Parting Mist

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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Image(s)

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Image Description

Submitted for the Ethereal Fog & Mist challenge, I shot this at Mason Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. I enjoyed the coolness that the swirling mist and lack of direct sunlight offered on my hike up to this lake. As I sat myself and my dog down for some lunch about ten feet from the shore, I couldn’t even see the water through the fog. As I at, I could swear that it was getting brighter at least for moments. And then, as I finished eating, I started seeing little gaps in the cloud moving overhead, and then across the lake as it started to appear through the mist. I pulled out my camera and probably spent about an hour in that timeless sort of reverie that I tend to get both from clearing clouds and fog as well as from watching surf break on a rocky coastline. I knew I’d have a lot of shots to sift and weed, but I also knew that it was worth that bit of effort for the chance of getting at least one shot that captured at least a small sense of this sort of moment in the mountains. I hope this image evokes a bit of that sense for you.

Feedback Requests

I’m open to any and all input - thoughtful feedback is always a lovely gift.

Pertinent Technical Details

I shot this handheld at f/11 and around 1/100 sec. Converted to B&W in Adobe Lightroom, with a bit of dodging and burning done in Photoshop to both the mist on the lake and the vegetation, to help with readability and balancing of the composition.

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Jim: Makes me want to be there. I envy you the experience and know exactly how you felt. I wasn’t there but your image is the next best thing. Very nicely done. >=))>

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I really like this image James, and your choice of processing it in black and white. It works that the trees on the right side are clear and detailed, and the rest of the photo on the left side and background is surrounded in the fog.

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Totally gorgeous!! The mist drooping down near the center is an unusual effect and everything feels absolutely perfect! If I work at it, I do have one thing to wonder about, and that is the bright area at the bottom from the reflection of the drooping mist. Authentic as it looks, I wonder about toning down the brightest part of it as it pulls my eye.

I couldn’t remember seeing your work before and had a look at your Images section and found everything absolutely delightful!! I hope you’ll contribute many more gems here!

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Diane - thanks for the feedback on that bright reflection. I’ll try darkening that down a bit.