It was taken in December 2024, near my hometown in the Lake Constance region in Germany. It had been wet and cold for a full week. The trees were covered in a layer of ice, which is why I really wanted to go out and capture this natural spectacle. I packed my things and set off toward Hegaublick, a viewpoint offering a great view of the Hegau volcanoes — a place I often go to take photos.
On the way there, I was a bit disappointed at first because, as is unfortunately often the case in winter, it was very foggy. Nevertheless, I managed to capture a few good shots of the frost-covered trees. As time went on, I noticed that the fog was lifting a bit. I got into my car and drove to a nearby hill, where I was lucky enough to find myself right on the edge between the fog and the clear sky. Unfortunately, there weren’t any good subjects for the camera, so I took off with the drone, shot a few videos, and noticed a lone tree standing in the field.
I switched from video to photo mode. The scene looked surreal and simply perfect. On the left, a wall of fog; on the right, the clear sky with frost-covered shrubs and trees in the background. And in the foreground, a lone tree, which was also bathed in light at that very moment. I was in the right place at the right time.
I edited the image once in colour and once in black and white. To do this, I highlighted the tree using a mask. I also balanced the light and dark areas and reduced the saturation of the blacks toward the horizon to give the image more depth.
