My landscape images are heavily influenced by painters, especially the 16th and 17th century Dutch Masters. This image is the closest I've come, so far, to creating an image that expresses how I feel when viewing those classic paintings in a museum.

"Misty Morning" is an image that took me 2 years to create. From the time I learned of this tree in the middle of the James River near Richmond, Virginia that held on to its colors in the late autumn much longer than the trees near it, I knew the exact conditions I wanted. I had a pre-visualized composition in mind that required fog, late autumn colors and early morning light. Many autumn mornings were spent at this area of the river, hoping for the right conditions to appear. One morning in late October of my second year of waiting, I set out for the river not expecting to photograph the tree because conditions weren't particularly favorable for fog, or so I thought. As I drove closer to the river, I noticed mist rising from fields and farms and I started to think that maybe this could be it! As I crossed a bridge over the river, I was greeted with a blanket of fog over the water and I knew I had hit the jackpot. I headed straight for the location I had picked out from which to photograph the tree and spent all morning enjoying the changing conditions as the sun rose and the mist danced in the breeze.