As I take a break from my “imagination-run-wild” writing about dune dragons, I’ll bring the topic more to the present with some of my first photographs for 2018.
I’ve photographed winter on Lake St. Clair for the past 13 years or so. I keep going back because it always offers up something new in the form of a mid-west winter landscape. In a large contrast to how last year started, a good portion of the particular bay I visit is frozen since the beginning of the year. The light, as expected for a Michigan winter, has been quite variable.
Frozen Bubbles on Lake St. Clair, Michigan
Even though I do try to plan to be there for good light, nothing is certain. I wrote a little about using the Photographers Ephemeris (App Store Link (iPhone)) app’s Skyfire in a post last winter called Carpe Glacies. My experience with it still continues to be a bit hit and miss. If anything, I consider it an “educated opinion.” If there is anything I’ve learned over 13 years of photographing in this location, it is just to show up and see what you can see. And whatdayaknow, that’s free advice, not read here first, you can apply to just about anywhere.
This year I have found myself in search of bubbles. The ice bubbles here are not much unlike those popularized by Darwin Wigget’s Abraham Lake photographs. Pretty much we have the exact same scene here in Michigan (insert sarcasm emoji here). Except the bubbles here are not likely caused by methane, and I might be missing some of those ‘hilly things’ on the horizon. But, pretty much the same. Yeah, those western landscape photographers think they have all the cool stuff. 🙂
Ice Bubbles on Lake St. Clair
Ice Bubbles and Fog
They’re extraordinary photographs, and the West has nothing on you! The last image – but they are all amazing – is so full of feeling, so complex in a way. Beautiful work!
The warmer temps would be welcome! Thank u Lynn.
Lovely images, especially the first one. I bet the bubbles and the fine lines in the ice look great in a big print…
Thanks Tom. I hope to have the opportunity to print it big one day. Isn’t that the case with many of our images? 🙂
Mark, interesting timing on bubbles. This past weekend I watched a Sunday Morning focus piece on CBS about bubbles. Of course the main feature was a gentleman who is a master creator of soapy air bubbles but there was also a side piece about how bubbles are essential to our very being in that they serve as a median between elements of our planet…I’m preaching to the choir I’m sure, but it’s the bubbles in the ocean which transports gases from our atmosphere into the ocean. In addition to oxygen it’s bubbles that allow the oceans to absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide or else we would be more “screwed” then we already all. So the lowly bubble is indeed a noble subject.
Now In addition to all this bubble trivia…I like your treatment of them in these photos and I also spent some time looking around your new in-progress web site and it’s looking great! I shutter thinking of all you face converting your galleries but I know it will be done well. Nice work!
Thanks for the bubble trivia! It certainly does give us a lot more to think about other than how cool they look trapped in ice.
Thanks for the comments on the site Brooks. Most of my non-gallery pages are done (though I can never seem to stop tweaking) – and I have a basic structure worked out on how I will redo the galleries. With nearly a 100 galleries to review, as well as a lot of older work I may or may not keep, or reprocess, I have my work cut out for me.
Don’t you know…there’s never an end to tweaking! Haha
To the detriment of “progress” for sure!