Coloured Rock, Frozen Waves

This alpine creek still bubbled down its steep bed, even though temperatures had been well below freezing for many weeks. In quiet stretches, it flowed thickly and lazily, an inky black ribbon beside its snowy banks; in steeper terrain, it splashed the exposed rocks, leaving sublime, disfigured sculptures in ice.

A large frozen sheet had slowly formed from spray as the creek crashed over this colourful boulder. I liked how it looked like a cresting ocean wave pushing defiantly upstream. The rocks were coated in layers of wet ice: making my way out to this spot in the middle of the flow was a dicey, slippery affair requiring careful balance and more than one step into the freezing water.

It was similarly tricky to set up my tripod to frame this photograph. The rushing water vibrated the ice shelves, and the rubber tripod feet skated on the slick rocks. Finally, I settled on a position, gently composed and focused the photograph, and made several exposures, barely breathing for fear of breaking through the ice into the chilly stream.