Winter Twilight
I am always a bit torn on visiting this particular spot on Lake St. Clair – the lake formed between two of our Great Lakes – Huron and Erie. I love the ice that piles up here, but it is blastin’ cold every time I go out there in the winter. Yeah, yeah I know – it’s winter! However, the wind makes it worse. It is that open landscape and a point that sticks out into the lake that not only provides some clean surroundings, but it is prime territory for a ripping wind.
Working around here can be difficult. In addition to the cold, you may have to walk or climb over some rocks and stacked ice sheets. And just like that box of chocolates, you never know what to expect. I walk the safer areas of ice thickness, so the bigger risk is falling and getting an ice sheet in my skull vs. falling through any ice into water.
Lake St. Clair
So in other words, there is a bit of effort involved to photograph here, to get to the particular ice formations that catch your eye. Today I only walked away with a handful of images, maybe 1 or 2 keepers at best. Since the forescast for a partly cloudy sky never came to be, the sun became real bright, real quick. When that happens, I am done shooting here. Most of my images here are captured before sunrise anyway. When the sun comes up, it looks quite bleak and barren. So you have to work relatively fast in an area where it is difficult to move around a lot.
The unique images I get here are the only reason I keep going back from time to time. The ice is always different year to year. Although walking away with one or two keepers is great, I have to admit yearning for a bit more reward for the effort at times.
I can see that you are really enjoying the geometry and the color. A very cool image (pun intended). Great effort to work under trying conditions, and a really fine image. The contrasting tones are wonderful.
Mark, that is beautiful – love the color!
Glad you didn’t get ice sheet in the skull!
Ron
Well, Mark, I for one, really appreciate your efforts as I find this image particularly stunning. I’ve never had the “opportunity” to experience an environment like this so I find it almost unreal. The colors are just beautiful as well as the composition that points one directly into the landscape. Well done!
P.S. Your recent wolf images in your gallery are EXCELLENT!
I love it Mark, what a nice colors. Good work buddy!
great post, that is a beautiful image, i love winter in the midwest, it doesn’t fool around. it can look so harsh, yet there is a lot of life around.
Well there is a wonderful payoff for your efforts. This is such a beautiful photo. It just takes my breath away.
What a stunning shot. This is made even more special by your extraordinary effort to capture the moment—an effort certainly beyond my reach. Thank you for tackling the challenge and for allowing me to “be there” for a glimpse.
Thanks a bunch folks! – Paul, Jason, Reza…thanks.
Ron – I am glad also.
Diane – if you can imagine, this “bump” of ice was quite unique amongst all the other clutter, and is what made me want to get closer to it.
Laurie, thanks, sometimes I wished I walked away with a few more though!
Anita – thanks so much.
Hey Mark,
I like this a lot too – the colors really seem to sit well with the patterns – and the way they graduate from one to the other.
Be careful out on that stuff man, it’s slick.
Cheers
Carl
Thanks Carl. I’ll take that advice.
I used to live just a few hours along Lake Erie’s shore from there (& have been to that lake, myself.) I never knew Lake St. Clair was so shallow! Growing up on the Atlantic, I thought Lake Erie was shallow…then I saw the stats on St. Clair!
Love the colors & atmosphere in your photo here. Very nice.
Mark, it’s a good point you make. In the digital abundance of images (and our quick pace of life) we (or at least I) sometimes forget to slow down and think about the preparation and effort that goes in to making an image like this, and this is eventhough I know that most of the time there would be some effort to get to a shot like this. This is also exactly why I often enjoy reading commentary to images. Some will say an image should ‘speak’ on its own, and that’s of course true to an extent, but I often feel enriched by hearing the backstory of any image. I guess that’s why many photoblogs are also enjoyable
This is a beautiful image. I remember having seen one similar (and similarly beautiful) which might have been from the same location another winter.
Great photograph, great effort.
Beautiful shot, excellent DOF. Looks frigid!!
wowww!what a beautiful image!nice colors..the contrasting tones are excellent!!gud wrk!!