Icy sunrise
The sun rises over Lake Michigan and beams through a hole in the winter ice wall.
The sun rises over Lake Michigan and beams through a hole in the winter ice wall.
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Dec, 2015Views
3784
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Awards
Contest Finalist in It Is Cold Outside Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Color White Photo Contest
Featured
Spring Selection Award
Contest Finalist in Ice Is Nice Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Love it
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
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Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
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thewrightthings
January 18, 2016
Oh, my! What a spectacular sight. The blues of the water and ice with the light peaking through are wonderful.
Hedde
February 22, 2016
So good! The light coming through in the middle really makes the shot. Beautiful and impressive at the same time.
DariusPeckus
February 22, 2016
Thanks, this is one of the most unique photos I've ever had a chance to capture.
PRO+
sundowngaited
February 22, 2016
Never in my dreams have I seen such a beautiful, frozen sight. Thank you for sharing with us.
DariusPeckus
February 22, 2016
Thanks, happy to share this moment in time, and it only lasted about 5 minutes.
PRO
Pblais
April 30, 2016
Amazing Ice! It's no wonder it's a winner! Great job! This is clearly a show-up up in time moment and having the skill to pull it off!
PRO
tonyballas
July 13, 2016
This is such a Great photograph! Really like your statement about making the areas around our home Magnificat by looking around and taking magnificent photographs!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken In Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin on the Lake Michigan lakefront in the deep wintery month of February.Time
The sun was just rising off the lake and created this icy furnace of light through the hole in the ice. It was 10 degrees and lying on the ice was a bit brisk but worth it. The ice formations were amazing and treacherous. I wiped out on this slick ice several times, took a brutal elbow landing (hurt for weeks) to avoid killing the camera gear but it was so worth it. It was cold and windy but we suffer for our creations.Lighting
The light that morning was bright and the ice was glowing as the sun rose out of the lake. I'd explored the shoreline the day before and had seen some of the icy ponds that had formed along the ice wall. As I walked that morning and the sun rose, I unexpectedly saw the sunlight coming through a hole in the ice, camera ready, I immediately shot some photos of the effect, and it was gone in moments.Equipment
I shot this handheld propped on my glove on the ice with my NIKON D7000 and the kit lens 18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 112mm/ƒ/16 1/320s/ISO 400 if the effect had lasted longer I would have put my 105mm prime lens on and shot it at a lower ISO, but happy just to have gotten the shot.Inspiration
When visiting my inlaws, who live just across the road from Lake Michigan, I often wander the shore seeking out photo ops, at all times of year and in all sorts of conditions. Last winter the ice wall formed larger than ever, 15-20 feet in places, I found many opportunities to brave the icy blasts and frozen temperatures to fulfill my photographic yearnings.I shot many pictures of ice formations, frozen landscapes, and ice ponds, but this shot was one in hundreds, I was amazed when I got it on the computer as I'd not expected this result by any means. I looked for more chances to get a similar photo, but conditions were never repeated, the sun warmed, the ice melted and spring got its foothold once again.Editing
I did tweak the color and contrast in lightroom, to bring out the warmth of the photo, though it was really quite solid right from the camera. I also cropped it for compositional purposes.In my camera bag
I have a Lowepro Flipside 300, and usually pack it full. I always carry my Nikon D7000, and often carry my D300 as back-up. I carry my 18-200 kit lens, my 105mm micro Nikkor, a 50mm prime, speedlight sb 600, 4 batteries for each camera, dozens of sd cards, and assorted other cleaning and protection pouches. Its pretty heavy but well worth the effort as I can get most shots I desire. The flipside bag is by far the best camera backpack i've owned as it allows me to use it as a waist borne desk in sandy and wet environments.Feedback
Pictures like this are often a once in a lifetime thing, but if you wander the shorelines of the great lakes in winter, you'll find amazing views and astounding ice formations. Its cold, windy and often miserable, but so worth it. My favorite motto is. "You don't have to live in amazing places to take good pictures, you just have to take good pictures to make places amazing". So find the amazing in your neighborhood, its there I'm certain. A word of caution, don't randomly walk onto this ice, it may look solid but these holes are formed by the wave action from underneath. Every year people DIE by falling through the ice, there is little chance of crawling out of these holes before hypothermia kills you. I'm very familiar with this stretch of shoreline and never walk past where the beach line is. Earlier this winter I fell through the ice to my waist, the ice looked solid but nope, it wasn't. I'm glad I stuck to the known sandy area, otherwise I'd have been in real trouble. Take your pictures carefully, they are not worth dying over.
