Abraham Lake in western Alberta, Canada, was created in 1972 by the bighorn dam. The flooded and subsequent decomposing vegetation has resulted in the slow release of methane which can best be seen in winter when the lake freezes and captures these bubbles. The area is exceptionally windy, which clears and smoothes the lake surface, resulting in clear viewing through the ice. These were shot handheld since the wind would have carried off my tripod.
Before sunset:
At sunset I oscillated between the golden reflections off the ice, or using a polarizer to capture the fractal patterns in the ice.
One can clearly see the vegetation in shallower parts of the lake, where there are a greater concentration of bubbles:
Very nice! I have to admit though, when I see your name I instantly think of the tropics and the jungle. You do beautiful work, complete with interesting information about the subject.
As fascinating as the subject matter is - the amount of vertical space captured in the portrait shots is dizzying with the ultrawide lens. I find the horizontal composition more "comfortable" to look at! How do you keep your hands warm and dextrous in such cold conditions? I always struggle to operate a camera in bitingly cold wind.
Thanks everyone for the comments, it's always helpful and appreciated!
jcw1982 - Thanks and I know what you mean, it feels like a foreign landscape to me, despite being in my backyard.
Zuikolens- Being a creature of the tropics, I heavily invested in warm clothing this year, knowing that I would be doing winter camping. For gloves I was using the Heat 3 Smart glove
It's expensive, and the quality was disheartening given the cost, but it did give versatility when shooting.
