Frosty Forms

 While we were out enjoying our walk along the riverside dykes in Squamish, I couldn't help but notice the stunning blades/feathers of frost which had formed. I expect it was some combination of wind from the sea picking up moisture from the open river, but if anyone out there has a better explanation I am all ears. Even to the naked eye the ground looked like a little forest of ice.

 Luckily I had both my macro lens and my wife's patience, so I took a few minutes to hunker down and get some close ups of these shapes at the same time. Between the bright light of the sun and the contrasty highlight nature of the frost itself, I was able to shoot handheld with a high aperture and capture some very interesting images that would be invisible to average passerby. One thing I have truly learned to love about macro photography is finding the surreal or beautiful in day-to-day events we take for granted.

 There were lots of twigs and grasses poking above the snowline, and a totally different type of columnar frost had formed on them, radiating out at every angle. These shapes really remind me of the crystal plinths in Superman's "Fortress of Solitude." So for any of our snowbound readers out there, remember that even though you're sick of the snow by now and ready for summer, there are some pretty spectacular aspects to it if you only take a minute to stop and appreciate them.

Recreational Winter

 Over the holiday break, Kathryn and I rented a car (after a bit of a fiasco with a less-than-reputable car rental agency) and drove up the sea-to-sky highway to Squamish for a bit of seasonal winter. I'm sure we'll get a lot of sympathy from our Manitoba readers on this one, but living in Vancouver we have to make an effort to see snow, and thought we should fit in a few hours of winter. Below is a picture of Kathryn walking along the riverside dyke in Squamish with Mount Garabaldi in the distance.

 Truth be told, there was more snow and ice than we were actually expecting, and being delicate West Coast flowers, we forgot to dress appropriately for as much white stuff as there turned out to be. We took a little hike up to the base of Shannon Falls which were in the perpetual shadow of the mountains and as such were incredibly slippery and had no direct sun. The frost and snow across the rocks and trees was very nice though.

 We finished off our day with a walk along the river and I took the photo below which has become one of Kathryn's favorites almost instantly. I stopped down the exposure quite a bit and (happy accidentally) left my colour balance compensating for incandescent, so only a little direct light was let in, and it was tinted even more blue than would be expected. All in all a very nice day out and a chance to enjoy a few hours of snow before hurrying back to clear streets and civilization.