frost – Different Isn't Wrong, It's Just Different

It was the last hour of the day on Saturday, the wind howling, the temperature was 4 degrees Fahrenheit and a windchill of -16 degrees. Frost was covering some of our windows. The coldest night so far this winter and the forecast for Sunday was a high of 12 degrees Fahrenheit. While most people were probably sleeping at that hour, I was wide awake. The perfect opportunity to make some macro images of the frost! The darkness of night made for a perfect black background. Inside the lights were turned off and using my headlamp, I illuminated the frost covered window.

Early the next morning as night was turning to day, I rose still thinking of the frost covered window. The window had more frost as it was now just 1 degree Fahrenheit and a windchill of -21. The soft light was too much to resist and I set up my camera to make more images of the frost. The frost looked like plants and my husband said it looked like tiny ferns. After making several images, I stopped and made some coffee. While pondering on whether to bundle up and go out for breakfast, the sun had risen high enough to illuminate the frost and it was sparkling.

My tripod was still in front of the window, grabbing my camera again, I worked quickly to capture this beautiful light. Although the golden hour was over, the sunlight in winter is soft and it was coming through the window at an angle. The beautiful side light added texture to the delicate sparkling frost covered window.

Below is a gallery of images of the frost covered window I made, with the exception of the image made at night, all are color images. I continue to embrace the season and look for beauty!

My personal project since moving to Iowa has been photographing my nephew building his house. It has been fun to watch him work hard and see his dream come to fruition. However, the other day when I went to the sight to shoot sunrise images, something else caught my attention. There was a heavy frost on the ground and just as the sun rose the light glistening on the frost had my full attention. Debating on whether to switch to my macro lens and shoot for myself or to continue with my original plan, my instinct said shoot macro. For the first time since moving to Iowa I was excited to shoot macro!

20151204-_TJB2682

queen annes lace-frost-2720 — Queen Anne’s Lace covered in frost

There were so many seed heads of wildflowers and even weeds that were stunning with the hard frost. I was like a kid in a candy store unable to decide what to shoot first. The Queen Anne’s Lace is a beautiful wildflower and the seed heads covered in hard frost looked as if they were dressed in diamonds.

wildflowers-frost-2756 — Wildflower or weed covered in frost

Knowing the frost would quickly melt with the warmth of the sun’s rays, even though it was still quite chilly, I tried to make several images. As I was feverishly working I realized that my glasses were no longer hanging from my coat. When shooting macro I remove my glasses and have a habit of sticking the arm in the neck of my shirt, however, I had put them in my coat. Oops! I started walking around trying to find them and had no idea where they had fallen off. I called my husband and asked him to come out to the sight to help me. Now I was debating as to whether I should continue looking for my glasses or keep shooting. The frost was melting so fast and my instinct said keep shooting there may not be heavy frost the next day or in the near future as it has been unseasonably mild for December. I traced my steps and went back to where I thought my first images were made. Walking around carefully so as not to step on my glasses and break them, I continued to look. I found them! Then I called my husband, but he was already on his way, so he came out anyway to see the progress on the house. I continued to shoot and glad to have made that decision as the next morning the frost was light and not as pretty.

Below is a gallery of images and you can click on any of the images to see a larger version. If you have been following me for a while, you know my images are mostly macro. So finally after living in Iowa for a few months, I was excited to shoot macro!