The Fog

Time flies, it‘s October already. I love autumn. The last ray of sunshine mixed with a cloudy sky, some rain and wind – and it’s the best time for fog in Western Europe. My favourite season of the year. As a photographer, what I love about autumn the most is the fog.

Fog is mysterious, rare where I live. Fog somehow separates you – in a way – from the rest of the world. It is the best weather condition for minimalists. When you think of a season, you very likely have pictures in your mind with certain prominent colors. Green for spring, white for winter… then emotions appear along with the pictures and colours in our mind. And that‘s the same with a special weather condition.

Berlin in the mist

I know most people love the sun. Well, I love the sun too, but nothing gives me a better connection to nature, nothing ever calms me down as much as fog.

In the past years I have literally chased the fog. For instance, I stayed for one month in Porto in November 2024 – not a single day with fog. There was one rainy day (please see the photo), but all other days were quite sunny and warm. That was unfortunate, because I was promised fog and I was hoping for fog and lots of foggy photos from Porto. Fog creates mysteries and the weirdest expectations. You never know what is behind the wall of thick air.

Berlin

Have you ever met someone in the fog? Someone passing by. You saw that there was something moving behind the white wall of air, but then, just a couple of meters later, suddenly it becomes clear – there is someone walking towards you. That is the moment when you wouldn’t be surprised if it was an alien, right? That is because of the fog. In the fog, everything seems possible. The weirdest things.

Standing in the fog is a burst for your imagination. I also experience fog as something that makes me feel lonely, in a very natural way. Poet Hermann Hesse wrote about the loneliness in the fog, even for nature:

Im Nebel — Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)

Venice

Seltsam, im Nebel zu wandern!

Kein Baum sieht den andern,

Jeder ist allein.…

In the Fog — Hermann Hesse (1877–1962)

Weird to walk in the fog!

Not one tree can see any other tree,

Everyone is alone.…

Tuscany, Italy

For landscapes or objects, fog does something very sensitive. It singles out a subject. A tree, a roof, a bridge. It makes you focus on this one element and see its beauty. From the photos that I have selected you will see one with a lantern and a bike rider on it. I was just standing there, watching the lantern and observing who would come close to it. When you look thoroughly you can see, behind the river, another island and a boat – all that is blended out so that you are focused only on the lantern. It is the most zen weather condition.

Fog — Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

Majorca, Spain

Enjoy the fog!