The Weekly Photo – Nov 21, 2011
I just got back from the final Fire and Ice Photo Tour this year. We were ‘blessed’ with cold temps (-25 degrees over night) and therefore some nice ice and even a little bit of fire (sunrises and sunsets). The gang of shooters were a blast and everyone was open to the amazing possibilities nature tossed our way.
Part of each tour is a safety meeting about ice conditions. You can see here what happens when someone does not listen to the safety spiel! The good news is with my super long exposure of the scene (5 minutes using a Lee Big Stopper ND filter), the waves and bubbles of the struggling participant did not even register in the image. So let this be a lesson, always listen to your instructor….
This one is dedicated to Joe (thanks for leaving the camera gear on shore) 😉
©Darwin Wiggett
The colour version – Canon EOS-1ds Mark III, Canon 24 TSE, 5 minutes at f11, Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer, Singh-Ray 3-stop soft-edge grad, Lee 10-stop Big Stopper ND filter.
©Darwin Wiggett
The B+W version (conversion done in Nik Silver Efex Pro) – which version do you prefer?
Darwin Wiggett 
November 21, 2011 at 10:42 AM
hope everyone and everything returned in pre-tour condition! 😉
ice formation is a very complex process. a few nights of cold temperatures does not guarantee safe ice conditions. most ice climbers have found this out the hard way. 😦
stay safe out there!
November 21, 2011 at 2:33 PM
Exactly, that is why we have the safety discussion for each location as we get there!
November 21, 2011 at 11:27 AM
Great image! Really 5 minutes?
November 21, 2011 at 2:33 PM
Yep a 10-stop ND plus a polarizer (2-stops) plus a 3-stop grad gave me a 5-minute exposure
d
November 21, 2011 at 11:38 AM
Darwin that is an awesome picture, I prefer the B&W, the contrast and tones really stand out. With the ND filter did you use a polarizer filter also?
November 21, 2011 at 2:32 PM
Hi Gordon, A polarizer and a grad filter was also used
d
November 21, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Hi
as usual photos is a matter of personal taste 🙂
for me, between those 2 variants, I prefer the color version. But a more dramatic b&w-conversion could change my mind.
November 21, 2011 at 12:01 PM
Great shot and a fun story to boot 🙂
Thank you for sharing !
November 21, 2011 at 12:07 PM
Amazing photo!
November 21, 2011 at 1:33 PM
You’re quite the comedian Darwin! 🙂
Very nice and interesting foreground here. And the light on the mountains is pretty cool too. I can’t say I like one more than the other. Both the colour and the B&W versions are nice.
November 21, 2011 at 6:13 PM
You think he’s joking, Tom? 😉 I vote for the colour version.
November 21, 2011 at 8:33 PM
He’s not?!? I thought for sure he was. 🙂
November 21, 2011 at 2:23 PM
As much as I like the B&W, the colour version edges past by a small margin…
November 21, 2011 at 6:12 PM
Great shot Darwin! I like the colour version because it seems to communicate the feeling of cold well with the blue and white. Sounds like it was an eventful workshop as always!
November 21, 2011 at 7:14 PM
I enjoy both – but I will almost always vote for the color image!!
November 21, 2011 at 7:47 PM
I prefer the colour version. It has more impact for me personally.
November 21, 2011 at 9:37 PM
love the colour version…..beautiful
November 21, 2011 at 10:20 PM
I prefer the colour version for the blue tones. I’m heading out west this weekend to photograph the ice and it’s always a good reminder to be careful.
November 22, 2011 at 12:38 AM
Colour by far.
November 22, 2011 at 9:37 AM
And what was the safety spiel? 🙂
Seriously, I’m curious to know how to tell if the ice is safe to stand on since I have taken a few shots on ice but always being very scared to fall through even in the middle of winter in the Rockies.
November 22, 2011 at 7:11 PM
I have done it before and I missed sunrise since while I was changing a sox and shoes, the sun came out . I like the zebra pattern of shadow and sunny parts on the shore and the forest in the color image. But I think both of them are very strong images.
November 24, 2011 at 9:20 PM
Since there is no much color in the foreground and a lot of contrasts in the back ground, I prefer B+W better…
November 26, 2011 at 10:31 PM
It’s the color for me on this one. Something about it says “I’d rather be warm in the sun over across the lake”
August 18, 2012 at 2:22 AM
I prefer the colour. It has more life. Lovely image by the way