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343/365: "I'm looking for the unexpected. I'm looking for things I've never seen before." ~ Robert Mapplethorpe

by Janet Brien
2 more pictures in notes above ! :)

Today marks the coldest day that I've ever experienced in a place where I live: 7°F degrees!!! That is so incredibly cold it's hard for me to understand...so I went outside because I needed to fill the bird feeders and in so doing, I had to lift the feeder off the metal pole...and I held the pole for just about 5 seconds. After about two seconds it felt like I was touching a hot iron!! WOW!! We have two bird feeders, so I used one hand for each pole, and then I shook my tail back into the house, yike-yiking all the way to the hot water to warm my freezing hands! :D :D HOLY COW THAT'S COLD!!!

Always the glutton for punishment, I noticed that the frost formations were just AMAZING, so...once my fingers warmed up, I got my camera, put on my boots again, and out I went to capture frost crystals! :D

This one is my favorite because it was a mistake. I was taking a picture of a different area and the flash illuminated this frost flake beautifully, showing how it grew out of the vinyl cover we have on our spa. I didn't realize they can form this way, isn't it fascinating?! (By the way, this is the same surface as the next picture...instead of being medium brown, it's burgundy, which I pushed closer to black to help pop the "frost-flake" out :)

Robert Mapplethorpe (November 4, 1946 New York City;– March 9, 1989 Boston, Massachusetts) was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white photography. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, and stills of flowers. His most controversial work is that of the underground BDSM scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s of New York. The homoeroticism of this work fuelled a national debate over the public funding of controversial artworks. Wikipedia: Robert Mapplethorpe
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14 comments

Pam J said:

Exquisite photos !

Wear GLOVES !

We have been down in the minus's this past week... I have 11 feeders... and then the water..and the food out for the idiot neighbours barn cats...Then take the dogs out. Not wearing gloves isnt an option !!!
11 years ago

Sami Serola (inactiv… said:

Just WOW!

And yes, I'm familiar with some production of Mapplethorpe. Good motto from him.
11 years ago

Wierd Folkersma said:

beautiful light
11 years ago

Horizon 36 said:

Beautiful image ..well done...again...Janet.
11 years ago ( translate )

Annemarie said:

wonderful this cristal serie
11 years ago

Eunice Perkins said:

That is mind-blowing! It's so absolutely beautiful and intricate!!
11 years ago

tiabunna said:

Janet, that's -14C, no wonder the metal felt like hot iron! As Pam J said, gloves are not an option at those temperatures: a little moisture and your hands could adhere to the cold metal. Now I've given my 'grandfather' speech, this is a superb photo of the ice crystals.
11 years ago

Malik Raoulda said:

real capture, substantive work.
11 years ago ( translate )

ctofcsco said:

Thanks for sharing this fantastic nature image! Well done!
Seen in The World of Nature
11 years ago

Stan Askew said:

Beautiful Work!!
Seen in

The Artisan!!
11 years ago ( translate )

Chrissy said:

WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW perfect! :-) congratulations to that fabulous shot* LOVE it
11 years ago

Jenny McIntyre said:

Absolutely stunning Janet. I've never seen anything like this before. You are so good at this macro stuff - you should definitely offer your pictures to the National Geographical Society, they would love to use some I'm sure.
11 years ago

Fizgig said:

Beautiful.... Looks like it's made of platinum =)
11 years ago ( translate )

ୱ Kiezkickerde ( ͡°… said:

Well, -14°C is cold, but not that cold...
And mostly it matters at the humidity how cold it feeling, not by the real temperature. At longer cold periods we have similar temps here, but mostly they are around 0°C or slightly below, at around -5°C because of the ocean-weather. Well, if it´s foggy -14°C can really hurt, but in dry conditions it´s just great. :) But as such structures will apply mostly at wet conditions it have to be feeling cold I imagine. :) But I wondering that you can see such art, mostly they are formed if the temp is around 0°C - if it´s colder here we don´t see such nice stars.

I prefer BTW your second PiP which shown the whole area instead of just a single icebloom.
11 years ago