Photography in the Fog!

Do damp, drizzly, foggy days keep you inside? If the answer is “yes”, you are missing some unique and challenging photographic opportunities. At this time of year in northern Minnesota fog is often present. Warm air from the south blows north and meets up with cold Lake Superior. Even though today is June 1st, the temperature of the deep blue water of Gitchee Goomie is still in the 30’s. The net effect is a fog factory.

Last week we had plenty to days with fog. Temperatures rarely broke 50 degrees, but I still spent lots of time outside with my camera. While like everyone else I love clear blue skies, in my part of the universe the sun now rises around 5 am. This means the “golden hour” is over before many people even awake for the day (not me). During the middle of the day, the bright sun makes fine photography a challenge … enter the foggy day!

Fog evens light out, and provides the opportunity for “disappearing act” images. Bright colors seem more vibrant on gloomy days. Unlike the golden hour which is at best 90 minutes long, the foggy conditions change constantly as the fog rolls in and out with the shifting wind.

Thus take your camera and venture outside! Here are just two of my foggy day photos from last week. A good time was had by all!

American Goldfinch in the Fog
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Ghost Ship (Duluth Harbor)
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Minnesota Bird Search Engine

The search engine which I built that indexes Minnesota bird web sites was updated this morning (June 1, 2015). New sites added include:

The search engine now indexes 31 Minnesota birding sites. I welcome submissions. You will find the full list of currently included sites on my Bird Search Engine Web Page. The site not only indexes written content, but also images.

Arctic Invasion Reprise at Sunrise!

It was brisk, but sunny down on the end of Park Point (Duluth) by Sky Harbor at 5:40 am yesterday morning. A very strong wind blowing out of the north kept the Arctic shorebirds I had first spotted the day before around for another day. I actually saw one large flock flying south off Lester River. I believe they all decided it was not worth pushing north … too strenuous.

Ruddy Turnstones greet the sunrise!
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“The Local” gets invaded by Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings!
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Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings & Dunlins at Sunrise!
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A lone Ruddy Turnstone greets the sunrise … and “Follow the Leader”
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