Hidden beneath the ice

Posted by Mark on Feb 11, 2012 in nature photography | 24 comments

Ice sheets beneath my feet, Lake St. Clair, Michigan Image # WI-9556

It is that time of year when I start thinking about photographing on the ice.  However, with the extremely mild temperatures this year, I am doubtful I will be able to walk out on the ice like I did in this shot a couple of years ago.

This lake, Lake St. Clair, is about a half hour drive from where I live.  This spot reminds me of the unique gems we all have quite close to home.   However, it is interesting that this “gem” really isn’t much photography-wise any other time of the year.   I have visited here spring, summer, winter, and fall time – and really it is only when it is frozen over in winter that it draws me to photograph.   (more…)

This is not Ice

Posted by Mark on Dec 10, 2011 in nature photography | 13 comments

Ice Fractals | Clinton River Park, Sterling Heights, Michigan

This is not ice, but an assembly of order and chaos.

This is not ice, but a depiction of environment.

This is not ice, but where water fractals meet.

This is not ice, but a bubble fortress surrounded by a shard army.

This is not ice, but the decorated roof of winter hibernation.

This is not ice, but a treasure found in the woods.

This is not ice, tomorrow.

This is not ice, if we don’t want it to be.

Gallery link for more images:  Ice pattern pictures, Ice fractals, ice abstracts.

The Replication of Art

Posted by Mark on Jan 8, 2011 in nature photography | 11 comments

“My triumph as a counterfeiter was my defeat as a creative artist.”

- Han van Meergeren, artist and forger

Frozen Raindrop

Han van Meergeren was a Dutch painter who became a famous forger during the early 1900s and especially during World War II.   He refined his technical painting skill so thoroughly, that he became quite wealthy by forging works of well known Dutch painters at the time.  He paid attention to every minute detail, from buying authentic 17th century canvas, to mixing his own paints from the formulas of the masters, to studying their lives and catalogs of work, to further define his commitment to “authenticity.”

His life story becomes even more interesting when he gets entangled in dealing art with the Nazis.

Because he was increasingly scorned by art critics, van Meergeren set out to show he had every bit of genius as the masters he forged.  His ultimate masterpiece was planned to be a forgery of a famous painter called Vermeer, but his plan ultimately backfired.

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Winter solstice

Posted by Mark on Dec 21, 2009 in nature photography | 21 comments

Musical notes

It seems Winter has been with us in Michigan for well over a month now, despite its unofficial start today in this region of the world.   I often wondered why can’t we have fall colors start a month early?!  :-)   On second thought, that would probably screw up a lot of photographers planning fall color trips around peak times.   At least our days will start growing longer.    My shooting this time of year seems to be split between working inside on rock patterns, (which I need to catch up on) and what I enjoy most of all in the winter – photographing ice patterns.

This winter I hope to return to that pursuit to expand my collection of ice pattern photos.   The infinite varieties and patterns tend to offer limitless subject matter to explore.   In this post earlier this year, I created a special gallery of one particular outing.   The image in this post is from earlier this year and reminded me of the shapes and interaction of musical notes and waves of sound.

I added further processing to it using Topaz Adjust to enhance some of the local areas of contrast.   Overall I am content with using this style I created for these patterns – I like the gritty nature to them that emphasizes the lines and shapes (almost haunting as I labeled them in the special gallery linked above).

Lake St. Clair

Posted by Mark on Mar 1, 2009 in nature photography | 15 comments

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.