Photo Fridays - Ice

I remember seeing Niagara Falls lots of times when I was growing up, through college and as an adult. I can honestly say it was neat the first few times and afterwards there wasn't that 'thrill' of first seeing it. But one time, and only one time, I saw it in winter, from Niagara park (on the US side of the falls there is a park nearby).

The mist from the falls had coated all of the branches and bushes in this park, right then and there I was in awe of how beautiful ice and snow can really be if you slow down and take it all in. (and you aren't breaking your back shoveling it!)

It was gorgeous. And I never forgot the way I felt when I saw how mysterious and spectacular that something as simple as ice could be. So I have a special place in my photography for ice and snow, coincidentally this fits well with my current interest in getting the very basics, black and white.

So these shots are from Wadsworth Falls in New England. I've been there in the summer and fall, but I've been waiting to see it in the wintertime. Though I'm absolutely exhausted each week from working 6 days a week and over 60-70 hours, I found time on a Sunday recently to hike with Ginger and take some pictures.

This year I've seen things with ice I've never seen before, the frosted car windshield that looked like large feathers were laid into it all over, the leaf inprints in the lake ice and most recently, what ice looks like when it forms along the banks of the waterfalls. These incredible, I guess, stalactites, for lack of a better word.

I love the natural cuves coming through and I continue to be amazed at all the shapes possible with just a little water ;-)