Melting Sun in Sea of Fog

Posted by Don Smith (California, United States) on 21 August 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

A setting Pacific sun appears to be melting into a sea of cool blue fog over the Monterey Bay in central California. I shot this image with three of my good friends: Mike Hall, James Guillory and Pierre Steenberg. We had actually gone out with the intention of shooting a moonrise, but thick clouds to the east obscured the early part of the rise. As it turned out, the real action was to the west. The image is somewhat of an illusion as the sun is actually setting below the horizon; however, using a 400mm lens gave the appearance of the sun setting into the sea of fog. This image was photographed from a dirt road which bordered San Juan Canyon Road in western San Benito County. To see more of my rural and coastal images, or to get information on my upcoming 2009 workshops, please visit my website at http://www.donsmithphotography.com

Comments (12)

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

That sky is so glorious! And the sun... amazing.

21 Aug 2008 8:53am

Monte Stevens from Fort Collins, United States

Very good, with wonderfully rich colors. It pulls me into the image.

21 Aug 2008 10:55am

shahab from Qazvin, Iran

Fabulous shot!Excellent color!A masterpiece by you,through the lovely 100-400 lens(or 400 f/2.8?)!

21 Aug 2008 11:22am

Don Smith from California, United States

Hi Ana, Monte and shahab,

Thanks once again for your kind words. I was surprised myself to see the what appears to be the fog enveloping the sun. As I stated, it is an illusion created by the 400mm lens and the light itself (if you looked carefully, you can see the transition line of the fog and the horizon - the initial part of the sky is blue due to the heavy marine layer which, I surmise, prevented the red light rays to refect their warm light). Shahab, in this case, it was the Canon 100-400mmL lens set at 400mm. This lens is not at its sharpest when zoomed fully to 400mm, but when the subject has soft lines to begin with - such as this image - I won't hesitate using it.

21 Aug 2008 12:59pm

One from Açores, Portugal

Superb harmony of colours ... a magnificent composition.

21 Aug 2008 3:30pm

zOOm from Paris, France

Oh my... what a gorgeous image... the colours are stunning... I love what nature offers, beauty and surprise everyday, everywhere ! And you were there at the right time ! Lucky you !

21 Aug 2008 4:43pm

paulski from Muncie, IN, United States

beautiful shot; love the colors. outstanding!

21 Aug 2008 5:21pm

Stefan from Thiersee, Austria

I love this shot, great!

21 Aug 2008 9:50pm

dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, CA, United States

just wonderful imagery here -- beautiful, inspiring colors and an excellent catch of the sun sinking through the lower echelons of the atmosphere! stunning and gorgeous!

21 Aug 2008 10:11pm