Bear River in thick fog – Nikon D810, f6.3, 1/500, ISO 800, +2.0 EV, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 18mm, natural light
As I mentioned in my Great Blue Heron post yesterday the fog was about the thickest I have ever seen it at the refuge two days ago. Spotting birds in the distance was a problem so my hope was to find some birds close enough to see and photograph. I didn’t find many but I liked the foggy images of the birds I did locate.
Because of the heavy fog it felt to me as if I was visiting a new or different refuge because I couldn’t see the landmarks I usually can. Some where out in the fog in this image are the snow-covered Promontory Mountains but you’d never guess that they were there because of the curtain of fog that hid them. I couldn’t even see a hint of the mountain peaks.
Herring Gull in thick fog – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 800, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
While I was photographing the first Great Blue Heron two mornings ago I also spotted a gull on a shelf of ice, the fog was thick enough that from a distance the gull looked huge when I compared it to another nearby heron.
I wasn’t sure what species of gull it was when I took this photo but because of its light colored eyes I was certain it wasn’t a California Gull. After reviewing the images I took of the gull at home on a larger screen I was happy to see that it was a Herring Gull, gulls we only see in the winter here. Just twenty days earlier I had seen my first Herring Gull of the winter and at the time hoped I’d be able to add more images of them to my portfolio. I did and I like that the new images I took of this winter visitor were foggy photos.
I have taken photos of Herring Gulls in Florida in the sea fog that at times rolled in from the Gulf but these are my first foggy images of Herring Gulls here in Utah.
Life is good. Even when it is foggy.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Herring Gull photos plus facts and information about this species.
This takes me back to growing up at the Northsea, along the coast of Germany. We have the European Herring Gull, as prolific as the seagulls here in America, their distinct cry accompanying the groups flying about the neighborhood, scurrying amongst the people and cars in the shopping centers. In our coastal town of Emden you saw and heard them wherever you went. They were a familiar feature of my childhood.
Love the gull – and envy the weather.
Likem, Mia