I’ve always had a difficult time taking pleasing landscape photos in heavy fog. I love the way prairies and wetlands look on foggy days, but I rarely come away with a scenic photo I’m happy with. Fortunately, I can (and usually do) fall back on close-up photos…
Water droplets, false foxglove and spider silk on a very foggy morning.
One foggy morning last week, I waded into the shallow water of a wetland at our Platte River Prairies. Everything was dripping wet because of the dense fog. There was a light breeze, but not quite enough to blow the droplets off the plants or spider silk strands.
More false foxglove in the fog.
Fog creates a “flat” light. Flat light can be used for scenic photos, but it’s difficult to portray depth and texture because of the lack of any shadows. However, that same light can work pretty well for close-ups, especially as the fog thins a little and the ambient light becomes a little brighter.
Droplets on a late-blooming plains coreopsis.
There were several patches of sand lovegrass along the sandy edge of the wetland last week. The plants were bent almost to the ground under the weight of water drops. Hidden among the sparkles was a cold wet grasshopper…
A grasshopper on a water-bejeweled sand lovegrass flower.
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Sand lovegrass close-up.
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Sand lovegrass closer up.
As the fog started to dissipate, the sun popped out periodically, providing a few opportunities for some landscape photos, but by then I was too intent on the little drops of water to pay much attention to the bigger picture. I did take a few photos of the wetland, but quickly put the wide angle lens back away in favor of my macro lens.
Here’s what the wetland looked like as the fog started to lift…
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…but it was the close-ups that continued to catch my eye. Water droplets on the tip of a grass leaf and spider silk.
The Prairie Ecologist 