Ice Art

It's must be obvious already that I have loads of fun playing with my camera, but lately I've been going even further with how artistically I approach a scene or image. I have to admit I'm quite proud of the photos I created today of a slushy Lake Michigan...this one in particular:

I love the subtlety of color playing against a surprising diversity of texture. I love the anomalous snowball (no I didn't place it there) framed by an approaching wave on one side and a receding one on the other...gives it a flare of modernism in its form. I love the glint of sunlight on the lugubriously rippled water and the shadows cast in front of the snowball and wave. I love the idea that maybe most people wouldn't give a second glance to this hidden--and on the surface, rather mundane--grouping of features, but that I was able to pick them out and frame them so that the eye can perceive them as a beautiful whole.

Here's another ice photo I took this afternoon during a walk through Lakeshore Park:

This depicts an area, I'd guess, less than six inches across. In this case I'll admit to a bit of tampering: I came upon a frozen stream of broken ice--giant lethal-looking shards--and put a couple together--one on top of another with a third placed to the side--to create the final product. What initially struck me was the interesting dispersement of bubbles, but as I further composed the image, I noticed that the flowing lines and subtle frosty surface texture played nicely against the bold (and oddly symmetrical) geometry of the circular air pockets.

So although my drawing efforts have unfortunately diminished over the last couple of years, I'm glad at least to recognize I still have a decently artistic eye. I haven't given up drawing and still continually aspire to find inspiration and active motivation somewhere, but in the meantime I'll probably just keep playin' with the camera.