Foggy Meadow Morning

I was visiting a friend who lived in the Wisconsin countryside. The weather forecast the night before promised morning fog. Never having been in the region before, I went out for an early morning walk to explore and look for photo possibilities. I had no preconception of what I wanted to shoot. No photography goal in mind. I was just willing to work with whatever was provided. Having grown up hunting with my father and as a wildlife photographer, experience taught me to move quietly, which turned out to be beneficial.

The sun had already cleared the horizon, and the promised fog was thick as I walked down a gravel road. I came upon a meadow in which a single tree grew. It was a good opportunity for an image of the tree enveloped in fog with the sun in the background. It turned out to be even better as there were a couple of deer moving through the meadow as well. Standing out in the open, there was no place for me to hide. The best I could do was to move slowly and quietly while making images. The buck deer was heading to cross the road in front of me and the tree when it heard the camera fire. It immediately stopped and turned its head towards me. I took the shot just before the buck continued to cross the road but with a notably faster pace. A short window of opportunity to come away with the best image of the morning. I took a few more images of just the tree in the frame after the deer departed but they did not have the same visual strength as the image that contains both tree and deer.

Done