Photo 1 (above): EOS 5D mark II, EF 14mm/2.8 L lens (from http://www.lensrentalscanada.com/)
What do you get when you add a soaked hiking shoe in freezing temps, a wipe out that almost costs you a brand new 24mm tilt-shift lens and a couple of hours laying beneath a ridge of ice that weighs about a ton and could collapse on you at any time? A great morning photo shoot!!
While hiking yesterday with friends, I found a few lingering ridges of ice that had the best concentration of icicles I've ever seen. The light was dull and the time was ticking - they would melt within a couple of days. I scouted out potential photos and plotted the return trip.
I invited my friend Craig along (he's the mastermind behind the popular website http://www.canonrumors.com/) and we hit the trail in predawn darkness this morning. Mostly overcast conditions crushed the dream photo I had pre-visualized, but even in dull light the icicles were great. Soon the clouds parted to reveal some blue sky. Nothing beats the contrast of sparkling icicles against a blue sky!
Photo 2 (below): Canon EOS 5D mark II; EF 17-40 L lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer
Photo 3 (below): EOS 5D mark II, EF 14mm/2.8 L lens (from http://www.lensrentalscanada.com/)
Photo 4 (below): Canon EOS 5D mark II; EF 17-40 L lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer
Photo 5 (below): That's me. The wide-angle distortion stretched out my torso, making me look skinner than I really am. Excellent! Canon EOS 5D mark II; EF 17-40 L lens, Singh-Ray LB ColorCombo polarizer; Canon 580EX II for fill flash
Breathtaking shots!
ReplyDeleteAre you KIDDING ME? Those are the most amazing shots of icicles I have EVER seen. Well done! Those must (and surely will) be published many times over.
ReplyDeleteIncredible!! So simple, so breathtaking.. something you could hang in a frame in the center of a room and enjoy it all year long.. love them!
ReplyDeleteEthan, these are amazing. I've never seen icicles formed in a circle like that.
ReplyDeleteHey Ethan,
ReplyDeleteI love shot #3 - looks like a giant sea urchin in the sky! Unfortunately, only shots #2 and 3 came through for me, the others wouldn't load.
Russ
Thanks for the comments!
ReplyDeleteAnybody else have trouble getting these to load? I've tried on 3 different computer and they all come through ok. Not sure what's up, Russ.
Ethan
I'm not going to lie to you this is what I think: Icicles; Lake Huron; great lakes; Georgian Bay; Bruce Peninsula; Bruce Peninsula National Park; National Park; winter; winter landscape; E. Meleg; Ethan Meleg; Canada; Ontario; day; day time
ReplyDeleteHaha K, but what about: frozen, majestic, sparkling, brilliant, glimmering, shimmering, radiant, etc.... need the conceptural keywords too!
ReplyDelete[for the rest of the people reading this, who wonder what the heck this is.... it's my friend Kristina who's currently keywording all of my photos... what a tedious job!]
Oh more fantastic icicles, they're awesome!
ReplyDeleteamazing photos. please follow me on my blog capturenaturenow.blogspot.com ujwal
ReplyDeleteHm... I tried to comment yesterday, but I'm not seeing it here. I'm not sure what happened. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I've been following your blog for several months, but haven't commented even though I enjoy your photos. These ones prompted me to comment, though--they are really great! I especially like the coloring in number three. Also, I appreciate that you give some technical info about each photo.
ReplyDeleteLove the third shot! I agree that it looks like a silicon-based sea urchin underwater! Fantastic eye for something so "mundane" as an icicle!
ReplyDeleteLove the shots and the icy blue seeping through the icicles!
ReplyDeleteLove photo #3. Reminds me of Clark Little's photography, but frozen.
ReplyDeleteLisa