Fog Smoke Haze (and Sun Rays) in Photos
Smoke, haze, fog… these all hold possibilities for photographers. You’ve probably seen movies where people are hunting through dark areas using flashlights and you can see the beam of the flashlight cutting through the darkness. You can see the beam because the cinematographer added a bit of artificial haze/fog to the scene. The beams of light are much more interesting than just seeing someone carrying a flashlight. The same theory holds true for a lot of photographic situations. They can be transformed by the addition of smoke or haze or fog.
Take for instance the photograph (above) of my daughter Emma (emmaecho.com). In addition to being a tremendously talented photographer, she loves designing costumes and unique apparel.
She had recently designed a moth cape and we thought it might be interesting — since it had recently snowed — to do some photographs at Cedar Crest in the Sandias east of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
There was much less snow than we had anticipated, but fog kept moving in and out of the area. At times Emma would be totally obscured and at other times, she would slightly emerge, presenting some tantalizing possibilities.
The location was in the parking lot at the Crest, but the fog helped eliminate an unattractive background and isolate Emma in her moth cape.
Since the scene looked somewhat surreal, I post-processed more agressively than I might normally. I thought the shot worked well for a series I call “Alt Fashion,” which if you look under the “Projects” tab, you’ll be able to find.
Take for instance the photograph (above) of my daughter Emma (emmaecho.com). In addition to being a tremendously talented photographer, she loves designing costumes and unique apparel.
She had recently designed a moth cape and we thought it might be interesting — since it had recently snowed — to do some photographs at Cedar Crest in the Sandias east of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
There was much less snow than we had anticipated, but fog kept moving in and out of the area. At times Emma would be totally obscured and at other times, she would slightly emerge, presenting some tantalizing possibilities.
The location was in the parking lot at the Crest, but the fog helped eliminate an unattractive background and isolate Emma in her moth cape.
Since the scene looked somewhat surreal, I post-processed more agressively than I might normally. I thought the shot worked well for a series I call “Alt Fashion,” which if you look under the “Projects” tab, you’ll be able to find.
For the photograph of Emma wearing a gas mask and holding a smoking laboratory flask (above), we used some smoke bombs inserted into the flask. The photo might have worked without the smoke, but with it, it transformed the image into something special and one that might prompt questions in the viewer, which is often a good attribute in a photo.
There have been a lot of wildfires in the western states and a lot of the smoke has visited Northern New Mexico where I live, which presented me with some interesting photo situations.
There have been a lot of wildfires in the western states and a lot of the smoke has visited Northern New Mexico where I live, which presented me with some interesting photo situations.
When I was passing Santa Rosa de Lima church ruins in Abiquiú, New Mexico, on a recent morning, the sun was just rising and was transformed dramatically by the smoke in the sky.
And when I was driving in Española, New Mexico, one morning, the sun was again transformed into a dramatic orange ball just rising above the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which lie to the east of Española. As I was pulling my truck to the side of the road, I noticed a bird circling around, so waited to incude it in the composition.
On a typical day, without the wildfire smoke in the sky, the photo of the sun with the bird would have worked, but the addition of he otherworldly hue in the sky due to the smoke, added a drama that wouldn't have existed otherwise.
On a typical day, without the wildfire smoke in the sky, the photo of the sun with the bird would have worked, but the addition of he otherworldly hue in the sky due to the smoke, added a drama that wouldn't have existed otherwise.
I have a page on this site devoted to photos I've taken of a lovely formation (Cabezon Peak) that is located west of Highway 550 between Bernalillo and Cuba, New Mexico. The photo above shows just the top of the peak and adds a lovely mystery to the scene. I've to photos of Cabezon Peak in all kinds of seasons, but this one is a favorite because of the mystery provided by the low clouds, which leave something to the viewer's imagination. Something that I like to achieve.
The photo of Black Mesa on the San Ildefonso Pueblo, includes a slight fog which produced an unexpected lighting condition referred to as a sun dog (or sundog) or mock sun, formally called a parhelion[1] (plural parhelia) in meteorology, is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that consists of a bright spot to one or both sides of the Sun. Two sun dogs often flank the Sun within a 22° halo.
The sun dog is a member of the family of halos caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sun dogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun, and at the same altitude above the horizon as the Sun. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but are not always obvious or bright. Sun dogs are best seen and most conspicuous when the Sun is near the horizon.
The sun dog is a member of the family of halos caused by the refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. Sun dogs typically appear as a pair of subtly colored patches of light, around 22° to the left and right of the Sun, and at the same altitude above the horizon as the Sun. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but are not always obvious or bright. Sun dogs are best seen and most conspicuous when the Sun is near the horizon.
The high power poles seem to emerge from an early morning fog at the Santa Clara Pueblo, which is located on the edge of Española. This particular image is part of my Anti-Landscape Landscape series and was made all the more interesting with the inclusion of the fog.
One morning when I was visiting the Cumbres Toltec Railroad train yard in Chama, New Mexico, II happened upon the workers using steam to clean one of the engines. Steam engines create a lot of smoke and become really filthy, and they need to be cleaned often. The combination of early morning light combining with the steam created a lovely ambiance that wouldn't have existed without the steam.
A slight haze in the sky, combined with certain other “ingredients,” such as the sun peeking through some clouds, also provide the possibility of sun rays in photographs. I was recently driving near the Santa Rosa de Lima ruins in Abiquiú and realized that the combination of the clouds in the sky and the slight haze was creating some very dramatic sun rays. The ruins are a location I pass often, and I've taken a lot of photos I'm pleased with, but these sun rays elevated this particular photo to become one of my current favorites.
I much prefer to encounter photos rather than orchestrate them, but couldn’t pass up the bubble machine I found at a Savers thrift store about a year ago.
(10) My daughter, Emma, and I played around: she with a gas mask or an umbrella or both. The bubbles added an interesting aspect to the sky above Emma’s head, and with the onset of the pandemic, provided a starting point for me adding some “COVID” molecules as replacements for the bubbles.
But the addition of the bubble machine got me thinking about purchasing a fog machine, which Emma and I have been contemplating for some time, but I don’t know if I really want to do that although the idea of being able to put fog or haze into a photograph at will is appealing. Time will tell.
Some additional photos are below.
(10) My daughter, Emma, and I played around: she with a gas mask or an umbrella or both. The bubbles added an interesting aspect to the sky above Emma’s head, and with the onset of the pandemic, provided a starting point for me adding some “COVID” molecules as replacements for the bubbles.
But the addition of the bubble machine got me thinking about purchasing a fog machine, which Emma and I have been contemplating for some time, but I don’t know if I really want to do that although the idea of being able to put fog or haze into a photograph at will is appealing. Time will tell.
Some additional photos are below.
To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email bobeckertphotography@yahoo.com
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