Ice Patterns

Gallery: LandscapePosted February 22, 2011357 views29 comments

Photographed this ice early one morning in late autumn a few years ago in the Eagle River area of Chugach SP in Alaska. The rusty colored reflections were from sunlit birch leaves that were hanging over this little pool. I was using a black umbrella over my set-up to minimize reflections in the ice but some reflections came through, including some sky, hence the mottled blues. Made this image with a Pentax 6x7 I owned at the time (and wish I still had). Hope the composition works okay.
Pentax 6x7, 135mm macro, no filters, Velvia. Flatbed scan, TK masks.

Large image provided is pretty nice. Compression issues as expected.

Any suggestions, comments, thoughts, or ideas are always appreciated.
Thanks

Comments

29 comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on February 22, 2011 at 12:27 AM

A very enjoyable abstract Vance, I especially like the variety of air bubble forms here. With all the snow this year, all the good ice was hidden by us.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Nobel on February 22, 2011 at 12:49 AM

Nice details! I especially love the darker details in the ice.

Registered on June 16, 2010, 57 Posts, 175 Comments

Comment posted by Alex Mody on February 22, 2011 at 2:07 AM

Beautiful ice photo, Vance. If anything, I like that some of the reflections came through. The mottled blue and black tones are my favorite part of the image!

Registered on December 25, 2007, 163 Posts, 1896 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on February 22, 2011 at 2:29 AM

Vance, this has an outstanding surrealistic look! I enjoy the interplay of colors and shapes, especially also the delicate red and brown spots from the reflexions. Great work!

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on February 22, 2011 at 2:48 AM

Wonderful colors and bubbles.
Unusual and dramatic - like it a lot!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 22, 2011 at 3:32 AM

Nice job of isolating an interesting pattern. The figure dead center reminds me of the painting "The Scream".

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on February 22, 2011 at 4:39 AM

That's nice Vance I like it. No particular part of the image is stronger than any other part so it works as a satisfactory wall paper style image a genre I very much enjoy taking myself.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Duval on February 22, 2011 at 8:09 AM

Vance,

What a beautiful and compelling abstract, just a hint of the birch reflections adds something to the image. The trapped air makes such interesting shapes and forms and then the little bubble trails...Well seen and done.

Paul

Registered on June 30, 2009, 508 Posts, 1907 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on February 22, 2011 at 9:11 AM

The blues are great. Looks like a screaming ghost in the center. Wonderful details.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on February 22, 2011 at 9:21 AM

Love the sharpness in the bubbles. The colors are wonderful, too. This is a great abstract. Nicely done

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on February 22, 2011 at 10:01 AM

This is really nice, Vance. Very interesting to look at. I like the dark colors with shades of blue. The bubbles look great, and I see the screaming ghost in the center that Harry mentioned too. Nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Patel on February 22, 2011 at 11:20 AM

Nice Abstract. I love the details in the image.

Registered on August 28, 2008, 87 Posts, 566 Comments

Comment posted by Pam Colander on February 22, 2011 at 1:17 PM

A lot of these here lately...this is cool.

Registered on December 7, 2006, 210 Posts, 1062 Comments

Comment posted by Jimmy Gekas on February 22, 2011 at 2:05 PM

This is fascinating! Lots of great shapes and details. The different blues beneath the surface are sweet and I also like the little bit of red in the upper portion of the image.

Registered on July 26, 2007, 244 Posts, 2807 Comments

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on February 22, 2011 at 4:10 PM

Thanks for posting the larger version..it provides a much greater appreciation for the detail in this image. Well done!!

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on February 22, 2011 at 4:33 PM

Wonderful ice abstract, Vance! I actually love the variety of blacks and blues you captured because of the differential shading from the umbrella. The rusty tones don't really distract me. The diversity in shapes is just awesome.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by David Chauvin on February 22, 2011 at 5:49 PM

Fascinating! Wonderful shapes and texture.

Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on February 22, 2011 at 6:07 PM

Vance,

Fascinating and beautifully captured. I never would have guess the brown stuff was reflected, as opposed to being beneath the surface. I like the color contrast it brings, although I think the image would do well with just blue ice and bubbles... ;-) Still, a great image. Must have been pre-4x5 days eh?

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 22, 2011 at 6:34 PM

Such a cool abstract. Excellent comp of the shapes, and the color is just right!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on February 22, 2011 at 10:48 PM

I love the comp, Vance, but interestingly, I don't recall any ice comps that I don't like. They all invite closer inspection and provide great abstracts. I really like the level of contrast in this image. I think it demands more attention being so and also enhances the abstract quality of the elements.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Andrew Morrill on February 23, 2011 at 12:19 AM

I absolutely love this Vance. The color and detail are perfect. Love the slight/subtle warm colors mixed in. The composition is also very nice. As an idea, and since there is no "up", maybe try a 180 degree rotation and then a slight crop off the left (after the rotate - I tried it in ps) as I think it gives a better focus to the major "structures" in the ice IMHO. Great job as always.

Registered on June 10, 2010, 51 Posts, 216 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on February 23, 2011 at 10:55 AM

Outstanding. It is both beautiful and mysterious. I also love the complexity that has been portrayed here.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on February 23, 2011 at 11:22 AM

Excellent composition skills Vance, there is nothing along the edges that draw the eye!

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Crabbe on February 23, 2011 at 4:08 PM

I've been really enjoying some of these ice images, and this is no exception. I think it could stand some very refined cropping to deal with small edge elements, but the complexity of shapes to look at here is wonderful. Cheers,

Registered on November 1, 2003, 182 Posts, 1840 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on February 23, 2011 at 4:17 PM

Just a beautiful find! Abstract at it's best!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by Jason Kim on February 23, 2011 at 6:02 PM

Beautiful and intimate, and expertly composed as always. I'm torn whether the subtle reflection of the sky helps or distracts in this image. Definitely adds interest, but also draws the eye outside of the image, I think. Wonderful though, regardless.

Registered on July 1, 2006, 60 Posts, 1233 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on February 23, 2011 at 11:24 PM

Thank you everyone for the nice comments. I did shoot a couple of frames of this without any reflections by getting the umbrella down low; one frame is quite black and white even on the Velvia film. Shot about 5 frames of this and each one is a little different with regard to the reflections.
I have considered cropping a little off the right side and the top, as Andrew and Gary suggested.
Lon, I actually bought the Pentax real cheap, as an alternative to LF, so I could shoot in inclement weather in Alaska, and when hiking with my wife. I really liked it but sold it a few years ago. Still using the same view camera that I bought almost 30 years ago.
Thanks again.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on February 24, 2011 at 6:40 PM

These types of abstracts are often spacey/celestial in appearance. This one is very much so, I like that. But also it looks like something you might see under a microscope. Very nice!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on February 25, 2011 at 9:11 AM

Very nice indeed Vance, the shapes and bubbles really look great. Perfect framing too.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments