I’ve become quite interested in the effects of fog on some of my avian subjects. Often I don’t like those effects but occasionally I find them visually interesting.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this Black-billed Magpie eight days ago on Antelope Island. The fog was constantly changing from thick to thin and back again but at this moment it was quite dense. I’ve rarely (if ever) even attempted to photograph a bird in flight through this much fog but when the bird took off instinct took over and I fired off a burst, fully expecting to trash the shots but I actually think this one’s kind of interesting. Even though the detail is muted by the fog, it’s still there in all of the blacks except for parts of the head and neck. In fact, I seldom get detail in this many of the blacks of a magpie, even in good light. I suspect that without the effects of the fog I might have had some pretty spectacular iridescence in this shot.
I was also pleasantly surprised that the bird was sharp under these conditions. The sun burning through the fog behind me provided an extra-large and bright catch light in the eye.
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Less than five minutes earlier the fog had been much less dense (though some was present, enough to have an effect on the image) and the results were quite different. There’s much more color and even detail in the background and less detail in the blacks of the bird (though what detail is there has not been muted much by fog). I think it’s interesting that the backgrounds of these two shots would have been very similar without the presence of thick fog in the first image.
I realize that foggy images won’t appeal to everyone. But as a photographer I like to explore this kind of thing and my blog is my outlet…
Ron
I have a very soft spot for the mysterious images which appear out of the fog – and loved both of these. Thank you.
Beautiful! I really never thought much about magpies ’til I saw your photos of them. So thanks for “introducing” me to this bird!
Great shots Ron! Fog is the worst to deal with.
Charlotte
These are very interesting photos. Something about the fog makes it difficult for my old eyes to focus on the first photo. My eyes aside, it’s a very nice photo. The differences in the fog in the two photos is definitely interesting.
“Something about the fog makes it difficult for my old eyes to focus on the first photo”
Exactly, Susan. That’s the effect of the fog between the bird and my lens. I could have fought the fog in processing (using a levels adjustment) but it was there and I thought its effects were interesting so I didn’t play with it (if I remember correctly and I think I do). I don’t think it’s a great image, just interesting.
Love both photos, Ron. The second one is a work of art!
“The second one is a work of art!”
Thanks, Pamela. If so, the bird and the setting get most of the credit…
Ron, I think the diffused light is good, but wondering if it should be such a close up image. Perhaps with more in the background( if there is more in the original image) would convey more ” atmosphere” so to speak. The second image works better with the fog ( probably because as you stated,there’ s less of it…Thanks!
John, I wanted to leave more space in front of the magpie but the bird was toward the lower left part of the frame so I would have had to add canvas (which I could easily do in this case). I agree that with the bird smaller in the frame there would be more foggy atmosphere but I’m not sure that what was going on (fog) would be obvious to the viewer unless it was explained. Interesting idea though and I appreciate you offering it.
We’ve had quite a few foggy mornings recently and I’ve also been experimenting with the stuff when I can find a few birds in it. Love the effects of the sun’s reflections on the subject. Outstanding detail and, as you mentioned, surprising with that fog.
Very nice!
I suspect that you get a lot more fog than we do, Wally (though during the winter near the lake it’s certainly not unusual). Usually I don’t even go out shooting when I know there’s fog but I may try to be a little more flexible with it in the future. Thank you.
I like the fog in the first one because it made me really look at the bird. I wanted to see detail so I had to focus on that. Worked for me.
“…because it made me really look at the bird”
You’re right about that, Arwen. There’s not much else to look at in that image!