Morning Embrace

Morning fog in the spring is like an old friend. Welcoming you with sights and smells that transport you back to your youth. walking to catch the bus to school, navigating through the wispy, yet unnaturally thick haze. Not much has changed, just perspective. As you grow older, wiser, you begin to see that this Appalachian mist isn’t just an ordinary fog, no, indeed this is just a cloud that had lost some altitude. Resting heavy on the mountains bellow, crashing like waves in slow motion, weightless, but beautiful as the first rays of the morning light washes over, giving that morning embrace.

Four years, that’s how long I have waited for this photo. Every time I knew an inversion was coming, or even likely I traveled here. Sometimes just to see if I was right, and for four years I came away knowing just a little bit more about this scene. Every time I found myself understanding the composition, knowing where to stand, what to watch for. Four years may seem to be a long time to wait, but the reality is, it was just four years to practice.

Editing this photo went almost like clockwork. I began big, manipulating the light, working the whole scene, adding a bit more glow. Then, we began to work into the photo, radial filters, sky adjustments. Stepping down further, fixating on details, dodging, burning. Finally I finished it off with a slight vignette, and a light recoloring of the sky. This photo, and those like it take time, but time is something the landscape photographer keeps in their back pocket, just incase.

Until Next Time!

Aperture: f8
ISO: 250
SS: 1/40th
Focal: 84mm

Fujinon 50-140mm