Mist is a wonderful medium that compliments any landscape photograph. It is formed whenever the humid air over a body of water cools to the point where the moisture condenses and becomes visible. Typically, this happens when a warm day, which warms up a lake for example, is followed by a cool, clear night where the temperature drops rapidly. Often the result is a misty early morning. This phenomenon is quite common in the Autumn. 

  The photo on the left was taken last November at dawn at Falls Lake Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. I had got up before dawn and driven to this park which had lots of lake water. As the sun rose, the leaves on the tree lit up,and the mist added a surreal element that was quite enchanting. Not only were the trees lit up by the sun, but so was the mist - making the latter quite visible.

  One effect of mist to create separation. The mist in this photo can be seen behind the land jutting out into the lake, and separating this little peninsula from the forest in the distance behind it. Dawn is always a great time to take landscape photos because the light is 'soft' with no harsh shadows; this photo is no exception.

  Another advantage of a sunrise (or sunset) photo is the golden hue formed by the sun's rays as they skim over the horizon. (Sunrise and sunset is often called 'The Golden Hour' by photographers). The photo on the right, taken at my favorite local park here in SE Wisconsin (Bong Recreational State Park) illustrates this 'golden' effect nicely. Again the mist lying over the fields exaggerated the effect by itself being lit up by the sun's rays. There is a mood of tranquility and peace with the early morning sun captured in this photo. The mist helps to provide that sense of stillness and quiet. Note the softness of the light in the lower left hand corner - again the mist is affecting the light here.

  In January 2018 I grabbed my camera and headed out to warmer climes! Since I love swamps, I decided I'd spend a day in a Kayak on the Chassakawitzka River near the Gulf of Mexico about an hour north of Tampa. This river had several sidestreams that could be explored by kayak. The day I arrived, the morning was unusually cool (42F), but the water was a balmy 70F. The result was a lot of mist rising off the river. Once the sun rose sunbeams were created as the light filtered through the trees on the river bank. The mist made these sunbeams very easily visible. Furthermore, as the sunlight contacted the water, pools of bright light formed - again accentuated by the mist on the water. It was wonderful floating silently in my kayak in the midst of all this mist!

  Finally, in the photo on the right we see another effect that mist makes possible - namely, the creating of a pattern that seemingly vanishes into infinity. Here, the fence posts, which themselves have an interesting texture and shape, can be seen to continue down the field only to disappear into the mist. The effect is to make the viewer wonder what lies at the end of the fencing, Mist here functions to contribute to a sense of mystery as well as to cause the viewer to focus on the nearby posts themselves, the shape, color, texture of the wood.

  In all these photos we see how mist can be used by the photographer to create a sense of wonder, beauty, and yes, even magic!