At times we doubt our memories. Usually after a pretty good evening. The haze I am talking about here is of a different kind. This one is not as disconcerting.
Atmospheric haze forms when low on the ground it is colder than higher up. At least that is one way for it to form.
There are several more ways for it to form though. But since I am no meteorologist, I’ll not go into that. Like plenty of my memories, the lessons from school on how fog or mist forms are quite hazy.
Fairy-tale
And so are the pictures in this post 
(See what I did there? 
)
All kidding aside, when there was some fog/mist in Manitoba, everyone with half a camera was out shooting the most incredible/unusual pictures of subjects in the mist.
Nobody home
Out here in Nova Scotia, mist is not really daily, but pretty frequent. Nobody gets out with a camera to shoot it. And that is a pity. There are so many places and compositions to be had in this province that sometimes it’s simply impossible to shoot what you wanted.
Moored in the mist
But you always come home with an interesting composition. Not all the pictures are award-winning, but all will be nice. I guess that’s the advantage of fog. The “mystical” aspect of mist is something that few photographers can pass up on.
Mist on the water
The fact that an annoying background is blurred out by nature itself (as opposed to some photoshop work) is always the best. So how thick do we want that fog to be?
Smoke house, smoke or mist or fog?
Until now I have used “fog” and “mist” interchangeably. I am guessing that most of you don’t even care what the difference is, right? So here are some “official” definitions for both of the hazy clouds:
Monster in the mist
Fog is a thick cloud formed due to water droplets present near the earth’s surface. It is denser and reduces visibility to less than 1 kilometer. Fog is formed when warm air cools to its dew point, leading to the condensation of water vapor into tiny droplets.
While “mist” has this definition: Mist is a less dense cloud that is formed by small water droplets present in the atmosphere. It allows visibility between 1 to 2 kilometers and forms under similar conditions as fog but dissipates more quickly. Mist is often seen in the winter season and is formed when humid air cools down quickly when it comes into contact with the earth’s surface.
A lone chestnut tree
In other words, mist and fog are both water droplets in the atmosphere, both form in the cold but fog has less visibility and tends to stick around longer. I guess I will continue to mix them up, even more as far as photography is concerned.
The bare road
In a picture, nobody will see the difference . The main point of taking pictures in the mist is to get that dreamy “mistical” feeling, as opposed to a “foggy” feeling that denotes more of a morning after a good party…
In case you were interested, now you know. I think I will stick with the tile of this post so I won’t offend any meteorologists out there…
Until next time…