A female photographer once described how she intentionally steams her lens with her breath as a method to create an ambient fog effect in her image. Cool idea I thought. I've tried it, though I haven't gotten the effect that a natural deep fog serendipitously renders. Four of my favorites images are below.
The first image was created from the bedroom window on a Florida winter morning in early 2019. Here, the sun's appearance through the glass, screen and fog renders an ethereal cosmic quality. The blue landscape image, also from 2019, shares the same reminiscence for me. The foreground trees give similar appearance to double exposure film. It was taken outdoors from an 11th floor balcony. Above the tallest building, you can see the faint glimpse of the horizon line that identifies the Atlantic Ocean as a literal vanishing point. Each of the other two images offer an apocalyptic minimalism perspective that elicits curiosity of what the fog has "removed".
Fog makes an intriguing impromptu collaborator because, unlike human breath, it won't wait and isn't repeatable. Timing is everything. Fog is not patient so you've got to act fast. Perhaps that's the real secret for the breath technique - time - to compose an image and allow room for retakes. Still, photography for me is regularly wrapped in the irony of prepared spontaneity. The allure of the heavy atmospheric fog renders my image like an impressionistic fine art painting. That's probably why I like it so much. Most of my work is inspired by art and photography history. It's an enticing game of chance - in fevered pursuit of a big win. Will I create an interesting image or will the sun burn off that fog and I've become the gambler who just rolled snake eyes at the craps table? I prefer the former.
Inspired perspective: whenever fog appears to shroud the space before you, seek the beauty in disguise. Remember, there will inevitably be occasions of dense fog in life, soon enough it will lift and disappear. Nothing is forever.