Blue Mountain Shadow
February 10, 2005
Provided and copyright by: Qrt Laederach
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster; Qrt Laederach
This stirring photo of a mountain shadow recumbent upon a fog bank was taken from Säntis Mountain, Switzerland on December 12, 2004. The different shades of blue of the lake-like fog and distant mountain peaks that look like islands, and the rose-colored sky created a most pleasing composition - no photo processing or manipulation was necessary. Since the Sun had just set and was at the photographer's antisolar point, the mountain shadow is cast not on the ground but rather on the lower atmosphere. Typically, for this effect to be seen, there must be abundant aerosols overhead -- dust particles, for instance. The aerosols outside of the shadow scatter sunlight. Inside of the shadow, this scattered sunlight is absent.
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