Catalina Above the Fog

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 11, 2012169 views12 comments

I was on the shore at the foot of the Palos Verdes Peninsula when the fog rolled in. I thought my chances for getting a nice beach sunset would have to wait for another day. I decided to drive a little further down the coast to Abalone Cove where I had seem some nice shots with a lot of nice elements that might do well in foggy conditions.

Suddenly I found myself above the fog along the cliffs! Woo-hoo, I still had time for a sunset, but parking for the cove was already closed and there were no parking signs everywhere and, of course, lots of gated communities. I finally found a street headed for the light and lucked out with FREE parking and a nice paved path along Trump National Golf Club.

The fog stayed just below the cliffs, and though I missed the sun setting, I did manage to thread my way through the golf course for a clear view of Catalina Island rising above the fog in the last glow of day.

Comments and critiques appreciated!

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on January 11, 2012 at 4:55 AM

You caught some great colors and fog here. Running around to find a spot certainly paid off. My only concern is the texture of the distant peaks. They are light enough that my eye assumes there should be some texture or detail present, but I don't see it. I would probably either rework the blend to pull out some detail, or darken them to make them closer to silhouettes.

I might also try cropping out the bottom 20% or so just because the closest fog doesn't have a ton of texture, whereas the more distant fog has some nice interesting features.

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on January 11, 2012 at 9:58 AM

Nice balance of cool and warm tones. Your composition works well but I think a 50/50 of the sky and fog would also be nice. Just a thought. Nice image

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on January 11, 2012 at 11:28 AM

I love the colors here. I agree with Scott about the texture in the distant peaks. They look a bit weird to me.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on January 11, 2012 at 12:36 PM

This has some very nice abstract qualities Jean. Very moody as well.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on January 11, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Beautiful colors and mood. Kind of dreamy surreal.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on January 11, 2012 at 3:45 PM

Wonderful mood! Beautiful colors!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Jean Day on January 11, 2012 at 6:48 PM

Thanks for your comments everyone...it is greatly appreciated.

Scott and R. Bill...though the fog was low enough for the tops of the island to be visible, there was still a lot of moisture/mist in the air preventing any detail of the mountains from this 26 mile distance. None of my shots show any contrasting detail of the island. I did also lighten the fog and darken the peaks from the original to show more contrast overall.

As per your suggestions, I did try a crop but still preferred the larger expanse of fog, so I did a bit of dodge and burn to the foreground to bring out the textures. Hope you agree with this improvement.

Registered on April 10, 2011, 36 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on January 11, 2012 at 8:12 PM

I like the dodged version better. Nice layers.

- Dan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on January 11, 2012 at 8:36 PM

Jean that little touch of texture in the foreground made a big difference! I feel that my eye moves up the scene more naturally now.

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on January 11, 2012 at 11:11 PM

This is very dreamy, I like it a lot. Second one is even better.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 12, 2012 at 3:14 PM

Jean,

Simple and lovely. I really like the contrasting color.

The repost is improved, but I still agree that the mountains look a bit off. I don't need more detail, but I would darken them some if it were mine. A minor point though. This is lovely.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on January 13, 2012 at 11:39 PM

The strong contrasting colors works great here and I especially like the way the fog is glowing. Could see maybe oranging-up the top of the frame a bit to go with the light closer to the horizon.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments