Fishing Boat, Ha Long Bay

Photo: A fisherman on a junk boat in Vietnam
I was doing a story on Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam, and my goal was to depict old Asia. I grew up in Hong Kong in the 1960s, so I’m very nostalgic for that time. I wanted my photos to be like the Chinese brush paintings my mother used to paint. I wanted fog. Bright sun and blue skies
wouldn’t be right. I couldn’t believe my luck when the mist and fog never lifted for two straight days! I was able to shoot for hours and hours.
Photographs are effective when they convey emotion. Although content and subject matter are key, the light is everything. I can't think of a better quality of light to have than that which appears with mist and fog, in this case helping to express the nostalgia of a timeless scene in Ha Long Bay. —Catherine Karnow
Photo Tip: Instead of wishing for a sunny day and "beautiful weather," notice how elements like mist and fog can be effective in conveying emotion, especially nostalgia.
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