Frost spikes

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:45 pm

We had a hard frost last night. These spikes were all over my deck in the morning.

Canon Digital Rebel
Sigma 105mm macro
Natural light
1/60 at f/16, 1/15 at f/22

I was really worried about completely blowing the highlights on these, so I shot raw with the meter showing 1-1/3 stops underexposed.

I corrected most of the exposure during conversion to 16-bit mode Photoshop, then did final level-adjusting and sharpening in 16-bit mode before saving as 8-bit jpeg.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 3:43 am

Nice shots Rik

Amazing how these little crystals can just pop up.

Erland · Post by **Erland** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 4:24 pm

Not sure I've ever seen crystals like that before myself, must open my eyes more.

Here in Denmark it was very cold today, I had extra cloth on on my bicycle trip to work, and later in the morning it started snowing quite heavily. It's melted now though.

The top image looks best in my opinion, it tells more about what we are looking at, and the focus is not so narrow as in the bottom picture.

I guess ice must replace insects as our subjects in the winter.

Erland

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:34 pm

Erland wrote:The top image looks best in my opinion, it tells more about what we are looking at, and the focus is not so narrow as in the bottom picture.

I agree completely.

The top one might look good framed on a wall.

The bottom one would barely work as a figure in a textbook.

Too bad I did not have enough time on that workday morning to set up for extended-depth-of-field stacks.

--Rik

twebster · Post by **twebster** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:41 pm

Hi ya' Rik

I live in a desert so I never get to see these

I think you handled the whites very well. I, too, like the top one best. I guess your employer wouldn't understand the importance of getting a stack for extended depth of field, huh

Best regards as always,

GreenLarry · Post by **GreenLarry** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 1:54 pm

Very cool, and they look deadly sharp,like needles!

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 3:52 pm

Erland wrote:Not sure I've ever seen crystals like that before myself

They are not common here either. It seems to take just the right weather and just the right material for the crystals to grow on. This morning again there were lots of these frost spikes on my deck and its railing, but none on any other material that I could find. I put preservative oil on the wood this year. Maybe the oil plays a role?

--Rik

tchuanye · Post by **tchuanye** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:43 pm

I like the first one very much! Has an artistic feel to it!

S. Alden · Post by **S. Alden** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 6:15 am

I like both of them, each shows a different perspective that I find interesting.

It is turning cold here, but thank goodness it is not that cold yet

. I can wait for the ice crystals to form on the bluffs.

MikeBinOKlahoma · Post by **MikeBinOKlahoma** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 4:40 pm

Very interesting shot...For me especially, since it seldom if ever gets cold enough in Oklahoma for this sort of thing to happen. Not that I'm likely to be outside at that time on a winter morning anyway!