© 2012 Cheryl Machat Dorskind
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
As The Fog Rolls In My Vision Clears
By
Cheryl Machat Dorskind
As the fog rolls in, my vision clears.
Its ethereal mist contrasts the ordinary and awakens my camera. Clicking away, I celebrate.
At f/22 (optimal for great depth of field), fog slows the shutter. I secure the camera on a tripod and set the ISO to 100 (fog is noisy). Fog has many nuances. Wanting accurate color, I shoot in RAW and set my white balance to “cloudy.” (Cloudy white balance counters the generally blue bias of fog and synchronizes all jpeg thumbnails). With image stabilization (aka vibration reduction) off and manual focus on (fog impairs auto focusing), I rely on a shutter release cable (or a self timer) to eliminate camera shake.
Perhaps the only unromantic thing about fog (from the camera’s perspective) is the dampness. Consider weather gear.
Exposure is tricky because of fog’s reflective nature. Manual exposure mode is your best bet and bracket even if you are shooting RAW by one stop, plus or minus, so you have these exposures to suit your post processing mood.
Notice how fog (gray) emphasizes green’s vibrancy. Try this: close your eyes, count to five and then look again. Do you see red? This phenomenon is known as simultaneous contrast.
