The fog has been pretty spectacular lately, or I just hadn't noticed it so much before.

On this evening last week, it looked just like an avalanche (or tidal wave) in slow motion.
I used slightly different processing according to what I thought looked best for each individual shot.

As usual, bigger versions in the gallery look better;

[fractal]

Whoaar.... The first shot did not do it justice as sky. It actually looks more like a violent, heaving ocean!

The second shot however, looks like the whole city is about to be covered in white fairy floss!

Cool shots Gary.

[Douglas_of_Sweden]

The fog has been pretty spectacular lately, or I just hadn't noticed it so much before.

On this evening last week, it looked just like an avalanche (or tidal wave) in slow motion.
I used slightly different processing according to what I thought looked best for each individual shot.

As usual, bigger versions in the gallery look better;

Gary, these are both beautifull and interresting.

There are lots of waves going on in the air. Usually you don't see them, but at the interface between cloud/fog and clear air you can see them.

A fog like this is usually trapped below an inversion, where the air is stable stratified. When something starts a vertical motion up or down, it is resisted by the stability and a buoyancy force counteract the motion, it goes the other direction, and meet an oposite buoyancy force and voila, you have a wave motion. Rising air find itself surounded by warmer air which force it to sink again and vice verse.

The cause of the initial motion can be mountains/hills/coastslines causing lee waves or mountain waves. There is alos something called gravity waves, which are a bit trickier to explain.

Was the wave building up in amplitude until it broke? In that case, what you most likely had in this picture, as far as I can judge from a still picture serie, is a Kelvin Helmholtz wave. Buoyance place a role here also, but it is the shear between a faster flowing air layer against a slower flowing air layer (remember that it is stratified in an inversion) that builds up until it gets strong enough to cause turbulence despite the stability which cause the wave to break. It is in principle what you have when the wind force ocean water to form a wave that breaks (also that is stratified "fluids", air and water). One can quite often see K-H waves build up at the top of fogs or clouds and break.

Sorry for the lecture. Could not resist.

Now imagine how nice it will be to have the K-7 next time you see this and to go over into video mode...

[Rense]

Gary, this are stunning photos of a majestic natural event!

[dazman]

Cool shots, Gary. Looks like something out of a Stephen King novel...perhaps he'll use one of the pics for his next cover!!!

[Jimbo]

In a way they don't look real, though I know they are. Its like someone just put them there for effect. Cheers JIM

[AlphaGAK20D]

Wow, Gary, this must've been quite a sight to behold! That fog wall is truly massive and magnificent! Great shots - thanks for sharing!

[sawtooth235]

Gary,

Great series my friend, isn't mother nature awesome?

Well captured.

Ray

[timbo13]

great shots, Gary! I don't know what PP you did to bring out the texture of the fog, but it works!

[RoxnDox]

Damn, Brit, nice shots!

Jim (sorry, just couldn't resist... Oh Lordy, I'm weak when it comes to resisting temptation!)

[Venturi]

Very nicely made shots, Gary.

[sureshgvv]

Spectacular series Gary!!!

[kevinschoenmakers]

Hahaha, the first picture had me thinking it was a wave. Then I thought, what the.. this can't be real, nice PP! And then I finally figured out it was just fog. Cool set.

[Buddha Jones]

If I woke up and saw that in the morning, I may think its the end of the world, like in Independence Day.

Whoaar.... The first shot did not do it justice as sky. It actually looks more like a violent, heaving ocean!

The second shot however, looks like the whole city is about to be covered in white fairy floss!

Cool shots Gary.

Thanks Carl

Gary, these are both beautifull and interresting.

There are lots of waves going on in the air. Usually you don't see them, but at the interface between cloud/fog and clear air you can see them.

A fog like this is usually trapped below an inversion, where the air is stable stratified. When something starts a vertical motion up or down, it is resisted by the stability and a buoyancy force counteract the motion, it goes the other direction, and meet an oposite buoyancy force and voila, you have a wave motion. Rising air find itself surounded by warmer air which force it to sink again and vice verse.

The cause of the initial motion can be mountains/hills/coastslines causing lee waves or mountain waves. There is alos something called gravity waves, which are a bit trickier to explain.

Was the wave building up in amplitude until it broke? In that case, what you most likely had in this picture, as far as I can judge from a still picture serie, is a Kelvin Helmholtz wave. Buoyance place a role here also, but it is the shear between a faster flowing air layer against a slower flowing air layer (remember that it is stratified in an inversion) that builds up until it gets strong enough to cause turbulence despite the stability which cause the wave to break. It is in principle what you have when the wind force ocean water to form a wave that breaks (also that is stratified "fluids", air and water). One can quite often see K-H waves build up at the top of fogs or clouds and break.

Sorry for the lecture. Could not resist.

Now imagine how nice it will be to have the K-7 next time you see this and to go over into video mode...

Thanks for the meteorological lesson Douglas. Those peaks were just about where the Golden Gate Bridge is, maybe that had some influence on the upswelling. There's also Alcatraz and Angel Islands under there somewhere, they must also have some effect.

Gary, this are stunning photos of a majestic natural event!

Thank you Rense

Cool shots, Gary. Looks like something out of a Stephen King novel...perhaps he'll use one of the pics for his next cover!!!

Thanks Daz, maybe Jeff Potter can use them.

In a way they don't look real, though I know they are. Its like someone just put them there for effect. Cheers JIM

Yeah I know what you mean Jim. Like I said, I don't recall seeing it like that before. Maybe I just hadn't noticed but I think maybe this has just been an exceptional year so far for the fog, pattern wise. This was another spectacular one I got last month;
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/57605-fog-rolling-throug...-panorama.html