Land of the Mist

image of mist rolling over mountains in winter

It was a cold December day when the weather kept changing every minute. The few inches of snow made the climb harder, but once we reached the top all was worth it. A cold wind began to blow and the clouds covered the sun again. Thick mist started rolling down from the mountains and pouring everywhere. The landscape was changing right before our eyes.

The endless pine forests were engulfed by the mist and only a few rays of light managed to break trough to them. The whole landscape got a mysterious eerie beauty that was accentuated by the fact that there was no human being in sight for miles. We could really feel lost in the enormity of the landscape.
The only sound was the one of the cold wind blowing. The rush and background noise of everyday life vanishes is replaced by a calmness that you can’t find anywhere else. It always amazes me how the mist has the capacity to transform a landscape so fast and make it almost timeless. It’s this kind of mood and atmosphere, that feeling of being lost that I (and we at PhotoCosma) try to capture and transmit trough images.

I used a 300 mm tele lens to capture what was happening around me. I was so excited of what I was seeing that I realized a lot of the shots will come out blurry so I used a tripod. It proved to be a good decision as the light was scarce. The mist kept moving and transforming so I had a lot to photograph, but as the night approached I knew we still had a long way to go back again so I stopped and stared for a few minutes. The cold, the tiredness, the fact that we would have to walk a long way trough the dark – nothing mattered. Everything was perfect.

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Fog Over Mountain Forest

fog-over-mountain-forest
Fog rolling over the mountain forest

This year I’ve got caught by the rain a lot while out on the mountain. The rain is bad for the photographer and gear but really good for the photographs. After waiting for almost a day for the rain to stop, I was given to see with this image of the mist rising from the pine tree forest, the mysterious landscape changing every second. It was worth it.

Mysterious Forests of Transylvania Photo Book

 

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Mysterious Forests of Transylvania Photo Book by Andrei Cosma and Sergiu Cosma

The forest is an enchanted place filled with wonder and mystery. When fog descends on to the trees time seems to move at a different pace from the outside world. Every step takes the traveler deeper into the woods and closer to a mysterious, dark and surreal world, where everything is possible. One can almost see the mythological creatures sneaking trough the forest and watching him from behind the trees. This is the realm where the legends are born, where the line between reality and fantasy is erased and where imagination is running wild.

I’ve been exploring the wonders of the forest alongside my brother for as long as I can remember. “Mysterious Forests of Transylvania” is a fine art coffee table book that focuses on the mystery and atmosphere of the enchanted woods that we spent so many days in. We want to bring the magic of the forest for the whole world to see.

You can get it in hardcover or paperback format, 10×8 in, 25×20 cm, 48 Pages on Premium Matte paper, and you can also get a preview here:

http://www.blurb.com/b/5430399-mysterious-forests-of-transylvania

 

Snow falling in forest

snow falling in mysterious winter forest
Snow flakes falling in winter forest

There’s something really special and serene about snow falling in complete silence. If the forest is also shrouded in fog, this makes for one of the most serene places I have ever been. When there is no wind and the forest is far enough from any human settlement, you can almost hear the snow falling.

I remember I walked trough the forest for a couple of hours taking foggy winter pics, and because my battery was getting low from the cold and night was approaching, I decided to turn back. Only then the snow started falling and I was mesmerized by the dreamy winter wonderland. I used a 35 mm lens and used a f6,3 aperture to have the group of of trees in the foreground in focus yet still have the snow flakes from the front and back blurry enough to make the whole setting more dreamy. I decided to make the white balance colder to better match what I saw that evening.

It’s one of my favorite winter photos. It brings together elements that I love: winter, fog, the forest, and has that “dreamyness” and atmosphere that I love to see in a photo.

It is available exclusively here: https://www.stocksy.com/836958 and managed to sparkle interest not only in winter, but all year round until now.