One of my favorite kinds of light is found at “the edge of the light” —places that are neither in full sun nor fully shaded. Often I search out these spots, especially when fog is involved. The effect can range from subtle to quite striking when there are strong contrasts between deep shadow and light. Here there is an additional factor — not only are the foreground trees in a bit of that gentle light coming through the fog, but the more distant trees almost disappear into the thicker clouds.
We often hear something along the lines of, “photography is all about the light.” That’s not quite literally true in every case, but there’s no question that interesting light can turn an otherwise-mundane subject into something special. To be honest, this scene would not likely catch your attention at all in typical full sunlight nor in thicker fog — it is that glow on the foreground trees that makes it work.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.
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