Winter Ice Abstracts

When December rolls in the cold weather here in the north I start getting excited to shoot abstracts in ice. The first ice is when these abstracts form. I find small streams in the woods where I live and follow the edges in search of this interesting artwork. It happens in the first ice formations at the edges of the streams. As the ice starts to thicken you lose the patterns. I shoot these using a longer focal length macro lens like the Tamron 180mm. You will be shooting from the bank and need the extra reach of the longer focal length. I shoot these in the highest f/stops to bring in all the details. Very cool stuff.

Once the stream ice thickens and I lose the cool patterns, I move to the lakes. Search out the edges of frozen lakes where fall leaves have blown into the lake and froze. On a warm sunny days you will get melted patterns in the ice above the leaves. You can shoot these with any macro lens  as you will be nice and close and you’ll be shooting a flat subject so just position your tripod directly over top of the leaf and shoot in the F/8 range.

Leaves In Ice

Here in southeast Michigan we are frozen in old man winter’s icey grip.  I got a chance to go out and shoot last week and had some fun shooting leaves locked in ice.  The ice was nice and clean until two days ago when we got about eight inches of snow, so no shooting leaves in ice for a while.

Check out my new how-to macro book, ” Tiny Landscapes” at,

www.MikeMoatsBlog.com

or

www.Amazon.com  Due a search for Tiny Landscapes

 

First Sign Of Life

The Skunk Cabbage plant is the first sign of life in the north as we head torwards spring. These interesting plants have a built in heating systems that allows it to melt through the ice in the swampy areas that it grows in.  You will start to see them here in southeast Michigan around the end of Feburary, providing we don’t have a blanket of snow covering them. You can see the ice surrounding this one.

Bubbles And Ice

Here’s another bubble shot this time locked in ice with a couple of leaves.

Tiny Bubbles

Found this crack in the ice where these tiny bublles collected.

Pine Cone In Ice

Here in the north, winter has a cold and colorless grip on us.  Finding interesting subjects to shoot can be a challenge, but with a little time spent in the field you occasionaly run across something different. This was shot in a swampy area full of pine trees.

Colorfull Ice

New forming ice will create interesting patterned textures that will cause colors to reflect in the angles of the patterns. The yellow is from the early morning sun, the blue from the sky, and the red from brown leaves under the ice.

Alien Ice

This shot has a cool si-fi, alien look to it.  looks like it has gills. Shot at the edge of a small creek.

Ice Patterns

 

Ice can offer some very interesting compositions.  Its easy to shoot cause its flat, and if you live in the north these plentny of it.

Happy 2008

Looking forward to a great year in the nature photography biz!  Hope you all do well and the economy is strong.

In the past I’ve always sold my images through the art show circuit, and have never really went after the retail stores.  In 2008 I am going to offer  wholesale to galleries and gift stores.  I will list the stores that my images will be available as they sign on. My first gallery is a great new shop that opened in late summer 2007, and is called Amber Eyes Gallery.  Its located in Belleville, Michigan.  Its off   I-94 between Detroit and Ann Arbor. You can visit their website at www.ambereyesgallery.com.  Other recent stores to sign on are The Aubergine Gallery in Milford, Michigan. www.auberginegallery.com, and Framer’s Workshop in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

I will be showing my images at a Beckman Gallery Wholesale Show at the Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago.  The show runs, Jan 19 thru the 22nd. Hope to pick up some new customers there.

I have a exihbit of twelve images showing at the Southfield Library on the second floor. It runs the month of January.

On Tuesday January 8th I will be speaking and showing images at the Northville Camera Club, Northville, Michigan.

Why Macro

When I started in nature photography, I like most new photographers wanted to shoot landscapes.  I went out east to the White Mountains, and to Acadia, went west to Yosemite and came home with some really nice images, but when I was home between trips I wasn’t able to shoot as much as I wanted  due to the lack of great landscapes like I saw on my trips.  I started to look at macro photography as a way to spend more time shooting near my home.  I was shocked at the amount of images I came home with on my very first trip into the woods.  I’ve spent many years of my life exploring past the end of the pavement but have never really taken a good look at the interesting life all around me.  When I started to study my surroundings for subjects they were everywhere.  I have some great parks with diverse environments within twenty minutes of my home but I also found many subjects within my own yard.  My wife’s flower gardens and a variety of trees provide subjects on days when I can’t make it to the parks.  During the winter when we lack all the life in the woods I have found I can pick up some flowers from the local florist or go to the nearest craft store and buy peacock feathers, colorful stones and rocks, pine cones and other subjects and set up and shoot indoors.  If you havn’t tried close-up/macro photography your missing out on some great images and fun.

January Ice Storm

Winter isn’t offically dead yet in the north even if the calender say first day of spring.  I wanted to show these  images while winter  still has a little life.  These were shot back in January in south east Michigan during a ice storm.

Fuji S3 Pro, Sigma 180 macro, Tripod

Almost 70 Degrees

Almost 70 degrees in southeast Michigan today, Yah Hoo!!!  I was out shooting in my tee shirt.  To bad there isn’t much worth shooting  yet, but it was still fun to be out and not bundled up.  Here’s another stage of the Skunk Cabbage as they emerge through the ice.  I’ll post again in the future where you can see the flower inside as  it starts to open.   When I got home today I had the new Fuji S5 Pro on my porch, Yah Hoo Again!!,Can’t wait to get out and shoot it, but to bad no color yet, won’t be long till spring pops.

Weather man just said we hit 72 degrees today one off the record.

Fuji S3 Pro, Tamron 180 macro

Leaves Under Ice

Here’s some more leaves in ice, or leaves under ice.

Fuji S3 Pro, Sigma 180 macro

Leaves In Ice

This is the tme of the year in the north when the warm temps and a sunny day will start to produce some interesting artwork combining ice and leaves.  If you can find a lake or pond edge that holds some leaves in the ice from the fall you’ll have a chance at finding some of these images.   The dark color of the leaf will draw the heat from the sun and melt interesting patterns into the ice.   They change rapidly so you have to check daily to see new changes.  The leaf on the left is a Sycamore and a Cottonwood leaf on the right.

 

 

Mike Moats New Blog Journal

Thanks for stopping by my new blog journal.  After some time figuring out how to set it up, I think I have it now.
I will be hopefully posting new info and images a few times a week.  As I find new interesting info and products related to macro or nature photography I will post them here.  So stop back when ever you can.

Michigan Annual 33rd Art Exhibition

This Abstract image of Ice I shot at the edge of a small stream won the Presidents Award and was sold at the Michigan Annual 33rd Fine Art Exhibition held at the Anton Art Center in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. The Exhibit runs from February 9th thru March 2nd.  Artist from across Michigan submit their art, and a jury picks the artwork that will be displayed in the exhibit.

NaturePhotographer.Net Opening Page for February

STREAM ICE

My Abstract ice image is featured as the opening page
on Natuephotographers.Net for the Month
of February.