Brrr! Put on your cozy earmuffs and get ready to shiver—we’re going on an itsy-bitsy expedition. No need to worry about icebergs or polar bears, because they don’t fit inside an infinitesimal reality. Shrink real low and let’s explore a frosty forest.
Tiny, cold and delicate—frost sprouts like frigid saplings. A glass window becomes a field of minuscule trees and translucent leaves.
A transitory existence: banished by warmth or a plastic scraper.
Besides…
…who wants to put their life on hold and admire frost? We have shit to do, right? Stuff the key in the ignition and let the car breathe its balmy breath. Don’t worry. Windshield wipers get rid of the leftovers. The plastic scraper reaches all the right places, too.
The mosaic above this sentence is a composite of seven frames, but they don’t quite fit together. The stitched photograph provides a larger context, though. Each image is a fragment that can’t encapsulate the grander reality, and each frame is about the size of your pinky nail.
This is not my first time photographing frost, but If you think it’s easy photographing the cold stuff, well…go ahead and pat yourself on the back! Because you’re wrong. The previous photographs were less sharp, and the depth was also shallow. Some of the detail near the photographic frames may appear to be blurry—that’s the reason why the previous photographs were less sharp—the 50mm secondary macro lens wasn’t properly aligned, and that caused the corners not to be in focus.
Truth be told: some of the corners are still a little blurry. Damn it.
The jagged shards look like a frosty forest. Branches grow along the glassy field, just like the limbs of a pine tree. You can see the tree-like structures toward the upper left part of the frame. “Branches” converge, and then individual shards eventually interlock. Tiny pieces of ice which create larger pieces of ice.
So…
…where do we draw the line between frost and ice? Afterall—when does frost cease being frost? When it starts to lose its distinct patterns? Or is it ice all the way down?
The next time you scrape the cold stuff off your car windows—remember to appreciate the frosted forest you chopped down…
…if you’re not too much in a hurry.
Colors Not Included, Presented by FlyTrapMan 
Can you see the forest from the frost? Hmm. I wonder what cold loving creatures live within those icy branches? Your amazing macro shots have stirred my imagination. Did you enhance the colors? The blue is electric! Is it difficult to keep your hands steady to take photos when it’s cold outside? Do you ever use hand warmers inside your gloves?
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Image contrast was increased quite a bit, so the colors may appear more vibrant. I didn’t change color tone or saturation. The photographs were originally going to be monochrome. I used a tripod and timed exposure. My hands weren’t holding the camera. No hand warmers, just gloves.
Stirred your imagination? I have a feeling things are gonna get a little frosty!
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I’m glad you didn’t use monochrome photos. The blue is lovely. Tripods come in handy!
Frosty? I can show you Frosty:
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Monochrome would make the shards much more apparent. I’ll make a few monochrome versions, though.
Ha, Frosty doesn’t have to worry about melting…at least for now.
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Oh, really? You’re a monochrome magician! I looooove icy shards. Will you also make turtles on top of turtles appear?
Frosty has a nice icicle, so it would be a pity if he melted. 😀
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Sure! Red-slider or snapper?
Sometimes a snowman doesn’t mind melting.
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Red-eared sliders! They’re so cute. I had to google them. Did you have a turtle growing up?
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Never owned a turtle, however — there’s plenty of red-sliders and snappers around here.
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I’ve never seen one! When are they around?
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You can see sliders during the summer — they typically lounge on logs or rocks, but they’re very perceptive and usually ‘slide’ into the water.
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Ugh, but it’s so hot there in the summer. If you ever take a photo of it, please let me know!
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Will do!
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Corn popping aside, is is not as easy as it seems to take macro shots…Frost is a super subject…almost as good as the moon!xx
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Frost is difficult to photograph with my reversed-coupled macro lenses. I had to shoot at f/32, and the exposures were about 15-10 seconds long. Kind of awkward.
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I love the photos…anything about winter fascinates me…as i live in a tropical country..i will also check out the slides from my laptop..
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I wouldn’t mind living in a tropical country — I’m equally fascinated by that kind of climate.
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I like the colors and the pictures. Very pretty. I will have to go to my computer to see the slide show. I better start popping some corn . . .
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The colors are quite cool! Literally. I think this is my third year photographing macro frost…and I’m still learning. The image quality could be better. But it’s the best I have. So far. Pop the corn!
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