Lost in a Fog

[Juan (Juan Reppucci)]

Great article! I’m never happy with my post-processing in fog conditions. Reading this makes me think that maybe I should play more with white balance. Here (in NW Argentinean tropical forest) fog is more frequent in summer when more bugs and flowers are present, your article inspired me to try some fog wide angle macro!
Thanks!

[beautythief (Greg Rodgers)]

@Ed_McGuirk

…ally prefer to keep the fog slightly cool, especially if I can contrast the cool fog against warmer colors. If there is direct sunlight in the scene, such as light rays through a foggy forest, I prefer to use a warmer white balance to add more ambiance.So the next time you find yourself “Lost in a Fog,” be sure to take advantage of the wonderful benefits that fog and mist can provide to your images.

Thanks for the education and very nice foggy images Didn’t realize there were that many kinds of fog. Gonna have to pull out some photos I shot of foggy scenes and see what I might be able to do with them. You are inspiring!

[Ed_McGuirk]

@Juan @beautythief I’m glad that you enjoyed the article , and also that it is inspiring you to get out and shoot foggy landscapes.

Juan, as I said in the article, White Balance is probably the most important processing decision that you can make with fog images. If you use Lightroom for processing it can be helpful to make several virtual copies and experiment with changing the WB settings ,and then compare them side by side. The WB setting can make a huge difference in the mood of fog images.

@beautythief

Didn’t realize there were that many kinds of fog

Greg, there are actually more types of fog than this. While most of my fog images are radiation fog (common in spring and fall where I live), I really get excited whenever I get the chance to shoot either freezing fog, or Sea Smoke, because they both create very unusual conditions that don’t happen all that often.

[Sarah_Marino]

Hi Ed - thank you for for comprehensive article on this topic with wonderful accompanying photos. You are lucky to live in a place with frequent fog. We only see misty conditions a time or two each year around our home so I’m always excited to see fog materialize when we are traveling for all the reasons you discuss in your post.

[Izzy (Izzy Kapetanovic)]

@Ed_McGuirk

…ally prefer to keep the fog slightly cool, especially if I can contrast the cool fog against warmer colors. If there is direct sunlight in the scene, such as light rays through a foggy forest, I prefer to use a warmer white balance to add more ambiance.So the next time you find yourself “Lost in a Fog,” be sure to take advantage of the wonderful benefits that fog and mist can provide to your images.

Excellent review of the fog weather phenomenon, its photo impact and the way to capture and process the images. Recently, I’ve spent several day in WV to capture autumn foliage. The two optimum days selected for the sunrise shoot both turned out to be very foggy instead. So I took the opportunity to concentrate on the fog which I like for it’s moody feel. I am attaching one of my favorite images form there and would appreciate any comments. In processing, I slightly increased the warmth of the foreground trees and coolness of the fog. Thank you.

[Ed_McGuirk]

@Izzy thank you for your kind comments on my article, I am glad that you enjoyed it. Your image from WV is simply gorgeous. It has tremendous mood, and I love the warm / cool color contrast. your image is a great example of how fog can elevate a scene to another level.

[Ola_Jovall]

Sorry for a vey late response, but I have not had the time to read this until now. An excellent sum-up of all aspects of fog photography, and a set of excellent and inspiring images! Since living in an area without “reliable” fog, sometimes I use the app “Windy”, predicting fog in their forescasts. I guess they compare the air temperature with the dew point.

[Ed_McGuirk]

Thank you Ola, glad you enjoyed it. In Sweden you also likely get some decent chances at freezing fog and rime ice, which can lead to some interesting images.

[horatio]

@Ed_McGuirk

…ally prefer to keep the fog slightly cool, especially if I can contrast the cool fog against warmer colors. If there is direct sunlight in the scene, such as light rays through a foggy forest, I prefer to use a warmer white balance to add more ambiance.So the next time you find yourself “Lost in a Fog,” be sure to take advantage of the wonderful benefits that fog and mist can provide to your images.

Thank you for such a terrific and informative article. As a person who really likes fog, I appreciate you writing about it, in the detailed manner you did. Your fog images are beautiful, filled with a great deal of emotion and strong sense of moodiness. Thank you.

[Ed_McGuirk]

Thank you Horatio, I’m glad that you enjoyed my article.