Fog on the Desert

When a rare fog visits my desertusually on a winter morning after a Pacific storm has passed-it can be surprisingly dense, a pervasive cloud reducing visibility to zero. It's then I lose all perspective and at times almost forget where I am.

But most often it is irregular, patchy fog that lasts only a brief time, starting the day by reflecting the rosy sunrise. The ghostly patches creep slowly through desert washes, and as the sun ascends into the clear blue dome of the sky, they catch the misty shadows cast by saguaros and paloverdes.

Ever so gradually, as the day warms, the fog begins to lift, rising eerily out of the arroyos, caressing the giant cacti before drifting upward to obscure the view of distant mountains. Then, sometimes abruptly, the thinning wraiths disappear in the sparkling air. Once again I'm alone with my familiar desert and the sunny morning.

After several years' efforts at photographing such ethereal happenings, I know I cannot predict how a desert fog will behave. For every image I have captured, there are at least two I've missed because either light or fog has changed before I've had a chance to peer through the viewfinder or adjust the camera on its tripod. Yet I still enjoy the challenge when fog comes visitingno matter how elusive it may prove.