SMOKE

[Kilgallb]

Well, all of Southern BC, Alberta and most of Washington State and Northern Idaho are covered in a thick blanket of smoke.

So what to do if you need to photograph the landscape. The sun is surprisingly bright but the scene is also very flat when it comes to variation from light to dark.

 

[Dr Croubie]

Shoot B+W and pretend like its fog? (of course, first step should always be make sure the fire is nowhere upwind of where you are...)

 

[Nodda Duma]

I'll avoid geeking out because I've spent the past couple years working on imaging through haze and smoke, but I'll boil all the science stuff down to...

Shoot infrared film. The longer wavelengths punch through haze a bit better.

 

[MattKing]

Shoot in colour!

 

[Jim Noel]

I'll avoid geeking out because I've spent the past couple years working on imaging through haze and smoke, but I'll boil all the science stuff down to...

Shoot infrared film. The longer wavelengths punch through haze a bit better.

Yes, IR is your only practical answer.

 

[msage]

Fortunately for us, the wind was shifted on shore so most of W. Washington is clear now. This has been a very bad fire season!

 

[Sirius Glass]

The smoke that drifted into Colorado last week caused me to change my compositions to accommodate and take advantage of the smoke.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I grew up in forest fire country, and there's another monster burn right now, right where I planned to backpack in two weeks. Plan B or Plan C or Plan D trips options are therefore in my head, just like every summer. But in modest amounts, smoke can lend wonderful atmospheric depth, just like 19th C blue-sensitive films. A few years ago I had my 4x5 and a long lens pointed at the silhouette of a particularly handsome backcountry pinnacle. We were camped around 10.000 ft above most of the smoke, but it still obscured most distant things visually. So I installed a red filter to cut thru the haze and took the shot. Talk about dumb luck! When I made a big print from the neg, there was a golden eagle in perfect silhouette right on the tip of the pinnacle. I could hardly make out details of the rock itself with the naked eye.

 

[Nodda Duma]

Sounds awesome Drew! One of the few things I miss about CA is all the hiking we did in the eastern Sierras

 

[Colorado CJ]

FILTERS!!

Use filters. I use the Cokin P size filters so I can stack them when needed. A linear polarizer will really cut down on the haze. Also, if you can, try to use a graduated ND filter. Using both together, you can really tame the smoke filled skies and get much more depth to your photos.