Tag Archives: fog

QE2 But Probably Not As You Remember Her

I have scanned a lot of old negatives that the family has accumulated over the years including some my mum sent me last year. Some of those were of the cruise liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 or just QE2 to most people. We used to see QE2 a lot. She would sail in and out of Southampton so would pass our place often. After she returned from the Falklands, she went in for a major refit. She had to replace a lot of what was taken out when she was used as a troopship as well as remove the helipads that had been welded on her after decks.

One change they made when refitting her was a new paint scheme. Gone was the black hull and in came a gray color and a red funnel. It was a strange look and out of keeping with the traditions of Cunard. I don’t know how long it lasted exactly but a few years later, she was back in the more familiar colors and they remained until she was retired. One morning she came up the Solent in the fog. The combination of fog and a gray paint scheme was quite ghostly. These shots were taken from our window.

Misty Trees Out of the Office Window

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On the colder mornings in Woodinville, it is not unusual for us to get mist and fog around our neighborhood. It is usually dark when I start work in my office but, as the sun comes up, it can illuminate the trees around me quite nicely. The mist must have been burning off to let the sun in but it was still shrouding the local trees and looked rather nice. I grabbed a camera near my desk and shot a couple of images of the trees behind the houses across from us and then returned to the day job.

Misty Morning In Index

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During my time off, we made a trip across the Cascades. It’s not uncommon to find it misty/foggy as we drive from home towards the mountains in the morning. As you get a little higher, you come out of the mist but the clouds will still be hanging on the sides of the mountains. We stopped off in the little town of Index for a quick break. The town sits right under some large cliff faces making it a popular place to climb.

On this morning, climbing would have been a bit of a cold and damp affair but, as the day wore on, it would have been lovely I imagine. I liked the morning, though, with the clouds swirling around the hillsides. It looks at first as if the area is still with the mist hanging over everything but, if you pay attention, it is clear just how much the clouds are swirling around with ever changing areas exposed or covered. It is quite entrancing.

Ferries in the Mist

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The misty mornings at Orcas were not only pretty atmospheric to wake up to but they also could make for interesting shots of the ferries. As the banks of fog rolled in and out, the boats could disappear and reappear. As they backed out and spun around, they could be right on the edge of disappearing. Since we were facing south, the whole scene was backlit which made it look even more interesting.

Mist Over The Water at Orcas

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First thing in the morning on Orcas Island made from some beautiful conditions. We were staying in a place looking out over the water towards Shaw Island but, in the morning, we got some low fog and mist that could obscure our neighbor so close by. As the sun came up, the fog would burn off and then roll back in. It was a constantly changing view with the land and smaller islands appearing and disappearing frequently. You could sit and watch it for ages. Best done from inside the house, though, since it was rather chilly.

Dreamlifter in the Early Mist

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My buddy Paul was visiting so we had a day out looking for some interesting shot opportunities. We started off the day at Paine Field before the sun was really up. A Dreamlifter was due in and we figured we would give it a try. However, as we drove towards Everett, the fog was pretty thick. The field is on the top of the hill so we thought it might be clear, but things did not look promising as we got closer. The low cloud was also blocking off the sun that was just above the horizon which, given that it would have been backlighting the jet, might have been a bonus.

The Dreamlifter came out of the cloud very late on the approach and I was able to grab a few shots of it as it emerged. It was a rather ethereal look as it came into view. The dampness of the air meant that the plane was pulling vortices as it floated across the threshold and in to the touchdown zone. Conditions might not have been the sort of thing that sounded good, but the result was a really cool shot opportunity. As the plane taxied in to park, we got more shots of it although there was one that would have been fantastic, but Paul only spotted it when it was too late and I didn’t see it at all. I won’t say what it was but maybe there will be another chance in which case you will see it here!

Foggy Golden Gate Bridge

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Moving means you don’t always have a lot of time for having fun. However, when your move includes a time when you are in limbo between two places and staying in temporary accommodation, you actually have more time than you think. Sitting around in a hotel room can get old pretty quickly so scheduling some exploration makes a lot more sense. One place that a colleague had mentioned was out on the Marin headlands. There are a number of areas out there that caught my interest including one that wasn’t open on this day so will be the subject of a return trip and a future blog post I hope.

We had plenty to look forward to and the forecast was promising so off we headed. Of course, we hadn’t counted on the fickle Bay Area weather. Leaving the East Bay in glorious sunshine, we got to the Bay Bridge and drove into a wall of fog. I had chosen this route as I had yet to travel over the new bridge having seen it under construction for a number of years. This time I did get to drive over it but I didn’t get to see it! Oh well, on through the city of San Francisco towards the Golden Gate Bridge and straight back into the fog.

Again we drove over a bridge we couldn’t see. Then we turned out onto the Marin headlands. The drive up the coast took us out of the fog and into glorious sunshine. Looking back at the city and the bridge, it was a different story. Below us was a thick bank of fog. It also lay over some of the parts we intended to explore. As it happened, we explored some parts and saved others for another day. The fog didn’t thin while we were there. If anything, it got worse while we were there. Now we have a reason to go back – if we can forecast the weather better than we did this time!

Misty Morning

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While on the road, I often stay at the same hotel. It is across from a lot of open fields and, when I have left just after sunrise, I have been impressed by the low lying mist that hangs across the fields. I tend to notice this as i am driving out. Thinking clearly early in the morning is not always something I can be relied on to do but one morning I had some forethought and a little time and decided to wander out with the camera.

The mist was a little deeper than in some previous mornings so less was obviously poking out of the top of it but it still was quite attractive. The fields are flat as a pancake so there are none of the little dips that can make a shot like this more interesting but it still worked out reasonably well. While I was shooting, the sun came up behind me and started to color in the scene with some really warm light. I grabbed a few shots before heading back to the hotel to start the day for real.