Fog!!!
What a surprise this morning opening the curtains. When I checked the weather forecast yesterday evening there was about 50% chance of a colourful sunrise; this was enough reason to get up early. But when I opened my curtains I was greeted by thick fog so I hurried out with my gear to photograph these foggy conditions. As one never knows how long the fog will last I decided to head back to the lighthouse as it is closest to the appartement I am staying. The roads and paths were slippery so I had to thread carefully but managed to reach the lighthouse when there was still heavy fog. In fact, the fog was too thick, I couldn’t see the lighthouse from the position I photographed it earlier with the snowfall. So I carefully walked a bit further on the slippery path and found a new composition, looking over some beautifully frozen oak leaves. Happy with my first shot in the pocket I walked further on the path towards the North Sea. I also took two shots of the oak leaves, I think they could make a nice background for the holiday card. But the path soon became too icy for my liking so I walked back to my original composition and by that time the fog has lifter slightly, just enough to take a shot from my original idea for this morning with a hint of the lichthouse in it.
After these shots it was clear that I could forget the colourful sunrise, but it was so nice outside that I decided to walk into the older dunes over the ‘Westerduinpad’ (Western Dune Trail). The conditions were great and it was very quiet. It turned out to be a good choice to walk in between the dunes as a ice-cold wind started blowing straight in my face; on top of the dunes my four-layered clothing wasn’t enough to withstand the wind, but in between the dunes it was OK. So I had a beautiful walk over this path and with less fog, conditions became favourable for some dune photography. Not that I have any experience in it, or am good at it, but for sure I had fun!
Nearing the end of the trail I came across a flooded field with some interesting foreground and beautiful background, still a bit in the fog. So I tried to make a pano of the scene:
All in all I had a cold morning walk of over 7 km. It was good that I took my day rest yesterday, my leg held out and also after the walk it didn’t protest too much which bodes well for the days to come. We will see what the weather will be, the forecast isn’t too good with plenty of rain. But I’ll make the best of it and who knows what surprises lay on my path.
Enjoy!
Wim