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Icescape IV
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Icescape IV

by Jim Greenwood

Gallery: LandscapePosted December 9, 2015608 views14 comments
How this formation was created is a complete mystery to me.  I don't recall ever seeing anything quite like it before.  The light brown substance is ice.  I broke off a small piece of it at the edge of the ice covered pool and examined it.  It was this color throughout its entire thickness.  But I have no idea how it came to have this color.  This pool and one other smaller one right next to it were the only ones like this.  Numerous other small pools in the area were frozen over as well, but looked normal.  I could not see any evidence of anything obviously unusual that would have resulted in this unusual light brown ice.  And then exactly what forces led to the formation of this three dimensional structure of folded curves (for lack of a better description) over and around whatever object is underneath the small mound, is just as much of a mystery to me as the color of the ice.  At least the sprinkling of snow on top of the ice is understandable.  I think that the snow is an equally important element to the overall appeal of this composition.  If anybody can provide any knowledgeable educated insight concerning how this formation might have been created, I'd be very interested in reading it.

Canon 5D II
Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS
96mm, f/22, 0.5 second, ISO 50

Comments

14 comments
Comment posted by Lon Overacker on December 9, 2015 at 11:24 PM
Jim,

What the heck???  Seriously, this is as different as we've seen  here in a long time.  I can only imagine your own mystery having come upon this in person.  What's to criticize here?  You've found and captured an incredible creation of nature.  The sprinkling of snow is like candied sprinkles on a chocolate sunday, or better yet, powedered sugar. Fascinating and beautiful.  so glad you shared this one.

Lon
Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Richter on December 10, 2015 at 3:17 AM
Jim, it is always appealing to me if there remains an unanswered question. There are stuninng dynamics in this one, too.
Peter
Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments
Comment posted by Craig Moreau on December 10, 2015 at 10:14 AM
This is a very cool image Jim! A very strange natural phenomenon. My guess is that it was mud that was thin enough to flow like water, but thick enough that it didn't happen quickly, and the temperature dropped below freezing as this was happening. Was this on a slope at all?
Registered on April 21, 2015, 64 Posts, 584 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Zimic on December 10, 2015 at 10:20 AM
Unusual is an understandment for this formation. Nevertheless, you've done a create job with the composition as I find it very pleasing. As to the reason for the way this ice formed, perhaps whatever is dissolved in the water froze at a bit higher temperature than water creating a thick viscous liquid until the temperture dropped enough to freeze the water too. Info as to where this was taken might allow someone to uncover the mystery of this most interesting image.
Registered on November 23, 2003, 176 Posts, 727 Comments
Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on December 10, 2015 at 12:14 PM
Man, this is freaking cool! It indeed is a mystery how this formed.... Looks like there is some larger object under there, and I would guess that the wind caused it to push to the upper right, causing these sweet forms. But that's only a guess....

Apart from that, you also succeeded in capturing it flawless. The thumb looked weird, and the larger version even weirder! Thanks for sharing!
Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on December 10, 2015 at 1:30 PM
Oh man, milk chocolate ice, makes me hungry.  I sure do like all of the swirls here Jim, and they create a fine visual flow through the frame.  In addition, the ice is set off so well by the sprinkling of snow.  I'm going to speculate that because the rock was cooled faster than the water, as waves pushed over it, some ice was left behind and that built up the pattern slowly.  What a special and unique find.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by David Schoen on December 10, 2015 at 4:29 PM
Fascinating freak of nature.  But the image is a nice abstract. 
Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments
Comment posted by Ed Lowe on December 10, 2015 at 7:55 PM
Way cool abstract, Jim. The swirling lines are captivating and the ice crystals add another interesting element to tis image. Kind of reminds me of a chocolate desert.

Ed
Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments
Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on December 10, 2015 at 8:02 PM
Now, I've seen some stange stuff, but this is near the top of the list. I think this is very cool, not only from a photographic point of view but also from a hydrologic standpoint. It looks to me that the water was heavily loaded with very fine silt and then the water froze at different rates as it flowed. This is just a SWAG on my part. Anyway, I think it's a great image.

I'd be very interested in a true explanation for this oddity.

--P
Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Henke on December 10, 2015 at 8:56 PM
Sweet abstract. I've seen some strange ice formations at high elevation lakes due to wind and sudden temperature drops, but nothing like this. Very nice composition and overall effect.  
Registered on February 20, 2012, 117 Posts, 285 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on December 10, 2015 at 9:48 PM
Hi  Jim crying  I thought this  was a closeup  taken at the dairy queenfrown.  looks like  whipped  chocolate ice creamcool.  seriously   this is  a  mystery   captured  for landscape.  who  has the best answer?


Albert Darmo
Canada
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by gary phillips on December 10, 2015 at 9:56 PM
This is special, Jim.  Looks like pastry to me, Deeeelicious.  Very cool find and excelent work to get it to this point.
Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments
Comment posted by Ryan Shain on December 10, 2015 at 10:38 PM
Hi Jim,

This is a rather intriguing image, and it is really working for me. The lines in the sandstone colored ice? are just great, and the dusting of fresh snow/frost lok like powder sugar on a pastry.

Unique and beautiful intimate work!
Registered on February 20, 2007, 226 Posts, 4571 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Metternich on December 13, 2015 at 2:36 PM
Weird, but cool!  
Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments