One of the great things about living in the Hudson Valley is that the seasons are always changing. If you spend a lot of time outdoors you begin to notice weather patterns that routinely occur. One such weather pattern is the prevalence of Evaporation Fog in the Hudson Valley during the late summer and early fall. The select few that like to saunter at sunrise are rewarded with the experience of cloud walking above the Evaporation Fog.
The cause of frequent Evaporation Fog is quite simple. As the air temperature cools overnight, water temperatures in the Hudson River remain warm, causing the water to evaporate. However, the evening’s cool air temperature keeps the water vapor from rising very high over the land. This results in low flying clouds that become quite the spectacle when you observe them from high ground. Evaporation Fog occurs frequently in the mornings. Perhaps the best vantagepoint for walking above the clouds is in the Hudson Highlands at sunrise.
Capturing the Video of Evaporation Fog in the Hudson Valley
This time lapse video was shot from the summit of Mount Beacon on September 11, 2025. The video was captured on a GoPro Hero 13 mounted to a tripod. The timelapse was shot at a rate of 3 frames per second, using 4K video format. The time lapse was captured at sunrise. The wonderful thing about timelapse photography is it allows the viewers to watch the clouds churn downstream through the Hudson Valley.
Scenes like this one tend to inspire the creative process. Sitting awestruck for an hour at the sight of clouds rolling below may cause one to spontaneously burst into song. Or is it flames? I can never remember. Regardless, the corresponding soundtrack to this video is a ditty entitled Cloud Walker.
Recording the Backing Track Cloud Walker
Cloud Walker was written September 16-19, 2025. It follows a D Dorian mode, and is therefore difficult to pin down exactly whether it is a major or minor key. The chords are written in a i IV i IV III v III I progression.
The instrumentation on this recording consists of a drum track using a SDrum, Epiphone Les Paul, Yamaha YEV-105 violin and a Roland V-Combo keyboard. The guitar track was recorded in more takes than is pleasant to discuss over several days. In fact, the creative process for this song required multiple sessions. The initial electronic drum track was created in Studio One. In the first several takes it was determined that the electronic drum track did not lend itself well to the triplet picking pattern used on the guitar. This resulted in a muddy track that left all of the instruments out of synch. The original takes on the track actually used acoustic guitar, as well. The initial two takes on this recording included all of the music parts. Those parts being, Electronic Drum, Guitar, Violin, Bass, and Electric Piano. While working on the initial mixes, it was decided that the electric guitar sounded more full than the acoustic.
The initial violin part was written and captured in two takes. Both takes were used with a bridge pickup on an acoustic violin. For initial violin takes, the acoustic signal was run through a Fishman AFX Mini EQ into TC Electronic Mini Hall of Fame Reverb pedal. However, the second take also utilized an Electro Harmonix String 9 pedal.
The bass track on the initial takes was multi-tracked with unusual instrumentation. The first take of the bass track used a violin through an Electro Harmonix POGII octave pedal. The violin was played using pizzicato producing a sound reminiscent of an upright bass.
The gig schedule became quite busy in September and October and the project needed to be put aside in favor of practice and performance after the initial writing and recording was conducted. Reflecting on the original work during this time resulted in the decision that the electronic drums were not publishable as they stood. Therefore, it was decided to revisit the recording once the performance schedule slowed down. During this time a new YEV 105 was also acquired. So new instrumentation would be necessary for a variety of reasons on the final take.
After much gnashing of teeth working with the original drum track and the guitar track, a rhythm was created instead on the SDrum pedal. This ended up being fastest and easiest.
For simplicity’s sake, the final take of the bass line was performed on a Roland VCombo keyboard to create a MIDI track. A Studio One stock instrument bass sound was applied to the resulting MIDI track.
The guitar part was then re-recorded on an Epiphone Les Paul. The Les Paul was put through a Universal Audio Dream 65 pedal and recorded directly into the audio interface.
To further fill out the bottom and mid frequencies in the final mix, the VCombo was again used as a MIDI controller to add a keyboard track. Upon reflection of the initial takes, a studio one stock piano sound was applied to the new MIDI track.
The violin track was the final recording captured. This time the YEV-105 was used in leu of a traditional acoustic violin. The YEV-105 was run through a signal chain of Fishman Mini-EQ à Electro Harmonix String 9 pedal. The recording was double tracked so that there was both a dry and wet signal. The wet signal was faded way down in the mix.
Within the Studio One editing environment, none of the tracks were edited other than for the purposes of Automated Volume, EQ, and the inclusion of additional reverb effects.
We hope you have enjoyed this virtual experience of Cloud Walking through Evaporation Fog in the Hudson Valley. Evaporation Fog really is a special phenomena to experience. What inspiration have you had while walking above the clouds in the Hudson Valley? Please tell us below.