Water, Meet Ice

It’s been a hard winter in Minnesota but now it’s late March and the big thaw is well underway.

Fast moving meltwater heads down the creek on its way to the Mississippi and ultimately the sea. Remaining ice tries to block it, or at least slow it down. It’s a mock battle of water against water, and for the ice, losing only means transforming into its opponent. Closer to the river, the water speeds up and encounters rocks and downed trees, creating a crazy mix of churning bubbles and ice.

Black and white captures the fine detail and enhances the sense of motion, and different shutter speeds give totally different images. 1/1000s stops the motion and yields a darker image full of motionless bubbles – interesting, but not what I was after.

Slow down to about 1/30s and the action begins. Streams of bubbles collide with ice, putting air, light and motion into the image. It gets interesting.

Click for larger image

Whirlpools, spray and a very chilly bubble bath. Everything in the frame is in motion.

Yin and Yang:

1/20s really captured what I wanted: fast-moving water, foaming with bubbles, fighting its way around ice-coated granite boulders. A chilly cocktail: “Icewater On The Rocks”. Feel like wading in?

One Reply to “Water, Meet Ice”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *