Fog & Mist
Guy Krier

Fog & Mist

July 2024

Really lovely; simultaneously eerie and dreamlike. I love the 'anchoring' of the frame to the tallest tower that gets the eye flow backwards into the frame and the exposure renders well the softness of the light. Obviously it's not possible to find the absolutely 'best' angle to shoot this from (unless we could fly...) so in that sense this is an image that makes the best of a compromised position and fulfils the brief well.

There's an extraordinary delicacy to this image which somehow reminds me of classical traditional Japanese painting - favouring natural scenes adjacent to Zen reflection. Here I like very much the placing of the branches to the extreme right which lead the eye into the distance. More the frame is really one of two halves - the plant and the building/tree line separated by the snow. Wonderful shape and composition.

Very Turner-esque and all the more delightful for that. Whether by luck or judgement, using the masts as an additional diffuser for the emergent sun works well and (almost) breaks up the harshness of the light. Tricky exposure that has to be determined and changed very swiftly - but this is a very good stab at it rewarded with an impactual frame. Nice.

Expert
winner

Amidst a plethora of bucolic sunsets and romantic mists, this image stands out as an excellent example not only of the theme but additionally as a cracking photograph. Beautifully composed with natural detail (image right) to temper its abstraction, this also speaks of solid technique and I suspect, some good fortune. I love the curve, the richness of the colour(s) and the well-chosen vantage point. Lovely.

Proof that engaging with mist and fog doesn't necessarily mean traditional landscape work. The simplicity and exactness in examining a contemporary, urban topography is well illustrated here. A crispy and decisive exposure carefully illuminates the courts whilst keeping some detail in the lights themselves. I love the framing and the symmetry of the lines which is beautifully contrasted by the wave of nets which is the centre-piece of the whole thoughtful image. Excellent.

Brief

See more contest details

Fog and mist are nature’s mood enhancers when it comes to photography, whether that is an epic milky landscape, or a more intimate street scene given a touch of mystery and mild threat. Adding intrigue and interest to a scene, the photographer often needs to work quickly when those tiny water droplets are in just the right place, because as quickly as they arrive they can also disperse.

4,664 Images entered

1,682 Photographers

Meet the expert judge

A really accomplished effort with a tricky exposure here and well conceived on a standard lens resisting the temptation to 'go wide' that is the downfall of many landscape images. The sunset is well rendered (could have squeezed out another quarter of a stop to define the sun and bring down the overall contrast/exposure ever so slightly - although I'd have to see on a bigger screen). But to criticise further would be churlish: this is a cracker.

A simple frame but one that has been well conceived (see text) and nicely achieved. the colours are engaging and I like the graduations of light streaming over the land. The tower draws the eye nicely to the right third of the image and contrasts to the undulating hills. I'd be tempted to see if there's any more in the shadows just to bring the contest up a touch but this is a cracking effort. Well done.

A beautiful moment well captured. I think what I like about this is what mist and fog allows us to do - to reveal only partial information about the scene - and let our imagination run free. Nicely timed and exposed with just a suggestion of context. A strong effort.

Ah! So close... When I see an image like this I always want to go back and ask the photographer about framing. This is potentially a beautiful and winning image but why is the foliage - frame right - part of the final photograph? It adds nothing I'm afraid and for me, distracts from what is a fabulous and thoughtful construction. I'd hesitate to suggest a crop after the moment - but I do think that that might be useful. Otherwise a cracking image with bags of emotion and suggestion.

I was immediately reminded of Koudelka's early work in Eastern Europe ('Gypsies') when I saw this frame - not necessarily for the composition by the subject matter. I love the curve of the dog's tail that mirrors the road and the frame's ethereal quality but I wonder whether a more sensitive processing might have rescued the figure on the left (nicely caught) from the gloom? Additionally although the rangefinder is certainly not an accurate framing device, I also really wanted the full detail of the crucifix/shrine to be shown. Small points but this is SO close to being really strong and we never get another chance when we've pressed the shutter the first time around.

One of the great delights of fog and mist is the rendering of the familiar, unfamiliar in the landscape. Here, the photographer has utilised this evocative quality to great effect. I love the abstraction of the posts and the uncertainty about the water's edge. More the framing by anchoring (sorry...) close to the water line has allowed the frame to 'breathe' and the lake collapse into the sky. Lovely.

I love this composition of something so simple and a majestic tree in winter with all the abstractness that the misty sky can bring. More however I love the nod - conscious or not - to the Constructivism of Rodchenko's vision (look at his pine tree images - or indeed his trumpeter ...) that forces us to view the everyday in such a different way. Lovely - and the green of the moss on the bark is a delicious addition to the monochrome of the image as well.

This is so close to being an excellent image (as opposed to just a good one). I love the feeling of the cold and the mist but, notwithstanding the likely difficulty of skiing and photographing simultaneously, the fallen figure's placement - encroaching as it does slightly on the others - for me just marks this down. A clearer delineation would have resulted in a more harmonious composition and sometimes that is about the photographer's position altering by inches. Still an excellent effort.

Almost. I'm reminded here of Martin Parr's early 'Bad Weather' series shot in the north of England. This certainly gives a nod to foul and miserable weather and I like the shape/curve of the road (leading to an uncertainty) but I wonder whether a slightly more definite exposure would have rendered the tonality a little less 'flat' (apologies if that was the idea). That said, I do like the brave framing to leave lots of space for the spectral figures to move into - a nicely balanced effort.

Lovely. One can almost smell the damp horse in this. There's a granularity to the image which is as much to do with the sharpness but also the dew on the grasses. Compositionally for me the image just about gets away with the tree coming out of the horses back but I'd have been tempted to wait for as long as possible for it to move - or move around it. That said, this still works - largely because of the equine stare. Nicely done.

Entry 20897789
132
Entry 20897790
77

I like this and the un-captioned frame adds to its mystery and context. I like how the horizontal road bisects our line of view with the man coming towards us. I presume that this is a crop because of its shape (unless really shot with a medium format) which is fine, but perhaps exposure-wise, the photographer might have tried to capture a little more of the shadow detail so as to define the figures in the background. Still, this isn't a bad effort and emphasises more 'feel' than accuracy - and there's often nothing wrong with that. Well done.

Entry 21047647
141