Sunrise on Snow and Ice

Happy St Paddy's day to all from a girl whose descendants hail from County Clare, Ireland!

I love the internet! I love reading Canadian Geographic and the plethora of other similar and not so similar sites out there devoted to artistic photography. I belong to the school of photography that says that one only needs to open their eyes and look around them for the beauty that is everywhere. One only needs to be spontaneous and seize the moments as they come (as often as one can!). Not sure if there actually is a "school" of thought out there that adheres to this maxim but I think there should be. I don't have any really expensive equipment; just two point and shoot camera's. One of them travels with me everywhere and the other only when the weather is a bit more "seasonal" for such equipment.

I'm still baffled about what exactly drove me to go down to the lake following my nightshift but I'm glad I did. I got some really fabulous snaps! Afterwards I did think that my fingers were going to snap off because they were so cold. When I got safely back in my warm car, I stuck them on my neck and blew on them before putting my gloves back on!

I was very happy and satisfied that listening to my intuition meant I didn't miss this excellent opportunity. Sometimes all things "happenstance" are just the best! Don't you think so too??

I just love the one above and find it interesting that my point and shoot camera could capture the colour in all it's glory. I didn't have to do much manipulating of the picture other than to straighten it. I realize now that when I'm that tired I seem to "list" to the right or left. All of the pictures I took actually LOOKED slightly OFF. At first, I thought that there might be another problem but no, it is just simple human exhaustion. I think a tripod would be a good solution too. However, I would certainly have to be dressed properly for the weather; as it was the elements took it's toll on me!

I love the surreal quality of the pictures as the light reflects off of the ice and snow. There was lots of activity down at the lake for so early in the morning (0730 hrs) but it was the day that the ice hut fishermen were to take their huts off. March 15th is the cut off date, come rain or shine. It was a beautiful day and the following one was raining. So, it seems that the selection of that "arbitrary" date is not so arbitrary after all! We can't let these "structures" get stuck on the ice and then fall to the bottom of the lake - to become garbage and pollutants.

As I look at these now, I am listening to a song titled "Didja Dream?", didgeridoo music from the Dreaming Didgeridoo album (from iTunes). A perfect accompaniment to this post, almost as surreal as the photograph.