Extreme Stacking

ISO 100
focal length 26 mm
aperture f/27
shutter 2.0 sec

neutral density filter

I imagine many people will suspect this photo of being shopped.. definitely looks slightly surreal. But it’s not doctored in any way. Promise. Right now the creek is covered in a THICK sheet of ice with water exposed in narrow channels.. openings in the ice that expose the creek are the only places to get rocks in the current weather.  The water is too cold to go rummaging for perfect rocks (if there was such a thing) and contact must be kept to a minimum.

I call this extreme stacking because of the mixture of elements.  Freezing water, and lots of heavy, thick ice. Slips were easy to make.  another challenge with the freezing water and cold air is sensitivity.. fine balances require a certain sensitivity in the fingers, which is slightly dumb’d down in the cold.

For this balance I reached a point where I wasn’t completely sure, but had felt the balance point briefly.. I knew it was possible. Since the rocks usually accumulate a slimy coating under water in the winter, it was much harder to pinpoint the exact balance point… the rocks wanted to slip away. luckily when I thought I knew when to let go, I did and it stayed….   :)

I only got a few pictures of this one too…something about foundations on ice. but when it collapsed, it took out the whole wing of ice that it was standing on.  All the chunks disappeared as they were sucked under the remaining ice.