As much as I hate to admit it, yesterday was the first day I have been out photographing this year. Website redesign, processing older images, and filling orders has simply kept me indoors quite a bit. Still, I could not let January pass with not having been out at all.
Standing on "thin ice"?
I went out to one of my favorite spots on Lake St. Clair to see how the ice was forming up. We had an unusual patch of warm weather here, then some bitter cold. Some of the lake ice melted, sheets flowed, and froze over the top again creating some interesting layers. I updated my Facebook photos with some snapshots from my iPhone.
Unfortunately yesterday the light was pretty drab. Twilight was completely grey. The sun only poke through the cloud cover briefly. It did give me some time to scout around a little though. The ice close to shore was about 1.0 – 1.5 inches thick or so. It certainly seemed like plenty enough to support my weight. There were some fish swimming underneath. Although slippery as a wet walrus butt, I didn’t feel too threatened of going through. Worst case I would have sank only calf deep and froze in place there for someone to walk by and notice some tall statue with a tripod.
I did find a really cool ice sheet that had what appeared like frozen waves on top of it. It was a square sheet, and no other sheets around had the same frozen waves. I figured it must have been floating during the warm week we had, and froze again in this spot. This is just the kind of thing I look for in my compositions. With the light sort of ho-hum, it was worth trying another day.
St. Clair Icescape
I gave it another go this morning. Still cold, but only now the wind was ripping a bit making it a lot less comfortable. There was definitely potential for better light today because the horizon was clear, with some pretty heavy cloud cover directly overhead. When this occurs, I can usually count on the sun lighting the ceiling clouds quite brilliantly from underneath. In fact, it is a near guarantee for color that you can tell quite early on.
I found my ice sheet with frozen waves again, and as expected, civil twilight produced some pretty intense red, orange, and yellow on the horizon. The colors worked in contrast to the overall blueness of the scene. The wind was blowing so much I didn’t bother with my ND Grad filters, and instead opted for shooting bracketed exposures to be blended later on.
I liked this composition because it told a good part of this story – the warmer weather allowing some sheets to drift, some freezing underneath my feet (obvious by the pointed sheet in the lower part of the image), the clearer layer of ice I was able to walk on, the rogue sheet with the frozen waves, and of course the great light at the horizon. The cool blue tonality certainly communicates how cold it was! :-)
My fingers have thawed enough now to type this post and share one of the first images of 2010 with you good folks.
This image was captured using a Nikon D700, 24-70 f2.8 AFS lens, at ISO 800 with a polarizer. Post processing done by Photomatix Pro and Adobe Photoshop CS3. More winter landscapes can be found in my gallery. I have many more undergoing processing from today.
Tags: cool and warm, frozen lake, icescape, Lake St. Clair, landscape photography, landscape photography, landscape photos, Michigan, winter, winter landscape pictures
http://t.co/1xjuh7fT - posted on 22 hours ago
Wow, Mark – You know I love your work in general, but for whatever reason this one really grabs me – absolutely stunning! I just ordered a print & can’t wait to put it up in my office!
- Jack
Well thank you Jack – and you might have just set my time record from capture to sale. Let’s see – image shot at 7:38 am, sale 12:45 pm – so about 5 hours. I really appreciate the kind words and support.
Mark… lovely image. Living in Maine, I can empathize with the winter conditions and appreciate the effort to create this gem. I really like how the line of ice runs from the right hand side of the image across and up to the left. Along with the awesome line of clouds above… almost primordial.
Hey, Mark -
Happy to provide some small measure of support, and as for the record, you know what they say – if you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly… ;^D
- Jack
Wow, an exceptional photo, Mark! That first trip made an excellent scouting trip to locate this remarkable ice sheet and the colors/tones are stunning. Way to start the year!
Great shot, Mark – seems to be the concensus and well worth it! I admire the effort you put into getting a shot like this, scouting it out and going out again when the weather is more promising. Of course, you’ve started the year by setting the bar pretty high, so you’re going to have to work that much harder to maintain the standard!
Superb! I hope this is a sign of things to come in 2010.
So glad you got your butt out and shooting
That icescape sure makes for a surreal scene. I love that you took notice of it and revisited when conditions were better. A true photographer.
I know that I’ll be copying first Jack’s comment but: I like your photography in general, Mark, but your icescapes are high on top of the list and this one is on the very top. The excellent composition and contrast with amazing colours make this image simply stunning.
My aging has moved my interest from cold wintery days to warmer and more comfortable climates. I just don’t handle the cold as I use to. About 4-5 years ago I spent a morning photographing the frost in the open field near my condo. I was using an aluminum tripod, while my CF tripod was being repaired. The tripod had frost on it when I returned to the condo. But my fingers were so cold I could not pinch the breast strap on my backpack to take it off until I warmed up.
I too really enjoy the above image. It dramatically shows the beauty of nature. Well done, Mark.
Thanks so much!
Well, as everyone has said, fantastic image, Mark! Personally, I’m not about to step on ice that is only and inch thick! I need a few more inches to make me feel good about it; however, it is only calf-deep, then … perhaps. I could picture you there, frozen, looking like a statue.
Hey Mark
Nice you got out – I know how easy it is to have time pass you by and all of a sudden, it seems, you need to go shoot.
The sunrise shot is classic – well done.
Cheers
Carl
Beautiful image, Mark. The colors are stunning as is the composition. Excellent vision here, Mark. Among your best for sure!
Paul, thanks a lot. I wasn’t about to jump up and down, that’s for sure.
Hey Carl – thanks – you are right, the urge was there.
Ed, thanks so much.
A wonderful image Mark, and great scouting and patience to make it back. I really like the bluish tones and overall exposure of this shot.
A whole month without getting out to take a shot huh, the only thing worth that would be a whole month of taking care of the other many tasks of running a successful photography business, so your time was well spent.
I hope you make it out somewhat more frequently, I’m always wondering what new wonderful shots I will see.
Careful on the ice…
Thanks a lot Brad, I appreciate your visit and comments. Yeah, the business end of things does tend to suck up shooting time, as does my laziness at times to endure the cold around here.
Hey, Mark – Received the print today, and it’s every bit as stunning as I knew it would be! Thanks!
- Jack
You are welcome Jack. A fellow photographer who is happy with one of your prints is a good sign!
Great shot! Perserverance pays off. You’ve got me beat by a mile for that, although I’ve been considering investing in hip waders (which are appropriate to my local ecosystem.)
Thanks Lana. Hip waders might have helped me if I fell through!