Tag Archives: Frost

A Beautiful Frosty Morning

Frost covered landscape as the sun rises

An early March morning as a hint of light entered the sky, long before the sun would rise, I noticed something different as I looked out the frosty window. While the furnace fought another below zero morning I peered outside and saw a white coating covering everything outside of the house walls. Immediately I could tell it was the beginning of what should be a spectacular sunrise as the fresh coat of snow glistened from the suns rays. Do I head out with the camera to endure another cold morning or stay in the warmth and type away on the computer? Initially I was not interested in venturing out in the cold for yet another time as it was Saturday and I didn’t have anywhere to go but I did have a number of projects on the computer to work on. My mistake was glancing back outside one more time on the way to the desk and my plans for the day were changed. It was too beautiful even in the dimly lit sky for me to stay home. Besides, the camera was already in the chilled car ready to go.

Frost dangling from a cattail

It only took a few minutes to travel to a nearby park once I had all of my winter gear wrapped around me making each step feel like a flight of stairs. Along the drive I got lost in the incredible views surrounding me as an amazing frost coated most of the scene with ice crystals I didn’t recall seeing before in my life. Arriving at the park I saw the parking lot ahead of me was not plowed, but a few vehicles had entered creating a path so I followed it into a spot just before the sun breached the horizon. Quickly getting out of the car to grab the camera I headed to a place to capture the mornings first rays barely even noticing the cold surrounding me. Every step brought another unique frost crystal attempting to distract me from my destination for the sunrise. Once the sun had moved above the horizon I was able to turn my focus back to these beautiful ice formations. A few pictures told me my success would be very limited without a tripod to steady each shot on. Unfortunately, in my haste earlier in the morning I left the car without it so now I either needed to trudge back through the deep snow or continue snapping away holding the camera as steady as I could with my hands. Knowing I would not be happy with my photos unless they were clear and sharp I decided the tiring trip back to the car would be necessary and besides, in this cold the frost crystals were going nowhere.

Hoar frost flower

Returning as quickly as possible, the tripod was set up with the camera on top of it ready to capture this amazing frost covering trees and shrubs everywhere. Seeing these crystals through the lens magnifying them even more to bring out their incredible structures. I began to lose track of time focusing on each branch making up the hoar frost showing its multiple layers combining together in each crystal. All of that time photographing snowflakes has now become very useful in trying to capture the details of this frost. These ice crystals where much larger and more complex than most snow flakes though and photographing them close up made it difficult to keep each portion in focus. Thankfully it remained bitterly cold so the frost persisted throughout the morning giving a lot of time to try different compositions to capture the beauty up close.

Frost among the leaves

As I examined each ice crystal I could see the various layers as they developed through the night. How long did it take to create these I wondered. Are they still forming even during the morning light when they typically begin to disappear? Why are there different shapes along each branch? Some portions where rounded while others where more squared off. From a distance they appear white but when viewed up close they are clear while they no longer reflect the light that makes them look white. So interesting to study. As the morning continued on, the wind began to blow making the frost crystals more difficult to capture in focus but I continued on since this type of winter display doesn’t happen very often. I think the Northern Lights appear more frequently. Eventually I did have to stop photographing the frost to return home and work on projects which were waiting for me. Getting up before dawn and enduring the cold were all worth while just to experience such a beautiful phenomenon. Thank goodness for heat packs!

 

A Fall Frosty Morning

As light began to appear one morning I could see the leaves were white with frost. Immediately I decided to finish what I was doing, grab the camera and head to a nearby park to see if I could capture a piece of this beautiful, frosty morning. The temperature was barely below freezing and was rising fast as the sun rose above the horizon so there wasn’t a lot of time to photograph leaves adorned with some interesting ice crystals. Working somewhat quickly I decided on a few shots I wanted and prioritized those in case the frost disappeared before I got them all. Fortunately areas more shaded retained the frost crystals a little longer extending my time of picture taking with these cool subjects.

Milkweed seeds covered in frost

I started with an overall landscape picture but the light wasn’t quite right so moved on to fall colored leaves outlined in frost while staying somewhat close to the place I wanted to photograph the overall landscape from so I could quickly return once the sun was lighting up the areas I wanted to see it more. That resulted in the picture at the top of this post. Frost covered cattails with some colorful trees reflecting in the slightly foggy water below. There were a couple of ducks on the water but seem to be missing from the photo. They would have really made a great addition I think. Once I captured that scene I began to move on to smaller subjects such as the milkweed seeds covered with frost in the photo above.

Frost decorating a leaf

While the sun continued to rise shedding light on more of the landscape I grabbed a few pictures of leaves outlined in frost and showing some of the elongated ice crystals standing up from the leaves make them appear as though they had hair on them. A short time later I had to move on to shadier locations in order to continue capturing images of what remained from the earlier frost. That only lasted a short time later and it was time to move on to other subjects or head home and continue on the days projects. Heading home did not seem like a good decision since I was already at the park with camera in hand so I kept wandering to see what else was going on that may be photo worthy. There wasn’t much else that provided interest so I grabbed my bike out of the car and went riding to continue enjoying this sunny day.

Sun shining through a frosty leaf

A November Foggy Morning

Recently in late November I found myself with an unexpected day off from work. Enjoying a more relaxed pace I was taking care of some things on the computer as daylight began to fill a nearby window. Looking outside I noticed a foggy morning which I’ve been wanting to get out and photograph in but work had been busier and required more energy so on this morning the fog filled landscape wasn’t enough to get me out of the house with camera in hand. Returning to the computer I completed a few more tasks and glanced outside again. This time there was a heavy frost to compliment the fog. That was more than I could withstand so I shut down what I was doing, got dressed, and snatched the camera from its resting place on my way to a nearby park.

Dock leading into the fog

While quickly driving I was trying to decide which part of the park I wanted to begin in and what my objective was this mid-morning. My goal was frost covered plants with a foggy background. A quick stop at a nearby dock surrounded by cattails had potential and when I got there a beautiful frost covered plants everywhere. Perfect! So I began taking pictures of the fog filled lake before moving to focus on the frost.

Frosty cattail

After a few photos of the mysterious lake I turned the camera to capture frost covered plants. The nearby cattails where showing great ice crystals. Unfortunately I was in a hurry to get to another area of the park so I didn’t take the time I should have to get better photos of these ice formations. The few I did take are still fun to look at.

Thick, frost covered branches

On my way to the lake some bright ice covered shrubs caught my attention and I knew I wanted to get some pictures of them before leaving the area. It was amazing how thick and beautiful this frost was covering each branch. Add to this the dense fog still hovering close to the ground and you might be able to understand the desire to be there taking it in.

Close up of the frosty branches

In this closer view of the frost you can begin to see all of the individual crystals that form to create the frost covered sticks. Underneath the frost covered cluster red stems show through contrasting with the white frost for a beautiful photograph. Seeing this now really makes me want to go back and take better pictures of that situation while it was available. From there I moved on to another part of the park. At the entrance someone had placed a lost hat on top of a post. I thought it was interesting to see the frost covering portions of this hat and also how the hat sort of makes the post into something living. Unfortunately that was the last of the frost for this day as temperatures rose enough to melt it after this.

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