Icicles

When I went to let the kids in when they got home from school yesterday, BG pointed out the number of large icicles hanging off the porch roof. There were probably close to a dozen, large and small, and every one of them was in near perfect position to be able to get some fun shots with the sunlight crackling through them.

I had so much fun trying to find just the right angle to show them off the best.

Each one had its own bit of something really interesting or unique.

The spots that look like air bubbles in the one above is kind of fascinating.

Out of all of the icicles that were out there, one was not only dripping, but dripping at a pace that made it fun to try and capture the drops.

At first, I took these standing on the porch. Then I realized that I was shooting from such an extreme angle that even if I had the tip of the icicle in focus, the second the drop let go, the drop was out of my focus range.

I spent a lot of time with that one icicle. Eventually, I grabbed a step stool to get me closer to level with it, but even then my angle was just a tiny bit off.

One of the things I love about these is the hints of reflection you get in both the icicle and the drops. I also love the way the light gets fractured through all the imperfections and interior cracks.

It was quite a test to my coordination and speed to catch it at just the right time.

In the end, I managed to catch a few shots with drops in the air as they were falling, but I still didn’t get the drop itself in focus. This one is my favorite of the drop shots as it has a tiny little drop hanging there between the icicle and the bigger drop. I probably took close to a hundred shots just to try and catch a good drop shot. It may not be in focus, but I still thought it was pretty awesome.