As I was reviewing the photos from a hike this week I noticed these two that were taken of essentially the same scene from an almost identical perspective. The main differences between the two were time (the first was taken at 6:40AM and the second at 7:47AM) and weather (clouds had swept over the mountain between the two photos).
Montana Outdoors 
I’ve had fog like that roll in when I’ve been mushroom picking and I ended up all turned around.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — May 30, 2013 @ 11:18 pm
That can sure happen. It’s one of the reasons that I always carry a map and compass with me.
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Comment by montucky — May 30, 2013 @ 11:26 pm
Cool! That white light is stunning!
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Comment by Harold Rhenisch — May 30, 2013 @ 11:25 pm
I think clouds are the very best light diffusers there are, especially at high elevations.
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Comment by montucky — May 30, 2013 @ 11:30 pm
It is amazing that as you climb higher you get to the level of the clouds. At that height when you are on the trail you can see those clouds coming right at you and then they surround you as they dump all that water on you…It does bring out the most beautiful shades of green. Thank you for sharing your really gorgeous photos.
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Comment by Charlie@Seattle Trekker — May 30, 2013 @ 11:54 pm
It’s awesome up there when the clouds move in, isn’t it! I put on another layer of warmth and maybe a poncho and really enjoy it!
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Comment by montucky — May 31, 2013 @ 12:30 am
Amazing! It does show how fast the cloud can come down in the mountains – the cause of many an emergency in the Highlands here too.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — May 30, 2013 @ 11:56 pm
Yes, clouds can move in very quickly. I guess that’s an advantage to being an old gaffer: I’ve seen it many times before.
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Comment by montucky — May 31, 2013 @ 12:31 am
Love your nature scenery. It reminds a little bit of my own landscape Jämtland . // Maria
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Comment by mariayarri — May 31, 2013 @ 1:07 am
THen I know I would love it there too!
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:44 pm
Lowering and thickening clouds usually mean some weather.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — May 31, 2013 @ 4:16 am
The mountain tops see lots of changes like this; more so than in the valleys.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:45 pm
I like standing in fog or low clouds. Seeing the photo is almost as good. Nice shots.
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Comment by Malcolm R. Campbell — May 31, 2013 @ 6:57 am
I like both too. The mist turns on the imagination.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:46 pm
Nice to compare the changing composition !
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Comment by winsomebella — May 31, 2013 @ 7:00 am
This was inadvertent, but serendipitous. It document quite a change.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:48 pm
Interesting to see the change in weather in the course of an hour. I’ve been on a mountain and by the sea when heavy fog rolled in really quickly. It is very disorienting. As you said in a comment above…always have the all important map and compass!
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Comment by dhphotosite — May 31, 2013 @ 7:36 am
Heavy fog and clouds can certainly change one’s orientation. This morning I was on an unfamiliar trail, trying to follow it though it was covered by snow; hoping that the clouds didn’t roll in!
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:51 pm
This is amazing, Montucky! Talk about foreground!
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Comment by C.C. — May 31, 2013 @ 9:43 am
Yes. The stage was still set but the background sure changed.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:51 pm
That’s pretty dramatic. One of the those kind of skies where I’m glad to be indoors.
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Comment by Sue — May 31, 2013 @ 4:37 pm
I love that weather, but I’m always glad that I have the right stuff in my pack!
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:52 pm
What a difference an hour can make!
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Comment by jomegat — May 31, 2013 @ 6:37 pm
Yes, when the weather is unsettled things can change fast! The visibility and the temperature too. A few years ago on a hunting trip I parked the Jeep and hunted through a stretch of ridgetop for about an hour. Then drove back down in 4 inches of new snow.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:55 pm
I miss living where you can see weather changes in such a pronounced fashion, or see it approaching for miles… An amazing change you’ve captured
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Comment by Teresa Evangeline — May 31, 2013 @ 8:49 pm
This particular mountain is a favorite. Its top is just about a mile higher than the valleys around it. One summer I watched a small rain storm… from above it.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:56 pm
That’s quite a difference in an hour. You obviously have a favorite vantage point there.
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Comment by Candace — May 31, 2013 @ 10:21 pm
I do. I visit there at least three times a year and that particular spot is on the edge of a cliff that drops about a thousand feet to the north. On a good day I can see for about a hundred miles from there.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:57 pm
It doesn’t take long for the weather to roll in.
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Comment by Finn Holding — June 1, 2013 @ 1:40 am
Yes, it was quick. I had anticipated changing weather but it was still dramatic.
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 3:58 pm
When I lived in Berkeley, I used to go to the top of the hills and watch the fog roll in through the Golden Gate. Sometimes it would come in above, sometimes entirely below. Now and then, it would thread through the spans themselves. It was so beautiful.
As for quick changes – I thought sea fog was the worst, but these clouds are in the competition. When I still was learning the basics of sailing, my instructor drilled into me that I always should plot a course, so that in a fog, I could sail the reciprocal and get home. Fog and low clouds are beautiful but unnerving. It’s almost impossible to know where a fog horn is sounding – or where another vessel is passing. I imagine it’s the same on the trail.
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Comment by shoreacres — June 1, 2013 @ 9:10 pm
Fog and clouds can be formidable events. I remember once in Seattle I was at a theater when a very dense fog came in and it seemed to take me forever to find my car. That can be so dangerous at sea or in the back country! Today I was hiking on a trail that was new to me and most of it was covered by deep snow banks and sometimes a snow field. I watched the weather very carefully because following only footprints in limited visibility in that country would be a very harrowing experience!
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Comment by montucky — June 1, 2013 @ 10:24 pm
Yikes, that’s quite a change!
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Comment by Watching Seasons — June 2, 2013 @ 2:34 pm
It makes you understand how folks can get in trouble in that kind of weather.
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Comment by montucky — June 2, 2013 @ 7:27 pm