Ice Bloom

On November 22nd it was forecast to be sunny and get up to +7C.  Well, the clouds rolled in late in the morning, and the temperature only made it up to +3C., so the forecast didn't hold true.  But, it seemed not too bad, so I headed down to the river valley to try and capture the annual Ice Bloom on film.  There was a wind blowing through the valley, and high humidity down near the open water.  As soon as I stepped away from the cover of the shore, and out onto the pedestrian bridge, it suddenly felt a LOT colder.  This time around I attempted to photograph at the footbridge down at Hawrelak Park.  

In the past my best photos of the ice bloom have been long time exposures.  The lily pads of ice float along at a pretty good clip.  During a long exposure they become a streaky raceway of white lines against the dark water.  It's particularly interesting when there are some gravel bars to shift the current from side to side.  You never know exactly what you're going to get until to you process the film.

It's challenging to shoot on the bridges because the railings are so high.  You have get the tripod really elevated and then it is difficult to see the ground glass and compose properly.  I attempted two setups, and took a couple of shots of each.  Hopefully something turns out.  

Damn that duck must have been cold....!!  There were actually three of them paddling around among the ice lily pads.