October brings cold nights and warm days to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As the temperature drops during the night, moisture in the cooling air above the still-warm lake condenses, creating fog. When fog fills the autumn forest, the effect is magical.

For this photograph I rose early when I was camping along Ross Lake, not far from Lake Superior. There was a fisherman out on the lake in a small motorboat, dissolving in and out of the mist. The maples were brilliant oranges and reds, muted a bit by the softening effect of the fog. I walked around in reverie with my medium format film camera, knowing that this would be one of the best autumn mornings of my life. For photography, I wish mornings like this could go on forever. Alas, winter comes only too soon.

Location: Ross Lake area, Lake Superior State Forest, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA

Lee Rentz