My Friend, My Foe: Weather
Apr 23, 2026
This past March, I attended the Ballyhoo Arts Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I arrived hoping for clear sunsets and star-filled skies, but nature had other plans. After setting up my booth on Friday afternoon, I headed to the Gulf State Park Pier, tripod in hand, to capture the evening light.
At first, I thought I was in for a disappointment. A heavy fog rolled in from the Gulf, turning the world grey and flat. To make matters worse, the surf was rough and a steady stream of people kept walking through my frame. Between the exhaustion of the drive and the "bad" luck with the atmosphere, I almost packed it up.
Instead, I decided to lean into the challenge. To cut through the haze and capture crisp detail from the foreground all the way to the horizon, I focus-stacked nine different shots into a single image. I used long exposures of about 5 to 8 seconds to smooth out the aggressive surf and "ghost" out the crowds. At the time, I wasn't sure if the shots would even be usable.
That Friday session ended up being my only window of opportunity. While Saturday brought great festival crowds, a massive storm system moved in that night. The weather turned "foe" quickly, forcing organizers to cancel Sunday’s events and wiping out my plans for any further photography.
When I finally processed the files, I was amazed. Those "grey" Friday shots, merged and refined, turned into something ethereal and beautiful. Sometimes the weather doesn't give you the clear skies you expected, but if you're willing to put in the technical work, it might just give you something even better.
The images from that foggy Friday evening at Gulf State Park Pier are now available as fine art metal and canvas prints. Sometimes the shots you almost didn't take become your favorites — and these are mine.
