Clouded Judgement

It’s been a while since my last outing with my camera. I believe the last time I ventured out for a photography only outing was back in March of this year, and the last time I did any landscape or cityscape work goes back even further. I’ve taken pictures since those times, but those photo shoots have been related to other events like baseball, astronomy outreach and family gatherings. I finally had a little time to get out of the house for a dedicated photography session.

I decided that I would attempt to capture a shot that I’ve had my eye on for some time. A while back, the city removed some trees from the West face of the Maury County Courthouse in downtown Columbia, Tennessee. This opened up the West face of the courthouse to a nice view from West 7th Street. I figured I would check out the scene at sunrise. This meant getting up at 5:00am. It was a bit of a struggle as I stayed up late the previous night, but I remembered a photography article I read about pushing yourself to get out of the house even when you don’t feel up to it. The article goes on to say that If you do push yourself to get out with your camera, you won’t regret it. I have to say that the article was right!

I was delighted to be greeted with fog when I stepped onto my front porch. Fog always adds a mysterious element to photographs. It’s never the same. The fog can be a thin veil or it can be a thick blanket. It can appear and disappear. That’s part of the excitement, because you never know what the fog and light is going to give you. This time it started out with at thick blanket.

I wanted to get a compressed telephoto shot of the West face of the courthouse from West 7th Street. However the blanket of fog kept the courthouse hidden from that vantage point. Below is a quick snap shop of the view from West 7th Street. This is nothing special. Once I saw that I couldn’t see the courthouse, I did not waste any time trying to find a good composition. I simply snapped a shot to show that the courthouse could not be seen. Without the fog, you would be able to see the courthouse between the row of trees at the end of the street in this first photo.

West 7th Street Looking East toward the Maury County Courthouse – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 70-300mm f4-5.6

After grabbing the snap shot, I drove toward the courthouse. As I drove into the blanket of fog, the courthouse gradually became visible. There were no cars on the square, so I took advantage of this rare opportunity to capture the courthouse from the middle of the vacant street.

West 7th Street Looking East toward the Maury County Courthouse – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5

Maury County Courthouse – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5

The fog and light changes fast. With the sun steadily rising and the fog lifting, the courthouse scene started taking on a different look. The sun light and the thinner fog started to break through the gloom.

Maury County Courthouse – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 / SNS-HDR (5 frames)

I continued my trek around the courthouse looking for more photos. I went back to the West face and liked what I saw. The sunlight was producing a nice back light through the fog behind the courthouse. It gave the courthouse a grandiose presence, almost divine. This is by far my favorite shot of the morning. It was definitely worth climbing out of bed before sunrise.

Maury County Courthouse (West Face) – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 / SNS-HDR (5 frames) / Shift-N Lens Correction

I love how the thick fog can create a filter to render the sun into its circular disc. I grabbed the next shot looking East while standing at the steps of the courthouse.

Sunrise from the Maury County Courthouse – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 / SNS-HDR (7 frames)

As mentioned earlier, the morning light changes fast, especially when you have fog in play. When most of the fog was gone, I captured a picture of the unfiltered East face of the courthouse. I also created an abstract of the “Main Street” street sign.

Maury County Courthouse (East Face) – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5 / SNS-HDR (6 frames) / Shift-N Lens Correction

South Main Street – Maury County Courthouse – Downtown Columbia, Tennessee – Olympus E520 / 14-54mm f2.8-3.5

I seldom regret pushing myself to get out of the house with my camera. I seem to always come back with some keepers that I really like. It is also therapeutic finding and capturing things that interest you. I always come back with a positive attitude after these therapy sessions. I hope you’ve enjoyed the images. I hope to have more film work to post soon. In the meantime, I will push myself to post more digital work between my analogue adventures. Thanks for reading!

Images Best Viewed in LightBox Below!

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”173″ gal_title=”Foggy Courthouse”]