When Cloud Becomes Mist

Every winter in the Adelaide Hills there are days when the clouds are down on the hills—when the summits vanish in the soft greyness, and up there it’s as if you’ve stepped into another world. On June 14^th, 2023, I had the chance to photograph these atmospherics from inside and out, and I’ve featured this shoot before. This was the forest near Range Road West, where we parked on a dirt road and shot the silent, eerie world among the ghostly trunks of the gnarly, coppiced eucalypts. No fancy photography, except for holding things still as the light level was quite low, and concentrating on composition. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Dawn Light in the Forest

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This photograph was taken in the hour after dawn at Mt Crawford Forest, north-east of Adelaide, in May, 2008. The mist was still quite heavy though the sun was burning it up, and this frame catches not only the horizontal light outlining the tree but shafts through patches of mist at upper right. Such images are ephemeral, you catch the moment for the moment will never return in precisely the same way. Sharpened only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Dawn Mists

This is another frame from that misty dawn at Mount Crawford Forest, north-east of Adelaide, in May, 2008. The quality of the light, the softening effect of the mist, ghostly trees, the clinging silence -- these were unforgettable aspects of the experience, and the imagery is evocative. Technically the images were simply a case of composing the frame with the material on show, that is, making the most of the moment. It would be easy to come back with pedestrian pictures, but a natural eye for composition always comes in handy. Catching these giants looming through the silver-grey was quite an experience. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Vanishing Point: winter fog in the Adelaide Hills

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Eleven in the morning on the road in the Adelaide hills -- a winter's morning, saturatingly humid and a little chill ... fog. This shot was captured through the windscreen, somewhere between Belair and Crafers. Driving conditions were interesting, and the photography --? Pot luck. Point, shoot, sort 'em out later and send the junk straight to the bin. In conditions like this, there's always going to be a lot of rubbish, but when something "comes out right," no doubt by accident, such shots can be dramatic. This one is "atmospheric," somewhat creepy. I like it a lot. Photo by Mel, 2006.

Morning Mist

This was around 7am on a freezing cold morning in May, 2008, at the camp grounds at Mount Crawford Forest, a popular holiday spot near Kersbrook north-east of Adelaide. The night had been intensely cold, but with stars beyond belief. A little after sunrise I made the most of the silent, eerie mist that blanketed the trees and shot a couple of dozen frames. It felt primeval, walking in the open woodland with the mist coiling and shifting... Fuji FinePix S5600, full auto as usual, I just let the chip do its thing, working in the soft focal conditions and grey light.