozen in the icy north too. My sojourn in the Park had all of these, and more. But it was still an amazing experience.
Waking up in the morning after a day of hiking in the cold miserable rain, I was treated to a landscape blanketed in snow, with the morning light slowly peering through. The warming sunlight led to fog forming and drifting over the rolling hills and snow-capped peaks all around. And for a while, the landscape glowed with alternating pastels of yellow and blue. This magical landscape was the only factor that helped me brave the freezing cold that morning.
Here I tried to capture one such scene from that delightful morning walk.
Wrangell St Elias National Park
AK USA
Misty Woods
Unlike the last photo which was taken on a sunny weekend, this one instead was on a cloudy day, typical of winter in the pacific Northwest. Instead of grand landscapes, I chose to focus on the ethereal fog that keeps the rainforests of the Olympic peninsula rather wet and moist.
Olympic National Park
WA USA
Winter Mornings
A misty winter morning found me wandering through the snow-dusted trails of the North Cascades, seeking scenes like this one.
Don’t forget to buy my 2022 Photography Calendar featuring similar scenes from the Pacific Northwest.
Rising above the fog
More often than not, when I am heading out to shoot, I have a place and time in mind that has been carefully planned for, taking into consideration the weather, smoke, light and landscape. And that constitutes a majority of what I shoot. And then I have others that I shoot by happenstance - I just happen to be at the right place at the right time.
This morning, as I was heading back after a long night of shooting, I noticed a river valley completely enveloped in ground-level fog, reducing visibility to a few hundred feet. I ventured a bit more cautiously, hoping to get out of the thick fog. But as the sun came up, this fog started to glow with an inner fire, and I knew I had to shoot it. Around me was the everyday workings of a rural farm: barns, tractors and a few cornfields. As I scouted for locations, I came upon a little rise in the road where the fog, now below me, was spreading through woods and catching the morning light. That scene matched an image I had had in my repertoire of a classic sunrise over a foggy Napa Valley, and while not the same, made me stop to catch the light.
Whatcom County
WA USA
A National Park Journey - Yellowstone National Park
For all the hype that was Yellowstone, my first visit to this park, that was popularized by the various representations of Old Faithful in cartoons and movies, failed to live up to expectations. While the entire geyser basin with its innumerable hotsprings, geysers and colored thermal pools were otherworldly, it felt repetitive. Except for the Grand Prismatic Spring with its cornucopia of colors, Yellowstone didn't capture my heart the way Grand Teton did on my first visit there.
I really didn't grasp all the intricate machinations of Yellowstone until subsequent visits where I got to ascend mountain peaks that gave an overview of the vast landscape that stretched in all directions, and where I got to observe the intricate relationships between the flora and fauna, and between wolves, grizzlies and vast herds of bison. I realized at that point that Yellowstone offered far more than what met the eye: the complexity of the ecosystem and the unique land was far more than what I could comprehend. I don't think photos can ever do justice to this, but that didn't stop me from trying during those visits. This image was of a summer sunrise in Hayden Valley, with the morning rays catching the rising fog from the warmer waters of the Yellowstone River.
Yellowstone National Park
WY USA
Coastal Forests
The rugged coastline of Oregon is a road-trippers paradise. Smooth sandy beaches interspersed with steep cliffs where the coastal forests meet the rugged ocean all lie within arms length of small coastal communities. And on a crisp sunny day, these places are a delight to explore.
Along one such beach, the morning fog filtered through the trees, creating crepuscular rays that beamed down to the shoreline bedecked with mossy rocks, decaying deadwood and the occasional sea stacks.
Ecola State Park
OR USA
Seeking Solitude at Sunrise
The solitude of the morning spread over the land like the morning fog, its silence disturbed only by the calls of the waterfowl lazily swimming in the mist. The sun had just started to rise up, a great big ball of fire whose light pierced through the fog, setting it aglow over the tranquil wetlands.
I was just beginning to enjoy the serenity when it was marred by an approaching speedboat, its staccato engine noise engulfing the tranquility of the still dawn. I couldn't have cared less for it, but those were the cards I was dealt with. Hence I tried to frame it as part of the scene: a pastoral sunrise disturbed by a touch of man-made monstrosity...
Astoria
OR USA
Gateway to Nature
My trip to Japan was a juxtaposition of contrasts: of the modern bullet trains and ancient rituals, of concrete jungles and serene nature, of crowded onsens and peaceful villages. And yet, everyone of them was connected by an underlying thread of humanity in a cramped country, that, at times, didn't feel as cramped.
I experienced a part of this while hiking the sacred Kumano Kodo, an ancient pilgrimage route winding through the mountains of central Honshu. I passed through ancient Shinto shrines freshly decorated with incense and along forest paths that wound through bucolic villages and dense woods. The study in contrasts was very apparent in those three days that I hope to repeat in my future, if only to revisit those seeming contradictions once again.
Kii Peninsula
Japan
A Walk in the Woods
I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees
- Henry David Thoreau
The earthy trail wound through the tall denizens of the misty woods. It was eerily silent, the only sound being the crunch of every step I took towards my destination. And yet, I never felt alone - I had the forest for company and I had so much to learn during my trek on the Kumano Kodo.
Kumano Kodo
Kii Peninsula, Japan