As I continue to improve my photography, I think about what that means.  It’s all about the light – dawn & dusk, we are so often told.

It’s complicated though.  Light is bright and shadows are dark, how does one even them out and still add emotion, mood, and interest?

Light is the master of depth.  We need light to make our ‘hero’ shine, or our supporting cast fade into the background.  In this way we can isolate our subject so we know what (or who) it is.

Fog and smoke provide a fantastic mood factor, allowing us to separate the foreground from the background.  While our controlled burns up north can be dreary to look at… they can also make for some very moody exciting pix.

Light rays illuminate and become visible through the smoke or fog in the air, distinguishing different elements of the life in the forest.

The fog creates a diffusion through the harsh light, from which comes clarity.