2011, Day 339 - Rays

This morning Portland awoke to a heavy layer of frost, dense fog and sub-freezing temperatures.  I am sure that most people were worried about their morning commute when they saw the weather but I called my friend Julie while I was walking the dogs to see if she wanted to go out shooting this morning.  The way that trees look when blanketed in fog is just beautiful in that kind of surreal otherworldly kind of way.  Julie was eager to go out to take pictures but, unfortunately, as we neared Mount Talbert (a convenient middle ground) the fog burned off almost completely.

All was not lost, because of the heavy fog we got a late sunrise which led to some great high contrast landscapes.  This one appeals to me because I like the way the sun behind the trees silhouettes their shape and how it catchs the small branches with a bit of rim light.

What you can't feel in the photograph is the cold air in your lungs and the way your whole body constricts to try to minimize your contact with the icy morning breezes.  The light burn of freezing air in your lungs with the sweet smell of the evergreens and the moist rot of the leaf litter all over the ground. You can't feel the sun as it warms your face when you emerge from under the canopy or from behind a thick growth of trees.  It was an invigorating morning which made a nice start to a rather hectic day of people failing to do as they either promised or instructed.  Oh well, tomorrow is a new day with new adventures.

Canon 1Ds Mark IV, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
27mm, f8, merged layers of 1/30, 1/15 and 1/8 sec @ 160 ISO