Loch A Chroisg, Achnasheen, Scotland
I couldn’t resist downloading this especially after commenting on Marks previous ice abstract and thence seeing his most recent image of birefringent ice (good to put a name to the effect).
This was one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed and I was completely captivated by it. It got progressively colder that winter morning and it was apparent that the water surface was on the verge of freezing over to form what I call skin ice. Then as I looked down at my feet I saw the water surface begin to glaze over spreading out from the bank. The ice was as thin as a piece of foil. I became vaguely aware of colours on the flexing surface which changed with the undulations on the surface of the loch. Intrigued I took out my polariser and to my astonishment found the ice was full of fluctuating interference patterns rather like the thin skin of a bubble. What you see is the fascinating result of those thin ice sheets stacked up like overlapping slates on the shore blown there by the wind.
Pentax 67II, 90-180 zoom, Polariser