Frozen Lilies

I shared a similar image on here earlier, but it was a different light, time of day, and composition. I actually think I might like the composition of this one better. The sheen of the ice is what gives the image texture and the lilies sprinkle across the image for the interstate’s. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone else take an image of frozen lilies before (not sure if anyone else finds them as interesting as I do). I don’t really see them very often photographed, but I find them fascinating as a plant tethered to the bottom of the lake capturing sunlight with the big leaf at the surface.

Kyle, this shows off both the textures in the ice and the frozen lily pads well. Icescapes largely taking advantage of underwater plants to create abstracts are a favorite topic of mine. I think that some burning in of the brightest parts of the lily pads and some dodging on the brighter ice structures would look good here. It would reduce the dominance of the lilies and let the textures in the ice play a stronger role. That, of course, is my vision and not necessarily yours.

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@Mark_Seaver has already replied to you, but if you are interested in this type of stuff, you really should study Mark’s ice abstract images, he has an amazing variety of them. I think you will enjoy seeing his work.

Kudos to you on getting a composition where there are no lilypads cut off by the frame edge, that is always a problem for me when I attempt this type of image. I agree with Marks suggestions about tweaking the luminosity, I think they would enhance the image. I would also suggest adding some vignetting , or darkening along the frame edges to draw more attention to the center.

Wow! You do have some spectacular work with this type of subject. I do like the direction you take it in especially the image I saw on your site with a focus on the texture of the ice and the color of the lily pads underneath coming through. However, the way I saw the scene that day and remember it is the ice being very dark and contrasting harshly agains the lily pads. I do understand the darker processing might not work for everyone. I may decrease the contrast especially for a medium like print though!