It was February and my girlfriend and I wanted to spend a day outside, exploring the ice on Barrier Lake in the Canadian Rockies.
Now, there are two things that scare me most when I’m out in the mountains in winter. The first is being buried by an avalanche and the second is breaking through the ice while walking over the surface of a frozen body of water.
After walking around to the other side of this lake we came down to the shore and cautiously stepped on to the ice. Although it was the middle of winter and the lake appeared to be frozen, I was apprehensive because: one, we had unseasonably warm temperatures we for the two weeks prior, and two, the ice looked pretty rotten – all white, full of holes, and seemed to break apart under every step. We hugged the shore for the first one or two kilometers, trying to stay in the “shallows” just in case until finally the ice became clear, blue, and noticeably more solid and I knew then that it was now definitely safe for us to walk on.
The ice on the lake was full of beautiful textures and cracks, but it was still a challenge to find a pleasing composition. The cracks in the ice form really strong leading lines in the image, but unfortunately often that line would lead the eye right out of the frame, or to something that wasn’t all that appealing.
Specific Feedback Requested
Anything and everything
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Camera: Canon 5Dmk4
Lens: Canon 24mm tilt-shift (tilted for maximum depth of field)
Exposure: 1/13 sec at f/11
Very nice. And good use of caution and daring. I’ve done a similar thing myself on a frozen lake with no snow on the ice and a big crack for a leading line. No mountains in mine though. I like the overall composition and lighting, although I wonder if the sky isn’t just a tad dark. I wasn’t there so maybe it was. Sounds like a great day outside.
Tom what a great story. Love it. This is a great scene and you’ve accomplished your goal of leading lines. Well done. I see what @Kris_Smith says about the sky and I also notice that the mountains and hills seem a bit blocked up in the shadows. Maybe a GND or a gradient in post processing? Seems like there’s a lot of detail that could come out in the upper quarter of the image that would make this shine even more. I love the ice and lines.
Awesome leading line Tom. Mission accomplished. the color of the ice is spectacular as are the tiny little formations. This really has to be seen large in order to appreciate. Tremendous foreground to background sharpness. Good of you to take care not to fall through the ice.
I know what you mean about finding good foreground compositions in a place like this. Our desert here has similar challenges. That said, I think this works out quite well. I only wish the light on the mountain is a little more dramatic but nothing we can do about it. Processing wise, I think you have done a great job on the foreground but I think I will experiment with reducing contrast in the mountain. Not a lot though.
@John_Pedersen , @Kris_Smith , @David_Bostock , @David_Haynes , @Adhika_Lie - Thank you all for the wonderful comments, I’m really glad to be part of this community we have here!
Also thank you all for the suggestions/comments regarding the clouds and the mountain I’m definitely going to have a look and experiment some more with that.
A lovely wintertime scene, Tom. I am very much enjoying that leading line along with the other textures in the ice. I particularly like the turquoise color of the ice and the processing looks just right to me. For my own personal tastes I would keep the sky as is. Love the accompanying story BTW!
I like the overall composition and lighting, although I wonder if the sky isn’t just a tad dark. I wasn’t there so maybe it was. Sounds like a great day outside.