Sunday, December 26, 2010

On Ice and Snow

I just returned from my second (of the season) cross country ski outing along the shores of Lake Michigan. It was incredibly beautiful. I did not have my camera with me but took many mental notes on the ever changing light as I watched the "lake effect" snow move in. I was thinking of my ongoing interest in ice. Years ago I would combine water and "stuff" in containers, place it in my back yard and wait for it to freeze. I would then photograph whatever surprises awaited.



Last year while doing an artist residency during a deep freeze in January at Ragdale, I started playing with ice and snow again. Sometimes when I TRY to intervene with nature, it just doesn't work that well. It feels contrived.



And then in early March there were shards of ice lining the beach. I was in a state of rapture as I took in the ephemeral beauty.





It seems that try as I might to manipulate my subject, no one does it better than mother nature.

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