Fog on the Brunssummerheide

Tuesday 7 September 2021, 22:22 by Erik Nevels | 4,461 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

A few weeks ago, an acquaintance messaged me. Did I fancy going out to photograph the Brunssummerheide early in the morning? I certainly did, so we picked a date.

Of course, whether it would go ahead depended on the weather. Afterwards, it turned out that we had picked exactly the right date.

No fog forecast

When I check the weather forecast the day before our trip to the Brunssummerheide, I see no reason to cancel our plans. Sunshine in the morning, some cloud and hardly any wind.

Because the dew point just before sunrise is lower than the forecast temperature at that time, I do not expect any fog.

It is a shame, but I think it would be a good idea to explore the area so that later, when there is low-lying fog, I will already know exactly where I want to take the photo.

Schedule

Because I want to arrive in good time, but do not want to get up unnecessarily early either, I make a tight schedule.

Up at 5 o'clock, pick up my mate at half past 5, at the car park at 6 o'clock, with another half hour to find a suitable viewpoint. Unfortunately, we take a wrong turn and arrive at the slope 10 minutes later, where three photographers have already beaten us to it.

The horizon is already turning quite orange, but what is even more beautiful is the low-lying fog. Delighted, I look at the landscape and the slope in front of me.

Where will I stand? At the top of the slope, somewhere halfway down or almost at the bottom? The bottom is already ruled out, because I would be in other people's way. I decide to descend a little, just far enough to have a few bushes on the slope beside me rather than in front of me.

Happy with the viewpoint, I let my rucksack slide to the ground and raise my tripod.

Choice of lens

I choose the 28-75mm lens, which gives me more than enough width to capture the landscape in front of me. The clouds are becoming increasingly orange and the first aeroplane trails are appearing.

I realise that the tight schedule and taking the wrong turn are now increasing the pressure. I still want to use a graduated neutral density filter, and that takes a little time. Despite cleaning it at home, there is some dust on the glass again and it needs to be removed.

Finally, I am ready. Once I have decided on the composition, adjusted the settings and positioned the graduated filter at the right height, I take the first photos of the morning.

I already know that I will turn them into panoramic photos in post-processing. I would rather not have the aeroplane trails high in the sky in them.

Sony A7 mark III, 40mm, f/7.1, shutter speed 1/3s, ISO 100

Telephoto landscape

After taking several photos with different compositions, my eye is drawn to the distant landscape on my left. The low-lying fog creates beautiful layers of light and dark shades in the trees.

The orange sky has a beautiful pastel-like tone here. The landscape is far away and calls for a telephoto lens. I walk back up the hill and attach the 200-600mm to the camera.

Now my tripod is definitely my mate. Photographing at 239mm with a shutter speed of 1/80 of a second requires stability.

As with the previous series, I take several photos, varying the focal length. I am pleased with the results I see in the viewfinder. Then the sun sends its first rays over the hilltop to my right.

Sony A7 mark III, 239mm, f/9.0, 1/80s, ISO 100

Aeroplane trails

As the number of white condensation trails in the sky increases because of air traffic, I decide to descend the slope again, keeping the sun behind the ridge for a little longer. I also move a little further to the left so that I can include a distinctive pine tree standing to my left.

As I set everything up again, a striking cross of expanding trails forms in the sky. Although I often dislike these trails when I want to take a landscape photo, I do like this cross.

I quickly swap my 200-600mm for the 17-28mm so that I can capture the sky and landscape with a wide view. I zoom out as far as possible and point the camera mainly at the sky.

This also allows me to keep the other photographers, who have meanwhile moved to the bottom of the slope, out of the frame. The graduated filter goes in front of the lens again and I take the next series of photos.

Sony A7 mark III, 17mm, f/8, shutter speed 1/8s, ISO 100

Dew point

Contrary to the weather forecast, there was low-lying fog today after all. Did the weather turn out differently, or is there another explanation? The weather forecast gave a morning temperature of 11 degrees, while the dew point was 10 degrees.

Fog requires a temperature below the dew point, however. Of course, the weather forecast does not take account of the dips in the landscape, where the temperature, I suspect, fell below the dew point, causing fog to form on the spot.

Is that correct? Meteorologists among the readers, please respond to my assumption. Can anyone tell me more about it?

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