Wintertime in the Florida Panhandle brings lot’s of misty mornings on the coast. I’m pretty sure, its the same thing we experienced while living in the Rocky Mountains, but we called it fog. For some time, I have been planning in my mind a minimalistic photo of a sailboat on a misty morning. For the past several days we have had this mist every morning. I finally had to put everything aside and go searching for my boat!

After loading the Rover with my camera gear it was time to fire up those windshield wipers to clear off the accumulated moisture. Then it was off towards Navarre Beach, fortunately for me, it’s just a 15 minute drive. There are not many sailboats that are kept moored in the Sound here. I have been looking for weeks but have not found what I have been envisioning.

Visibility was not great, so what ever I found would have to be close. The Navarre Bridge crosses the sound to get to the Key that we call Navarre Beach. As the Bridge turned to causeway I looked to the right and about 75 yards out was a sailboat peaking through the mist. It was as if someone had placed it there just for me!

I parked and jumped out. It was evident that I had the entire area to myself. I could feel the wetness in the air and would have to be quick before my lens started gathering that same wetness that my windshield was covered with earlier. I grabbed my pack and walked down to the beach. After looking through my Landscape Lens it was evident that the sailboat was too far away. It was time for the 70mm – 200mm. I set up my tripod and found my desired composition. As I started to shoot, I noticed that there was just enough movement in the water to create a moving target. The boat would pivet to the right and then back again to the left.

Typically, most landscape compositions do not involve subjects that move, unless of course it is a river or stream. My vision of the shot included a straight on shot so, I just had to take my shot everytime the boat lined up straight. The mist was so heavy that the background was completly washed out. This was my goal. About this time, the light from the rising sun was filtering through just enough to get some light on the water. This helped greatly in capturing a very subtle reflection.

I took quite a few compositions and played around with a few light settings. By the time I was done, I was smiling from ear to ear. I was pretty certain that I had accomplished what I have been planning for sometime now. Let me know what you think! I was thinking of a 30″ x 40″ print hanging in our living room, but I have to talk my wife into it.

Let me know if you would like to order a print for your home, I would be glad to help you determine the best size for your setting.