fog
I forgot to share this video last week, as it went live while I was on a plane (new adventures coming soon!). Anyway, one all about fog photography, my favorite conditions to shoot in. Tips, how to compose, how to edit, camera gear and settgins, drones, and some words about safety.
Wildfires are hell. Not only because of the destruction they bring to the wildlife and humans living around it, but also because of the effect of the smoke they produce that can reach lands thousands of miles away.
I've experienced this a few times while living in Portland. Once, we left a window cracked during a smoky day, and came back a few hours later to an apartment covered in ash.
And yet, the apocalyptic and eerie scenes the smoke creates can make for incredible photographs. We've all seen images from New York City this week, affected by the smoke from wildfires happening in Canada. So horrible, yet so incredibly beautiful.
Similarly to fog, the smoke hides whatever is far away from you, while revealing in great detail the objects closer to you. It does have a distinct feel, though: it pollutes the whole landscape. Plus, these conditions happen at times when fog does not usually happen: there's nothing more dramatic than the Sun coming through a thick layer of smoke.
These two images are examples of some work I did in very smoky conditions. The first one was made in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, back in 2017, when wildfires in Alberta covered the whole PNW with smoke. The second image was made last year in Riaño, Spain, during a day with very strong calima (sand that is blown away from the Sahara desert, not from wildfires but the exact same effect).
Be cautious if you decide to adventure in these conditions, though: the danger to one's health can't be understated. Wear a good mask, and don't spend too much time outdoors anyway.
The year could not have started with better conditions: three straight days of dense fog. I'd never seen my town here in Indiana like this before! So of course I spent as much time as possible outside, camera in hand, capturing scenes that don't usually happen around here.
Madeira, November 2021.
Another image from the beautiful and magical forest of Fanal, in Madeira.
Galicia, January 2022.
Galicia, January 2022.
This is not a dry land by any means, but for whatever reason, we don't have any lakes around here. So when I found this tiny pond while "scouting" on Google Maps, I knew I had to check it out. It didn't disappoint!
Galicia, December 2021.
We had some lovely foggy mornings last week, and I tried to make the most of them. So much that I felt a bit relieved when I woke up this morning to a clear sky. For the first time in more than a week, I was able to enjoy my morning coffee and take it easy with breakfast. As I called it before, it's a blessing... and a curse.
Galicia, December 2021.
A foggy day in town, early in the morning. A perfect day for photography!
Galicia, November 2021.
An image I made a few days ago during my morning walk. This is one of my favorite moments in a foggy morning, when the Sun starts to get through the dense mist. The whole landscape becomes a bit otherwordly, eerie, mysterious, lovely. These are the moments that make photography so great.
Galicia, October 2021.
Another of those trees I stumble upon during my morning walks. I will never get tired of making images of them!
Galicia, October 2021.
An image I would've never made if it wasn't for my bike. This church was too far to get to by foot, and the road was too rough to drive on - with my car, at least.
I loved the contrast between these "pillars": the natural ones and the human made one. It's these kind of human elements that I try to add into my work, I feel like they make for very interesting images.
Galicia, October 2021.
A plam tree on a foggy and cold morning. Far from its natural habitat, I wonder how it feels to be here.
Galicia, October 2021. From the video "A bike and a camera".
I always wondered why scarecrow. Is it only to scare crows? In Spanish, these are called espantapájaros, or scarebird - because it's supposed to scare birds in general.
Anyway. This is an image I knew I had to make when I saw the scarecrow in the middle of a turnip field, on a foggy morning riding my bike. This is one of those images that I know will look terrific in print, and I can't wait to see it myself.
I'm not entirely sure what function these serve, but they looked pretty good. Good enough for an image, I believe.
Galicia, October 2021.
Galicia, October 2021. Another image from the video "Back in the fog".
I love making images of powerlines, they are very strong subjects and they look amazing in some weather, like... you've guessed it, fog.
From my video "Back in the fog".
Back home, back to photographing the fog. I only had an hour before having to run some errands, but I was still able to sneak in some photography.
Galicia, October 2021.
I made this image yesterday during my morning bike ride. As I kept going uphill, the fog started to make way for the clear sky. There's a magical spot where the Sun can create light beams through trees, and that's what I was looking for. I found it, and it was beautiful.
Galicia, October 2021.
I've made dozens of images of this tree, in every possible condition. I walk by it very often, almost every day, and I just love the way it looks. Some days, though, it looks especially good. This foggy morning was one of those times.
I love fog. Fog is very important for my photography, as it creates the atmosphere and the mystery I look for with my images.
As you can imagine, being able to predict (or at least have some degree of confidence) where and when fog happens can make a big difference. That’s why I always keep an eye on some key numbers that are a good indicator of possible mist.
I use an app called Clear Outside. It’s not a good one, it’s old and hasn’t been updated in years, but I love how simple it is. I can see everything I need in one quick glimpse, with no distractions.
What I look for is:
This is not an exact science, quite the opposite: predicting fog is really hard. But with the right numbers, and some knowledge about the location, you can have a rough idea of what to expect. And maybe have your camera bag ready to go, just in case.
