Images Out of the Fog 2

I've got a whole bag of these foggy images from MRNP. This particular one is from Spray Park.

After dark, it was a spooky walk back down to Mowich lake through the foggy forest (I was a day and a half behind schedule due to my Jeep breaking down and had to make up time to hit some locations). I'm used to navigating at night in uneven terrain and in the woods, but with a whole squad or platoon of other guys. When I'm solo after dark, the thought of being stalked by a cougar gives me the heebie jeebies. It's not bad with other people around, but when you are hiking solo...Brrrr...!

5D
f/11
2.5s
17mm
Selective burning/dodging on the water and foggy areas.

The sunspot in top right corner is blended from another photo to make the white space more interesting. It's on the edge of my personal photography ethics, but wanted to see what it looks like. Here is the photo au naturel.

I'd go with number two, the spot doesn't look quite right to me for some reason. A wonderful comp though. Very nice.

I vote for #2 as well. This is very nice Mike. Simple comp but done well with flowers, fog, and stream. I was not there so not sure what you could do comp wise but I wonder what it would like to have a little more stream in the bottom of the photo, rather than the split 50/50 of stream and flowers. And of course great processing as usual.

Beautiful shot Mike. The sunspot doesn't bother me either way. I did that Spray Park hike in the dark a couple weeks ago, and it is a spooky one. I was with a couple people so it wasn't so bad, but I know what you mean.

Really nice, Mike - my fav is #1

Hi Mike, great feeling in this photo. Doesn't need the sunspot at all in my opinion...

Either one works for me. I don't find the sunspot distracting...and wouldn't worry about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Nice fog shot. I wish I had more opportunity for those around here.

This is lush; makes we want to skip work tomorrow and head south.

Hiking in the dark-- after twenty odd times of coming away completely unscathed even in the more remote wildernesses on solo trips, I realized my mind was unjustifiablly unsettled. It is still very much instinctive to be on your toes and maybe even lift them off the ground when something startles you ( mainly been a lone deer with me). But for the most part I think the jeebees stem from pop cultures' ploy to increase the fear of the dark.To keep my mind at rest and increase amusement in such situations, I do like to tote my ipod and some quality headphones and music.

These fog images are my favorites from Rainier. I think it's because of the shapes of the trees, and the lush ground cover. it all goes so well with the fog.

Very nice image Mike. I love the brown of the stream bed contrasting with the rest of the landscape.

I think both work.

Mike, how did you expose for the fog and the silky water? Multiple shots?

I've seen one cougar in MRNP in the several years I've been hiking there and it was near Mowich Lake. Actually, I think the drive out of Mowich at night is more of a hazard than hiking on the trails. Nice job with the exposure....looks like you may have found the bulk of the lupine in the Park this year.

I agree, mark. That road is a washboard convention that offers complimentary flat tires.

Lance, some of these images fit into one exposure, others had to be combined with two exposures. I can't remember which on this image (I'm not at home to check). In either case, the top part has been darkened some.

Mark, the most dense and widespread lupine bloom I found at the park this year was in a meadow along the Naches Peak loop trail. You're probably right about the drive being more risky, though. There are a lot of people who don't seem to know the difference between gravel and asphalt.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I'll keep it natural without the sunspot when I offer it for sale, but it if goes on my wall, I'm keeping the sunspot!

Adrian,
I was thinking about that 50/50 split at the time I was shooting the photo. Ideally I'd have some foliage on both sides of the stream, but I had not yet gotten my feet wet when I shot this. After an accident further upstream, I had much more compositional freedom Thanks for the suggestions!

Between the solo night trek in the forest and the road in/out, your day sounds very adventurous.
This photo is so cool. Love fog shots, and this is a beauty. Love the contrast of the streambed against the lush green. And the flowers add "bouquet" to the scene.