Bluewave Digital

As anyone who has lived in or been around the San Francisco Bay Area can tell you, summer is full of lovely fog so thick, it's impossible to see more than five feet in front of you most mornings. However, it can make for some very fascinating photography.

The following were shot on Kodak MAX 400ISO film while I was scouting for possible locations to do some portrait photography in a few weeks. The Flickr photos are geotagged, but to give an idea of whereabouts I was wandering around, please refer to this map:

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And now for the main event.

If you couldn't tell from my previous posts, I like taking pictures of signs.

After driving up a windy road and dodging cyclists, I came to my destination: Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands, just across the Golden Gate Bridge. I parked the vehicle and began walking, when suddenly, a huge cloud descended on the entire area and I was met with this:

Those joggers appeared to emerge from thin air.

About a year ago, I had gone up there to shoot a film project for a class. The tunnel there intrigued me, so I have been looking for an excuse to go back to shoot some photographs.

What was interesting about this tunnel this time around was the fact that whenever the wind blew through it, fog came with it. In some cases, it looked like a sideways smoke stack.

Walking through the tunnel and emerging on the other side was like walking into a completely different world. There was an eerie silence that seemed so thick that it appeared to even muffle my footsteps on the damp earth. After stepping through the second tunnel, and walking around what I am assuming used to be a cannon mount (which I stupidly didn't take pictures of), I encountered some wildlife.

This guy was munching on some plants without ever taking his eyes off me.

Spot the lizard.

When I say the fog was thick, I mean the fog was thick. At the edge of the path there is a drop off. I'm not sure how steep it actually is, as I could not see past the edge of the path. I turned and continued forward.

Trees seemed to appear and disappear, as if mirages.

What was crazy about this whole thing was the fact that because the fog was hitting the trees and turning back into proper droplets, it was actually "raining" directly beneath the trees, but on the path it was completely dry.

Two "set pieces" I can use for my portraits in a few weeks.

Presented with yet another tunnel, I ventured forward.

This tunnel lead me back to where I had parked my vehicle, so I took a few snaps around to get a better idea of what I had to work with.

I told you, I like signs.

On a clear day, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge from here, but this was not a clear day.

I love having an actual, manual lens.

I re-entered the vehicle and started on my way back. Before I began moving, however, I took a shot through the mirror.

I've actually never done this before, and was finding it difficult getting the focus right. It was either the frame of the mirror was in focus, or the mirror's virtual image.

Clouds and California's green hills.

And that was the end of the journey. It amazes me that I've been out here for so long, but haven't really fully explored the natural areas nearby. I may need to make more expeditions into the Golden Gate National Recreation area, but those will have to wait until the future. All I know is, this particular place will hopefully do me just fine when I shoot the portraits in a couple of weeks.