All images are shot with a Pentax 645D.

I decided to go up to the park yesterday for some hiking and photography. Up at 4 am and on the trail at 5 am.

I hit the clouds while driving to the trailhead. And once on the trail, even with a decent headlamp, I couldn't see much past 5 feet in front of me. The trail starts at roughly 9500 ft. and ascends up to over 10,000 ft.

It was kind of spooky hiking a trail in the dark, in extremely heavy fog (really a cloud) knowing that there are plenty of dropoffs.

I got to Emerald Lake just as it was getting light enough to not need the headlamp, still in heavy fog. So, after having a cup of coffee, I started doing some long exposure photography. Well, what I could in the fog anyway.



My lens kept fogging up and I forgot to bring a microfiber cloth. I hated to do it, but I used my fleece jacket continuously to keep the lens clear.



As I waited for the clouds to clear, I hiked up a boulder field and tried to shoot some old pines, but the fog was just too thick to get anything decent.

After a couple of hours, there was a 5 minute clearing of the clouds, and the spires around Emerald Lake were finally visible, for a short while anyway.

(3 shot vertical pano with a 645D and 35mm lens)



After another cup of coffee, the sun came out one more time.