I fell asleep and awoke to fog while camping in Crystal Cove State Park a few weeks ago. The flowers became beautifully covered in dew, so I spent most of my free time photographing them.

But what struck me as I was doing my closeup work was how much the fog changed the feel of the park. When the fog rolled in a few hours before sunset, the landscape changed from a dusty, hot California hillside covered in dry grass to something moodier, almost creepy.

As the wisps of fog blew by, trails that used to be perfectly visible became shrouded in mist. The plants transformed from water-starved sticks to haunting menaces, stalking trails that led into nothing by grayness.

And the spiderwebs seemed perfect for Halloween, the little droplets of water sometimes looking like a thousand little eyes peering out at you.

Photographers: How do you work in fog to capture the feel of it, without just ending up with pictures that look under-contrasty and bland?

Hopefully these images will please Greg, as he’s ribbed me about my lack of grayscale work.

More pictures

To see more pictures from the trip, head to my Crystal Cove State Park Wilderness Gallery or view my flowers, insects and spiders, self-portrait, and rattlesnake mating blog posts from the trip.

Getting There

Crystal Cove State Park: Located along Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) between Corona Del Mar and Laguna Beach in Orange County, California. I camped at the Lower Moro Campsite, which is about a 2 mile hike in from the parking lot. Parking is plentiful at a new parking lot and picnic area past the Moro Campground (for RV’s), but you must pay either a day use fee for the state park or an overnight fee. The park is currently open from 6am – sunset; their website has lots of good information on it.