Autumn Rust

The fall can be cruel to photographers. I don’t really enjoy shooting in complete overcast, or perfect skies. I had been watching the weather all day and night looking for where I might get some morning run through the clouds. I was excited because the conditions were telling me I might get a partial inversion, and it was true, I did get one. I went to the location I had in mind, excited I might finally get the shot I had been after all year. I arrived on scene, perfect condition to get the shot in the bag, only had to wait for the light to crank up to begin shooting. As the light came up, so too did an impenetrable wall of fog. My shot gone, I waited, hoped, but no luck. I decided to call it and began heading home, dense fog blocked my way, no way to see where I was going, or where I even was, until eventually I burst through the cloud layer and this scene laid out… between two opposing systems creating a strange funnel of cloud on either side.

I come back to a point I maid some time ago, you never know unless you go out and look for yourself. I gambled, and came up short on the shot I wanted, but got a shot I enjoyed regardless. I used elements from around the scene to get this composition, carefully moving the camera back and forth to avoid the weeds right in front of the camera, framing the single mountain in the middle, around trees and a larger ridge right behind. Sometimes you work hard to get the shot you want only to be denied. Don’t let the opportunity go to waste!

Turn your failures into positives as you work towards your goals. Weather is unpredictable, only use it as a momentary guide to your finished product. Now, my processing here is a bit heavy handed, but I liked the HDR in a scene that lacked direct lighting. Shooting scenes like this without direct light can create flat images, so you have to push a little further to get a result you enjoy.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 160
SS: 1/8th
Focal: 59mm

Fujinon 50-140mm