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Feather frost

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted December 21, 2014187 views7 comments

This is a picture of feather frost, which only forms under special conditions. It forms on dead wood from broad-leaved trees when temperatures are just below zero. A fungus in the rotting wood produces water which freezes as soon as it comes to contact with the cold air. This process continues as long as conditions are right, giving hairlike crystals.

A focus stack of 15 pictures, f/14, 2.5 s, 100 mm, ISO 200.

C&C welcome, large version is included!

Roel

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on December 21, 2014 at 2:32 PM

Roel, that's an amazing catch on a truly neat phenomenon, that I've never seen before. The stack looks great and really shows off the intricate shapes in the ice.

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

Comment posted by scott lanz on December 21, 2014 at 4:45 PM

Fine image of this phenomenon, Roel. I like in the midwest, but I don't think I have ever seen this. I would not have guessed this is a natural formation. Nice work stacking images to show the detail.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Yun Gao on December 21, 2014 at 11:09 PM

Very nice detail on the crystals. Impressive complex structures. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 11, 2012, 267 Posts, 1621 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on December 22, 2014 at 12:42 AM

Roel ...love the abstract feel of the phenomenon ...I would have tried something closer too.. however you know best ..as am not able to map the scale..live this anyways

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on December 22, 2014 at 11:02 AM

Thanks for the comments! Balan, getting closer would be challenging, since these structures are really small and very fragile. Just breathing at them can ruin them actually. But it might be possible with care and macro rings maybe, but I did not have them with me. Below is how it looks on a non-macro picture.

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on December 24, 2014 at 2:16 PM

Beautiful and fascinating. Stunning image and a very intriguing subject. I'm amazed. Nice work

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

Comment posted by Bill Fach on January 10, 2015 at 12:11 PM

Roel: Very cool. Wonderful find and a terrific capture. My only suggestion would be to crop tighter, especially from the bottom to eliminate most but not all of the wood. Congrats on the WP. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments