Morning Mist | Weekly Photo #108
Dawn really is my favourite time of the day to be out with my camera. Whether I’m standing on the bank of the River Thames photographing the cityscape while the rest of London still sleeps or amongst the trees in my local woodland listening to the wildlife go about their morning business, just being there, in the moment makes those early morning alarms worthwhile.
That being said, getting up for sunrise at this time of year, when the days are at their longest and sunrise is at silly-o’clock takes every last bit of my will-power because when that alarm sounds at 3:30 am, I could just ignore it and stay in bed (and sometimes I do). But the mornings when I do get up and head out into the dark, camera in tow are the mornings where I’ve convinced myself that this might be the day, I get the conditions I long for. Which, just happened to be the case just the other week during a fantastic misty summer’s morning in the local forest.
Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 18mm | 1/5th Second | f/8 | ISO250
All the signs pointed that I was in for some foggy conditions as I set my alarm for the following morning. After a few days of heavy rain, the humidity was up in the 90s, the dew point matched the temperature and only a light wind was expected. Sure, weather can be unpredictable and I’d been here before, anticipating some fantastic conditions for woodland photography, only to wake up to clear or uninspiring light. But every now and then, it all comes together and that was the case on this particular morning. So, off I went into the pre-dawn darkness to my local forest.
It was still dark as I arrived, but being familiar with the forest pays dividends on days like this as to save a bit of time, I made my way straight to a spot I’d previously scouted so when the light was good enough, I was already on location with the camera on the tripod, ready to take the picture.
After arriving and setting up my camera, I stopped and waited for the light levels to increase. After I’d finished messing with the gear, it all fell silent around me and only then did the forest come to life. I noticed the trees gently rustling in the wind, twigs falling to the floor next to me while the squirrels jumped from tree to tree and most of all, the sound of the birds waking up with their song.
I recorded the sound I could hear on my phone which you can play below. It’s by no means a professional job and I don’t have a microphone but it sounds ok to me. Whatever you’re doing, find a quiet place, press play and close your eyes for 60 seconds and just listen.
Beautiful, right? I find it so relaxing and it transports me back to the exact moment I was standing there taking it all in After the light levels increased, I took the photo and went on my way. I’ll share that one in the coming weeks.
With the conditions as good as they were, I had to be careful not to rush around like a headless chicken, trying to cram as many compositions in as possible. I had to remind myself to take it slow and seek out the very best compositions on offer. That being said, I had in my mind a scene I wanted to photograph, so I headed to the part of the forest mostly likely to deliver and after hunting for a good 45 minutes or more, I finally found what I was looking for.
I love the look of birch trees in the early summer months, surrounded by fresh green foliage complemented by these misty conditions. I’ve seen plenty of similar-looking photos from some of the woodland photographers I follow and have always wanted to photograph something similar, captured and processed in my own style. After stumbling on this arrangement of trees, I immediately knew there was a picture to be had here.
Out came my camera so I could move around, using the viewfinder to frame the best composition. I wanted the birch in the foreground to be the main focal point, allowing the trees in the background to play a supporting role and add some depth into the image. It was important to me that the colours of the rhododendrons were included on each side to break up the greens a little and add a subtle splash of colour, emphasising the late spring/early summer look I was after.
I find that using a circular polarizer filter in foggy conditions can sometimes lead to a flatter, lifeless photo so I chose not to use one here and instead allow what light there was to reflect from the plants and with my camera now on the tripod and the camera settings dialled in (18mm, f/8, 1/5th sec, ISO250) I took this shot.
Until next week.
Trevor
This post is featured in my Weekly Photo series where I post a new photo every Monday. To have this delivered directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to the mailing list here.