Ultimate Frost Collection
Welcome back! It’s been another strange period for photos. For weeks I had nothing, now I have too much. Mid January and after we had many frosty days, including one morning of super cold rime frost which blanketed the entire city, making it look like a model in a snow-globe.
So I hope you’ll forgive me as I err on the side of “way too much”.
Let’s start with “basic frost”, where a warm wind follows a cold spell. This small tree seems almost engulfed…stay strong little feller!
On the same day, this tree stands a little taller:
On a moody, misty day, a panorama:
The simple structure gives it focus, but…what is that thing? Radar dish? Alien outpost?
Finally, one clear bright dawn, the moon was still up:
A bit later that morning, the shadows were intense:
A few weeks later, I got up early for a simple walk around my neighbourhood. It was very cold, and humid as well. That should have been the first clue, but it was dark, so I didn’t really notice the frost at first. On a lucky whim I decided to alter my usual route and headed for our local “landfill-turned-doggy-park”. It’s just about the only point of elevation between here and the Rocky Mountains, and I thought maybe some sunrise shots might be nice. As the sky lightened I could see that every tree was magically loaded with cold fuzzy crystals, and it became clear that something special had paid a visit. I hightailed it for the hill…
…and it was absolutely glorious. As usual, getting photos was a different matter, weeding out all the unaesthetic bits, and making the aesthetic bits work together. I’m not sure these all work, but I sure had fun taking them.
Even the trash bin looks good, decorated like that.
I also took a few telephoto shots of the city. The heavy moist air kept washing through the scene, I swear it was building more frost layers as the morning progressed. Unfortunately I messed up a few things, so this is the best shot, but I wish I had included a little more on the right side, giving that little tree on the bottom more room. It’s one of those “include more or cut it out” decisions, but if I cut it out it leaves the image unbalanced, or too tightly cropped. I sometimes obsess over these things, but maybe it’s unnecessary. Anyway:
Finally, when I was up there I was thinking these would look great in black and white. But that didn’t work out like I expected. With so much frost, it ends up looking like the trees have foliage, more like an infrared shot taken during summer. Here are a couple of B&W conversions of the above, curious if people agree:
Finally we’ll end with a snowstorm. Our local Assiniboine Park has a new building called “The Leaf”. It highlights local flora and native cultures, promotes community health, sustainable gardening for food and wildlife, among other things. I haven’t been inside yet, so I’m probably not doing it justice.
Photographically it’s interesting architecture, here’s a glimpse of it on a sunny morning:
During a snowstorm from a different angle, the red chairs full of snow caught my eye as a foreground:
Elsewhere in the park is the bandstand called The Lyric. The bench waits patiently for warm butts…and/or the next concert in Spring:
Finally, the “Pavilion” is an interesting looking building, and I liked this view of it:
And that is it for this “month-and-a-half” instalment. May you stay warm, despite frost and snowstorm!
Cheers!
