Ice Creek

Regardless of how much we hate winter – at least how much I hate winter – one has to admit it can result in stunning views. Granted, these views can hold an unforgiving starkness not unlike the dark side of the moon, but stunning nonetheless. Could also be why we hold spring so dear, the re-emergence of life and all that. I saw my first robin of the year just yesterday and my heart leapt.

Winter can also be extremely difficult to capture. All that white. The more foreboding the weather, the more difficult it becomes. Something happens to the light when snow and ice are swirling in the atmosphere, and so often the worst of it hits at night when the only light source may be streetlights if the electricity hasn’t blown. The low light forces long shutter speeds and the streetlights throws off the white balance. Despite the difficulty, a winter scene often screams ‘capture me’.

I caught this view while walking recently in St. Louis’ Forest Park – a creek, complete with waterfall, that was completed iced in. I found it on a rare day with sunlight, enabling a more natural capture than my recent work ‘Snow Assault’ (which is actually one of my own favorites from the past couple years). This work is less foreboding than that – more hopeful, as if saying, this too shall pass.