A misty winter morning found me wandering through the snow-dusted trails of the North Cascades, seeking scenes like this one.
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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
Dreamstate
It was a sunrise that wasn't.
A few years ago, I found myself camping in the heart of Yellowstone National Park, giving me the opportunity to get some unique photographs of this National Park. And I really looked forward to shooting a sunrise with beams of light catching the rising vapors of a nearby river, attempting to recreate a composition I had previously done.
This time around, that sunrise wasn't to be - a thick layer of fog had all but enveloped the meadow, dropping visibility and light. And it wasn't until an hour after did it thin enough to let the light through. As I was wandering around struggling to get compositions, I came across this poignant scene of a lonely tree standing steadfast in a vast meadow still moist from the morning mist.
Which version do you prefer - the Color or Black and White?
Yellowstone National Park
WY USA
Last of the Skagit
The tulip festival in Skagit certainly seems to have underestimated its popularity. Over the last few weekends, crowds have thronged the handful of accessible tulip farms of Skagit Valley, turning the highways into accident-prone death traps and access roads into immobile parking lots on weekends. Driving just a span of 15 miles on the way back, I encountered at least 3 accidents stalling traffic for miles.
As the season winds to a close, I hearken back to the start of the season, where a early morning trip to Skagit to see the early blooms proved far more memorable. I made my way at dawn along bucolic farmlands and sleepy homesteads mired in mist carried by the nearby Skagit river, and witnessed a beautiful sunrise by the blooming daffodils with the company of just a few photographers.
Skagit Valley
WA USA
Misty Mountains
'Far over the Misty Mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day
To find our long forgotten gold'
As I watched the misty fog roll over the steep ravines of the mountains yonder, this ode to the dwarves popped into my head, and I was instantly transported to Middle Earth. I imagined the ragged valleys through which the orcs would attack, the meandering rivers over which the elves and the dwarves would team up to defend, and the distant peaks from which the nazgul and the great eagles would watch the entire show.
Then the seemingly out-of-place picnic bench came into view, transporting me back to reality. Nevertheless, I spent many an hour mesmerized by the motion of the clouds and entranced by the soothing sounds of gurgling water. And to this day, photos like this made me realize why it was so hard to bid adieu to the land of Middle Earth.
Lake Tekapo
Canterbury, New Zealand