Fog with Plants and Birds
November 28, 2023
Earlier this month we had a morning of glorious fog. I put off working out and grabbed the camera, hoping I would be out there before the fog lifted. As it turned out, it lingered for quite some time, lucky me.
1 This rock (which gives Rock Pond its name) is a favorite hangout of the water fowl in our neighborhood.
2 Marshmallows, their flowers now turned to seedheads, accompany nearly every body of water around here. I thought they were wild flowers until someone set me straight.
3 Goldenrod in seed is as attractive as it is in flower.
4 Most of Rock Pond is edged in vegetation.
5 These two tallish trees are visible from another vantage point in the previous photograph.
6 Across the road from Rock Pond is a swampy area.
7 This pond-side willow was festooned with spider webs, barely visible in this photograph.
8 Heading home, I noticed that the starlings were beginning to inhabit the trees—a sure sign of approaching winter.
9 These starlings arranged themselves in a birch tree; the tree in photo #7 is a maple.
10 Two days later, many more starlings were in our backyard swamp white oak.
11 They flew down to the ground, then took off together for the tree—over and over and over again.
Romancing Reality 
I really like the starlings in #9. They remind me of notes on a score.
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November 28, 2023 at 2:56 PM
Thank you, Anonymous. I like your association.
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November 28, 2023 at 3:55 PM
I don’t know where to begin, Linda. These are exceptionally beautiful. Foggy days are a favorite of mine, too, but we don’t get very many. One of your shots (#9) is very similar to one I shot a few years ago but without the fog. I had it printed to 16X20 and it looks very nice. I would give serious thought to printing #11. That’s a fabulous shot.
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November 28, 2023 at 4:37 PM
Thank you, Ken. We don’t get nearly as many foggy days as I would like. That’s why I have to drop any other plans I may have had for the morning when we do have one. Number 9 is very like a photo I took maybe 50 years ago and printed 8×10 in my bathroom darkroom. Guess I’m still taken by such a scene. About #s 10 and 11: I took more than 25 photos of those birds (through our back window), and these were the only two worth sharing. Panning with flying birds, as I did with #11, is really hard!
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November 28, 2023 at 4:57 PM
All are beautiful. And the last one, exceptional.
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November 28, 2023 at 5:52 PM
Thank you, Caroline. What I want is to photograph smallish birds whose heads are in perfect focus and whose wings show motion blur. I didn’t quite achieve this in #11, but I may have come closer than I ever have before.
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November 28, 2023 at 7:28 PM
You know how I like fog…these are wonderful, Linda. I also really like the sequence of increasing numbers of birds in #8-11; #11 is stunning.
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November 28, 2023 at 6:15 PM
Oh, I do know how you like fog, Mic., and photograph it so very well. Thanks for your comment.
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November 28, 2023 at 7:41 PM
Fog favors photographers, as you’ve shown throughout this post.
In your picture of the marshmallows, it looks like exactly one goldenrod plant still has fresh flowers on it.
What an action-full way of filling the frame in your closing picture.
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November 28, 2023 at 6:20 PM
Isn’t it funny that just the one goldenrod was still in flower? Wonder if it was a different species than the rest. The closing photo is a crop of a larger one, but the original, too, had wall-too-wall starlings. The tighter crop let you see the birds more closely.
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November 28, 2023 at 7:45 PM
Wonderful series, Linda! Fog brings a silent mood. Last shot is amazing.
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November 29, 2023 at 12:31 AM
Thank you, Harrie. Yes, it is a silent mood; not sure I’d thought of it that way.
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November 29, 2023 at 11:19 AM
How ever do you manage to get birds in flight in focus with a blurred background, Linda?!
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November 29, 2023 at 4:48 PM
With difficulty. 😉 I moved the camera to follow the flight of the birds.
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November 29, 2023 at 5:07 PM
Your inspiration come across loud and clear – it’s a beautifully refined, gentle series. Speaking of series, the Starling photographs tell a good story, from a single individual in a tree top to a cacophony of them. The last photo, blown up, is wonderful – I love the wing feather patterns and the background! But back to the plants….#2 & 3 have such a straightforward simplicity – they exemplify what you do – no fanfare, no exploding fireworks, just sincere, careful observation that yields graceful results. The two trees are beautifully seen. The cattails rhythmic march across the frame is, too. And the willow really sings when it’s blown up. Great work!!! Please, always put working out off when good things are happening outside. 🙂
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December 2, 2023 at 4:13 PM
Checking the 10-day weather forecast, I see that we have nothing but clouds and rain to look forward to. Yuch. That makes me even happier to have been able to take advantage of the fog when I did. But that was way back on November 5! I’m pretty much out of newish photographs, so I may have to do another archives collection for the next post. It’s always fun for me to trip through the past, but I would like an opportunity to find something lovely in the present. I know that some photographers prefer cloudy days. Wish I did, but I don’t. Thank you for all your comments, Lynn. You do a lot to keep me going.
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December 2, 2023 at 4:51 PM
It’s (still) my pleasure. Maybe the weather will change but at this time of year, clouds and rain haunt us. An overcast day is nice for closeups outdoors if there’s enough light but that can’t counted on in December either. I hear you about preferring to find something inspiring in the present…but the archives are there…waiting… 😉
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December 2, 2023 at 8:53 PM
Thanks to your permission, I did indeed dip into the archives in the next post.
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December 11, 2023 at 8:08 PM
Which I’ll get to soon! Falling behind again…was in Vancouver for 3 days with friends so that’s my excuse. 😉
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December 11, 2023 at 9:36 PM
And you did. What a wonderful excuse. Wish I had a similar one for falling so far behind on your blog.
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December 13, 2023 at 3:15 PM