Fog and mist

Fog is my favourite kind of weather. It arrives quietly, usually in the hour before sunrise, and takes the world apart one piece at a time: the far shore first, then the tree line, then the road. What is left is the simplest version of a place, a few shapes and a lot of grey, with the light glowing softly behind it all.

I love the mystery of it. A boat sits on the river with no shore in sight, a lone tree stands on a hill with nothing around it, and a row of power poles marches off into nothing. Fog makes you wonder what is just out of view. The world quiets down, the sound goes with the sight, and everything seems to pause.

These photographs are about that stillness and simplicity. I look for minimal scenes, with one subject, soft tones, and plenty of empty space, and then I wait. The best frames come when I stand still for a few minutes and let the mist do the work. Most were taken along Manitoba rivers and country roads at dawn, from late spring through to the first cold mornings of November.

Fishermen in a boat with a small light, glowing in thick fog

Photos

  • Autumn trees along a misty river at sunrise
  • Golden mist over a marsh with a bird perched on a snag
  • Misty river with a distant church spire and treeline
  • Fishing boat on a river in thick grey fog
  • Boat crossing a river under an orange sunrise mist
  • Orange sunrise glowing through fog over a prairie field with hay bales
  • Cattle grazing in a foggy pasture
  • Runner on a gravel road beside power poles in fog
  • Lone tree on a foggy prairie hill
  • Angler on a pier in dense fog

Back to prairie landscape photography, or see Manitoba bird photography.