It was completely clear this morning but shortly after sunrise I was lucky to look out at the right time and saw the start of a fogbow. I had time to grab the camera and set up on the deck and got several shots as the fog changed a bit. There were a few days last year in late October and early November when I had one but this one lasted a little longer. The ones from last year were displaced more to the right due to where the sun rose. Fog is not common up in the hills where we are this time of year – I’ll have to start watching.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Shot a pano to include all of the bow at 24mm, but the assembled shot is only a little wider than a single frame, and cropped a little from the bottom. Did what I could to get the best contrast in LR, then into PS for some separate tonal work on the sky and trees. There is what might look like some strange stuff at the base of the sky but it is some slightly darker pieces of fog.
What is this Diane? I have never heard of a fogbow and certainly have never come across such a scene. It is fascinating and the soft light beneath it is wonderful.
Thanks, @Phil_G! It’s a rainbow in fog instead of in rain. Not very common, but we live in an area where fog can be forming in the valley to the west when the sun tops the hill behind us. The first bits of sunlight can nucleate fog when still air has chilled overnight with radiational cooling to slightly below the dew point.
Sweet! I love the symmetry and the subtlety. My only suggestion is to maybe target the darkest trees and maybe hit the dehaze to the left a tiny bit. I’d play with it anyway. Just to see how it looks. Great that you have this phenom so close to the home.
Thanks, @Kris_Smith – I do think the darkest trees are too dark – maybe need to play with some TK masks. I shot several panos as the light changed and need to work on the others for comparison. Now have the 17mm TS-E set up shifted up so I can shoot it in one frame aimed level to remove tree distortion at the edges, and it’s on a rail so can shoot a pano if I want to include more, and of course it hasn’t happened again.
I love the simplistic beauty of this scene Diane, and especially the area with direct light just beyond the foreground trees. The warm direct light back there provides a sense of color contrast, and visually connects the fogbow—giving the impression that the fogbow glows from within and is responsible for that light. Wonderful capture!
Thanks, @Dan_Kearl! Hasn’t happened again but with luck the right mix of humidity and temp will give me another chance when the rainy season starts – IF it starts.
When I have time I’ll work on the dark trees and the lighter part of the bow on the left – in the 3 other times last year that I shot it, it was always lighter/broader there. That is a low spot toward the Santa Rosa Plain and the fog is apparently a little denser there.
