I went to our local creek yesterday looking for ice and hoping to find some birefringence. There was lots of ice, especially in the small trickles that parallel the main creek. Because we had heavy rain beforethe hard freeze, the ice has developed fascinating 3D shapes. In this case I could find some birefringence, but not enough to fill the frame, so I went with this mix of shape, textures and color from the birefringence. This is a 20 shot stack. (R5, 180mm macro, 1/20 s, f/16, iso 800, tripod and polarizer)
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Mark, another fine ice scene here. Your usage and technique with the overall 20 take stacking adds to giving some excellent depth to the high & low points. The polarizer seems to have cut down nicely on the for certain glare as well… 
Hi Mark,
I like the mix of birefringence and clear. The clear shows a very nice mixture of patterns, lines and texture.
I think that more than anything, I like how the hole shows depth with the out of focus area in the distance.
I’m getting closer to creating some focus stacked images so viewing some of yours and others has helped me to visualize how to approach it.
I’ve done a lot of manual focus stacking back in the early 2000s but that was a real pain in the butt and very time consuming.
Do you recall what the magnification was on this?
Very well done and a pleasure to view! 
Wow. Very cool image, Mark. Awesome work on the focus stack too.
Mark, you are the ice man! I love this. So much to enjoy with all the shapes, lines, colors. Wow!
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Another fantastic ice abstract Mark. The depth and detail are stunning.
Absolutely love your icescapes, Mark. We don’t get many days of ice down here so these images are a wonderful treat for me. Look forward to many more this next year.
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Wow, Mark, this is mesmerizing. I can just get lost in it, looking and looking. I like everything about it!!!
Your stacking is impressive! The DOF lets the whole image flow so well. Awesome.
Cripes, if I can get the time, I might have to learn about stacking…
Fabulous image!
Another great ice image! I think it is rather striking to only have the colorful part in a smaller well-placed area, like a treasure. The rest of the ice piece makes up a very beatiful frame. I also like a lot the 3D effect. My only suggestion is that you could have a little bit larger part of the colorful piece in light.
@Merv , the width of this view is around 4 inches, so the magnification is in the 1/3 - 1/2 life size range.
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Thanks Mark,
I appreciate the response and the information.
It helps me to understand the variables associated with focus stacking.
I tend to look at things from a mathematical and mechanical perspective.
1/3 sounds about right since the subject is about 4 inches across, that translates to 102mm divided by 36mm (the width of the sensor) equals 2.83 or 1:2.83 magnification.
The 180mm lens you used has 1/2 the DOF as my 90mm lens so at that magnification, your DOF probably wasn’t any more than 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch if it was shot at roughly 20 inches away from the ice (at f16).
FOV is close to 4 inches at 20 inches from the subject.
Yeah, I know, a little nerdy, but it works for me
Again, thank you!
Very cool and very well done! I love all of the detail and I really enjoy really studying and soaking in images like this.
Your ice images are super. I just find myself staring at them.
Steve
A little late to the game, but I wanted you to know that this is an absolute magnificent ice shot!!! The clarity and that little spot of color in the middle is out of this world. I just want to keep staring into this this fairy tale. Just wonderful Mark!!! I’d say this is up there with your best.