18 February 2010
Fog evokes many moods, mystery and danger among them. So long as I'm not driving, I like fog. It creates a calm stillness to the environment that I find peaceful.
The visual character of fog is also intriguing. The rapidly decreasing clarity with distance adds a strong third dimension to scenes that might otherwise appear flat in a photograph. The absence of shadow also raises new possibility and challenge for the photographer. Fog lends itself naturally to black & white photography.
These photos were snapped quickly as I arrived on campus this morning and walked from Sproul Plaza in the south toward the Engineering sector in the northeast. I found visual interest in the campus lights that ordinarily are on only at night. And these black and white photos of faces from our campus community take on a different look in the gray light, smiling out on the world and coming to life in their natural element.
Good observation regarding the strong 3rd dimension in these shots. The 1st picture could be a still from a Carol Reed movie in the late 40s or early 50s (Third Man; The Man Between; etc). It's a great atmospheric image that pulls the viewer deep into the scene!
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