Lens on Life · Guide
Skåne, Sweden

Bokskogen in mist

Within an hour of sunrise (around 08:30 in December) on a still, damp morning. Bare beech trunks and fog — the best composition lesson there is.

18-150 · 50–150mm, or the 100-400 at 100–200mmNo filterHood onTripod
Mode
Av
Aperture
f/8
ISO
Auto (max 6400)
Exposure ±
+⅔ to +1
Drive
Single
Focus
One-Shot · tap one trunk

Do this

  1. Brighten it: +⅔ to +1. Fog fools the camera into making everything grey. You want the fog white.
  2. Zoom in, don't go wide. At 100mm+ the trunks stack into layers and the mist fades them back one by one.
  3. Find one dark thing — a single trunk, a bench, a person in a coat — and put it against the pale.
  4. Lines: rows of trunks, a path, a fence. Let one lead into the fog.
  5. It's dim. If the shutter drops below 1/60, tripod. You have time; nothing is moving.
  6. Colour is a choice: Auto white balance gives you cool grey; 'Cloudy' warms it. Try both.

If it goes wrong

Flat grey mush
More brightness, +1⅓. And look for one dark subject.
Mist gone by the time you arrive
It burns off within an hour of sunrise. Earlier. Set the alarm.