One of the better climatic conditions when snow and frost are not available is fog or mist. It is good for separating trees in woodland when otherwise they become intermingled and difficult to pick out from one another. In February we had a few days of good fog and a couple of times I have hot-footed it up the downs to find subjects.
Beech works well at this time of year because the trees - especially lower branches - often retain leaves until the new buds force them off. Therefore they add an element of interest that can be lacking with just bare branches. The shot above also has the sun tentatively breaking through from the right onto the trees which lends a warmth to the cold light contracting the rest of the scene.
The trouble with fog is that it often comes and goes. and when it goes for good it normally does so suddenly. Therefore you normally have to work pretty fast and accept one or two images will be a good result. Especially if you want to have some rays of sun filtering through the mist.
A swampy, moss-covered hollow. A balance of mist and sunlight.
One of the mornings I shot was also pretty cold and the mist / cold combination had caused water droplets to form and then freeze on some of the more exposed trees. The shots below show the same tree, albeit from slightly different angles with mist and frozen crops then no mist and thawed drops. I still can’t decide which one I prefer. Though to get the true effect of the frozen droplets on the image to the left you may need to contact me about a large print:)
