Fog shrouded sunset on Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park

As I've written in my last few posts, this year's summer trip to Acadia National park was all about the fog. I had daydreamed about having the chance to photograph the warm colors of the sun rising or setting behind a bank of cool coastal fog -- and our first evening in the park was my only opportunity. We experienced all of the other sunrises or sunsets from underneath a heavy layer of coastal fog.

It was a tenuous experience looking for the right location to catch the sunset at an elevation below the summit of Cadillac Mountain, which was fully shrouded in fog. The rolling moisture was ever-shifting, leaving some moments of deep, dark grey and others of clear views over the park. Thankfully, the fog that was slipping down the slopes from the summit stayed above our elevation during the last few minutes of the sun's descent toward the fog bank horizon. In fact, the constant motion of the fog gave me multiple opportunities to catch the "final" moments of the day -- after the sun had set, the fog would shift and provide another opportunity to watch the sun slip further behind. So even though I had only one evening to catch the sunset, at least I had a couple of rapid-fire opportunities at the time.

It was surprising how quickly the fog covering the summit crashed down to our location after the sun slipped behind the foggy horizon for the final time. Just a few minutes after taking my last image for the day, we were full-on in a cloud, getting soaked by the heavy mist on the brief hike back to the car.

View more landscape photography from Acadia National Park.