Back From the Dead Fall

Some extraordinary light brought this deadfall back to life on a foggy morning in Monte Sano State Park.

There was zero visibility at the overlook this morning.  Using a headlamp was like clicking on the high-beams of your car in fog.  The rain was coming and going so I went back down to the trailhead to see what the Bankhead Trail might yield.  I could see a rain shower coming on the radar (phone ap) so I strapped my umbrella to the tripod and started up the mountain.

I got to a decent spot before the rain started and took a bunch of pictures in the 15 minutes or so it took for the shower to pass.  Then it got interesting.  The trail runs roughly to the east so the Sun is normally in your face.  But this morning there were clouds to the East blocking the Sun.  But the clouds in the West were reflecting the Sun back onto the trail.  As my photography mentor once said, "God has the biggest softbox with the best light". 

The light was just perfect. And every once in a while it would get a hint of gold in it.  I've said it before but I'll say it again:  Almost every time I've found extraordinary light it has been at the edge of a storm.  The trick is to be somewhere to make pictures when it happens. It means you have to be willing to brave the storm to catch the light.  You can't make a rainbow without rain.  Get out there in the rain.

Nikon D7200 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR

32mm

F8@1/3rd

(DOL_0507)

©Don Brown 2021