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A flock of sandhill cranes roosts in backlit ground fog at sunrise, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, New Mexico.
Here’s another favorite image with the “fire in the mist” backlit ground fog. I like this one because of the wider perspective and sense of billowing fog. This looks best BIG. Be sure to click on the image for a larger version.
A flock of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) takes flight into backlit ground fog. Dawn. Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico.
Sometimes, nature photography is just about being in the right place at the right time. As I’ve posted before, I had the great pleasure of shooting in backlit ground fog (“fire in the mist”) conditions at Bosque del Apache for four days this winter. I made more great images in a few morning hours at Bosque than I’ve made in the prior year. This flock of Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) kept lifting off into the mist (probably scared by the resident bald eagle) wheeling around, landing, and then doing it again. Spectacular. To capture this image I carefully checked the exposure, composed for a strong line at the bottom of the frame to ground the image, and tried to give the birds a bit of space to fly into.1 Check out the ducks in the water at right — I love the rows of roosting ducks receding into the mist. (Click on the image for a larger view.)
Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) and light geese in backlit ground fog at dawn, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, NM.
As promised, here are some additional “fire on the mist” images from Bosque. I’ve been fortunate to photograph in these conditions a number of times, but it never gets old.
A flock of ducks takes flight into backlit fog, Bosque del Apache, NWR, San Antonio, New Mexico
I returned to Bosque del Apache NWR for the fifth time in December. Conditions this year were the coldest I have ever experienced in central New Mexico. It was around -7°F on the first morning, with heavy snow on the ground. But there was a huge silver, or rather golden lining in the cold temperatures. I was treated to four straight days of spectacular backlit ground fog. Overnight, the relatively warm open water sent billowing clouds of mist into the air. I carefully positioned myself so that the fog would be backlit by the rising sun. As you can see, the results are spectacular. Photographers call this “fire on the mist” for good reason. I have an (almost) embarrassingly large number of these photos, but I’m fairly sure that this is my favorite. Stay tuned for some more “fire on the mist” photos. Update: somehow, I lost the text of this blog post. I’ve restored it now. Sorry for any confusion. As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the highlights of my visit to Yellowstone was the fog each morning. These are some of my favorite fog shots from the trip. The only problem is I can’t decide which of these compositions I like the best. The top is clean and simple. The bottom one is a bit messier, particularly with the muddy shore peaking through at right. But, I like the way that the curved shoreline leads the eye into the frame. Also, I like that there are a few more trees visible in the background. So . . . which do you prefer? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Frost-encrusted bison on a foggy morning in the Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park
A highlight of my trip to Yellowstone was the fog. Fog at Oxbow Bend. Fog each morning on the Yellowstone River. (More on this later this week.) And, somewhat unexpectedly, fog, or rather frost, on a herd of American bison (Bison bison)1 in the Hayden Valley. The frost on these animals accumulated during a cold night spent in the fog; it’s a great demonstration of just how well-insulated they are. This is one of my favorite “frosty bison” images because of the symmetry of the warmly-lit foreground bison and the shaded animal behind. Be sure to click on the image for a larger view.
Mount Moran from the Oxbow Bend of the Snake River on a foggy morning just before dawn. Teton National Park
I’m ambivalent about photographic icons. Iconic places get that way because they photograph beautifully. But, it’s fiendishly hard to make an image of an icon that says something about it that hasn’t been said before. Mostly, my images of icons look like everyone else’s. Thus, it was mixed feelings when made the early morning drive from my hotel to the Oxbow Bend on the Snake River. Would I get a pretty photo? Probably. Would it look a whole lot like a thousand postcards for sale in nearby Jackson Hole? Probably. I traded my ambivalence for excitement as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. Fall color was at its absolute peak. And, even better, the Snake river was cloaked in early-morning fog. Though the place was mobbed with icon-seeking photographers, I found a perfect location right on the water’s edge. (Remarkably, having traveled thousands of miles to see the icon, most of the photographers shot it from the parking lot!) As soon as I tripped the shutter for this image, I knew that I captured an image that transcends the icon. Not only did I capture the beautiful and unusual conditions, but I managed to capture at least a little of my experience as I watched the the color slowly build in the the western sky. Note: rather than my usual practice of posting the majority of images from a “shoot” in one big post, I’m going to try more frequent, small posts. Stay tuned for more images from my recent trip to Tetons and Yellowstone. I got up very early on Christmas Eve to shoot at my favorite spot. It was so cold that I couldn’t find many animals to photograph, but the sun playing through the mist from Clear Creek more than made up for the lack of animate subjects. The first image is a straight-from-the camera image. The second is a monochrome image that I toned using a custom tone curve. I tent to prefer the first image, mostly because I think the composition is stronger, though (obviously) I liked the second enough to post it. Please post a comment and let me know which you prefer. |
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