I had been staying nearby with a friend who is a fellow photographer. Snow had fallen, and with calm and clear conditions forecast, we had set the alarm early to climb to an outcrop to photograph the dawn in the hope that mist would fill the valleys below. Our efforts were duly rewarded, and we both captured some excellent shots of the pre-dawn tones and the sunrise over fog-filled valleys.

As the sun rose higher, the fog started to lift a bit, and we decided to go down into the valley to be in the right area where the sun would begin to break through the fog. So, dropping down into the mist and driving along a narrow road, we passed this almond grove, and the recession in the trees immediately took me.

I have seen many photos of woodland trees in fog and taken some myself, but this was different. With the snow covering the ground and the open structure, spacing and repetitiveness of the trees, I was struck by both the recession and stark simplicity of the patterns they presented. There were many options for potential photographs, and choosing the perfect viewpoint was a challenge as I didn't want to go marching in, leaving my footprints in the frame of my chosen composition.

I eventually settled upon this composition using a short telephoto lens to compress the scene slightly. After a while, the sun started to break through, but somehow the image was not as good – I felt that the soft shadows from the misty sun were a distraction from the simple pattern and recession I had captured earlier. Finally, satisfied with the morning’s work, it was time for breakfast.