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Smoke blankets the city…

3 minute read

July 4, 2023, 10:02 PM

Funny how things work out.  The smoke from Canadian wildfires that blanketed the eastern US in a thick layer of haze in early June was not a good thing to have happen for any number of reasons, but putting on my photographer hat for a moment, I was kind of kicking myself for not getting out in it and photographing the haze like I meant it.  All I got were a few phone shots taken from the car, going southbound on I-95 while heading home after taking Elyse to Ramblewood, a campground up in Darlington, on June 8 for an event:

The view at the northern interchange between I-95 and the Baltimore Beltway.
The view at the northern interchange between I-95 and the Baltimore Beltway.

The view on the southbound approach to the Fort McHenry Tunnel.
The view on the southbound approach to the Fort McHenry Tunnel.


On the aerial structure south of the tunnel, but before I-395.

All in all, these photos didn’t do a great job in capturing what I was experiencing.  Sure, the background looked a bit more “atmospheric” than it otherwise would, but it didn’t capture the mood or the feeling.  It just looked like a cloudy day.  I also took these while I was driving, so I wasn’t giving it my full attention by any means.  I also had somewhere to go once I got back to MoCo, so I couldn’t stop and photograph like I meant it because I had things that I needed to do.  Couple that with how I had spent a lot longer at Ramblewood than I had intended, which put a pinch on my schedule.  All that said, I was disappointed with what I brought home, photography-wise.  So when the wildfire smoke returned more recently, I will admit that I was secretly pleased about it, because it was an opportunity to get the photos that I did not get the first time around.  I published the photos as the “Smoke Over Baltimore” photography set, and while I was flying, I was just amazed at how different the area looked from how it did when I photographed the same area last year on a clear day.

Compare for yourself:

Hanover Street Bridge, June 16, 2022.

Hanover Street Bridge, June 29, 2023.
Hanover Street Bridge.

Interstate 395 interchange, viewed from the south, June 16, 2022.

Interstate 395 interchange, viewed from the south, June 29, 2023.
Interstate 395 interchange, viewed from the south.

Interstate 395 interchange, viewed from the southeast, June 16, 2022.

Interstate 395 interchange, viewed from the southeast, June 29, 2023.
Interstate 395 interchange, viewed from the southeast.

Signage for the Hanover Street exit on Interstate 95, June 16, 2022.

Signage for the Hanover Street exit on Interstate 95, June 29, 2023.
Signage for the Hanover Street exit on Interstate 95.

That is quite a marked difference between normal conditions on a nice day vs. what I saw last Thursday.  And they say that the smoke is supposed to come and go all summer, potentially into October.  I recognize that the air quality is not particularly healthy when the smoke is around, but the idea of repeated smoky conditions makes me a little excited as far as photography goes.  If I can get a really smoky day to line up with a day when my schedule is open, I kind of want to go up to Philadelphia to photograph the smoke there, too, and hit some other places in the same way.  It could be fun.

Categories: Baltimore, Weather