Church Spire Above a Sea of Morning Fog

A small town sits in clear, low sunlight while a layer of fog fills the valley beyond it. Red and orange tiled roofs, pale façades and a white church tower with a slim green spire catch the warm light. Dark spruces fill the lower left foreground, and bare trees stand behind the rooftops. Past the town, the fog lies flat and smooth. Forested hills rise out of it in several soft, bluish layers under a pale, cloudless sky. The colours are muted and cool except for the warm roofs, and the mood is calm and still.

The view shows Kašperské Hory and its St Margaret church, seen from Liščí vrch (794 m) in the Šumava. Fog like this usually forms when cold air settles into valleys on clear, still nights. Viewers on higher ground can end up above the layer, looking down on it as a sea of clouds, and the effect often fades as the morning sun warms the air. The wide landscape frame and the open space of sky and fog suit a widescreen monitor, where icons can sit over the pale upper area without covering the town.

More like this: Kittiwakes Afloat Beneath a Fog-Shrouded Sea Stack and Three Bears Walking Down a Northern Highway.