All photos by Henri Prestes. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Winter is one of the best times for photographers to capture moody scenes, as our featured photographer will show you today. London-based Henri Prestes, who previously took on cinematic night drives, is back with another beautiful collection of photos. If you’re into dreamy imagery created by misty and foggy scenery, we’re sure you’ll find this new series gorgeous and inspiring.
Prestes may not be the first to use the dramatic imagery created by mist and fog. Nor is he the first to pair it with a cinematic aesthetic. But he’s definitely one of the photographers who creates excellent examples of the emotive effect when the two are combined. In this latest series, titled Velvet Winter, he explored desolated spots in Portugal’s mountainous region and captured moody scenes during misty days and nights. The result feels like a continuation of his Night Drives series, as if he was actually documenting a long winter road trip and some interesting stops along the way.
The most eye-catching aspect of this series (and others like it) is definitely the color palette. The winter mist and fog create a pleasant diffusion of light throughout the scene, softening the hues and contrast to create an atmospheric look. The cinematic aesthetic, achieved through sweeping angles and the occasional solitary subjects, pairs perfectly with the moody colors to create the emotive scene that many of us find captivating.
If you’re into this kind of atmospheric and cinematic photography, we suggest also checking out the works of Felix Renaud, Brendon Burton, and Elsa Bleda, For more examples of scenes made even more dramatic by mist and fog, see Mark Broyer’s What the Fog, Kilian Schönberger’s Deadpole, and Black Station’s Dubai cityscapes.
Want to stay updated with Henri Prestes’ work? Do check out his Behance portfolio and follow him on Instagram to see more of his projects.
