FrostFeathers Archives - Bliss Photographics

Posted on March 19, 2020March 12, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Sunrise Through Frosty Fence

The sub-zero morning I took this up on a high ridge, the Hoar frost covered ANYTHING that was exposed to the wind. Freezing fog grew monster ice feathers off every surface that disrupted smooth air flow. I have many images yet to finish from that morning.

Here on the Montana/Wyoming border, the snow can be as deep as the backcountry is big with just a few plowed paths to provide access to the high ground. The wind here moves a lot of snow from ridges to the surrounding slopes so if your on the ridge, DON’T get off the ridge. You loose the traction of “position” off the top. Stuck is not good up here.

The highest ridges locally are 4000 feet in elevation. With valley fog being pushed over higher elevations. Thus creating a fantastic environment for hoar frost growth to prodigious proportions. Woven Wire Fence: When you absolutely don’t want smaller livestock going from pasture to pasture. It makes a wonderful nucleation spot for ice crystals to grow from. Working backcountry has it’s little areas of zen. Millions of them actually. We just have to slow down and see them. Capture their photons. The ironically, hurry on to the next little spot of zen lololol. Such is the life of “working” a scene with cameras…. 📸🤔

Location: Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands. (Wyotana)

Title: Sunrise Through Frosty Fence

Posted on February 24, 2020March 2, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Backcountry Peace Sign

Backcountry Peace Sign (Hoar Frosted to heck).

Yup, a good fence is a good way to keep Peace between neighbors. An example of a serious border fence built by a local rancher keeps the peace for sure. It surrounds his whole property of many square miles.. it’s 8 feet high, high tension and virtually impenetrable by ungulates that use to eat part of his grass crop. He even paid for double wide cattle gates on the road to make it harder for game to get in there. I suspect the math worked out. It was cheaper to build a fence than put up with the damage to the grass crop the antelope and deer do every year.

Now I have an 8 foot high electric deer exclusion fence that keeps deer out of the 10 acres around my homestead’s infield. My yard fenced/surrounded by a similar barrier. Deer, 99.99 percent excluded from entry, watch from the outside. .. I let them play on the other 3490 acres of the ranch at their leisure. I understand his frustration with deer. They were causing tremendous damage to the ornamental plants and even shelter belt trees were feeling the deer pressure. Damage ornamental plants mounted into the thousands of dollars some years done by deer. New plants in my homes landscape were abused badly. It took me personally months to construct the 200+ section buck rail/electric hybrid fence surrounding my yard. The only way now to get in to my yard is through a gate which is where they occasionally penetrate my defenses.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands. (Wyotana)

Title: Backcountry Peace Sign

Posted on February 22, 2020March 2, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Down Yonder by the Fence

The morning was sub-zero. That which was exposed to the wind, had been covered by Hoar Frost. Freezing fog grew monster ice feathers off every surface that disrupted smooth air flow. I have many images yet to finish from that morning.

Here on the Montana/Wyoming border, the snow is as deep as the backcountry is big . Just a few plowed paths provide access to the high ground. The wind here moves a lot of snow from ridges to the surrounding slopes so if your on the ridge, DON’T get off the ridge. You loose the traction of “position” off the top.

Given the opportunity, I will set up for a Close/Far perspective capture when ever a fence “of interest” is around. This was a very early morning session that started in early twilight and worked for several hours. It’s not every day I see this kind of hoar frost. It does happen but not necessarily every year up here. The highest ridges are 4000 feet above sea level in elevation. Valley fog pushed over higher elevations. Thus creating a fantastic environment for hoar frost growth to prodigious proportions.

Woven Wire Fence: When you absolutely don’t want smaller livestock going from pasture to pasture. It makes a wonderful nucleation spot for ice crystals to grow from. The low angle light was still very spotty. I had to find a “Slit” through the trees to catch this. Working backcountry has it’s little areas of zen. Millions of them actually. We just have to slow down and see them. Capture their photons. The ironically, hurry on to the next little spot of zen lololol. Such is the life of “working” a scene with cameras…. 📸🤔

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana)

Title: Down Yonder by the Fence

Posted on February 3, 2020January 29, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Barbed Wire Hoar Frosted

It’s not every day I see this kind of hoar frost. It does happen but not this well very often…. The highest ridges here are 4000 feet in elevation. Valley fog/ moisture was being pushed over higher elevations. Thus creating a fantastic environment for hoar frost growth to prodigious proportions. Natural Sharp edges like the points of barbed wire provides a “point of nucleation” for the ice feathers to form. The symbolism by mother nature was not lost on me here lolol. 👀

Science here is a conversations about the “Triple Point” of water which is a good basic concept to understand if we’re talking about weather. When the water vapor is thick and RIGHT at the temperature/pressure point it can be deposited directly to ice from water vapor. Typically these ice crystal feathers are less than an inch. Thes monsters were a full inch and a half with a few around the ranch reaching 2 inches for that storm.

Interestingly, this is NOT a black and white photo. It’s is full color but the light was as flat as it gets. The T-posts are very old and only slightly green but they provide an anchor to the world of color in this other wise chroma bare capture. Science

This is the only time I’ve ever seen such a thing such that the barbs grew so prodigiously. I spent hours that morning walking from place to place absorbing the unique sites as they were presented to me. It wasn’t long after this photo that the wind picked up and obliterated the threatening look of the wire.

Location: Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands (Wyotana).

Title : Barbed Wire Hoar Frosted

Posted on January 26, 2020January 19, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Hoar Frost Fence Line

The sub-zero morning I took this out on a flat covered by geothermal steam. The Hoar frost covered ANYTHING that was exposed to the wind. Freezing fog grew monster ice feathers off every surface that disrupted smooth air flow. Long shadows and red light dominate this scene …

Here on the Montana/Wyoming border, the snow is usually as deep as the backcountry is big. Just a few plowed paths are about to provide access to the high ground. The wind here moves a lot of snow from ridges to the surrounding slopes so if your on the ridge, DON’T get off the ridge. You loose the traction of “position” off the top. The snow on the flats is unpredictable.

Given the opportunity, I will set up for a Close/Far perspective capture when ever a fence “of interest” is around. This was a sunrise session that started in early twilight and worked for several hours. It’s not every day I see this kind of hoar frost plus red morning light. It does happen but not necessarily every year up here. The highest ridges are 4000 feet in elevation. This is around 3700 feet. Thus creating a fantastic environment for hoar frost growth to prodigious proportions.

Woven Wire Fence: When you absolutely don’t want smaller livestock going from pasture to pasture. It makes a wonderful nucleation spot for ice crystals to grow from. The low angle light was still awesome. Working backcountry has it’s little areas of zen. We just have to slow down and see them. Capture their photons. The ironically, hurry on to the next little spot of zen lololol. Such is the life of “working” a scene with cameras…. 📸🤔

Location: Bliss DInosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands

Title: Hoar Frost Fence Line

Posted on January 17, 2020January 10, 2020 by Frank Bliss

Hoar Frost Red Light

Hoar Frost Red Light (Full Screen is really a nice way to view with this image).

RIght at sunrise when the light from the sun is colorcast markedly red, any scene with hoar frost reacts vividly. Here on this high ridge with an infinite view to the horizon 100 miles away. This, the same light that makes the Pink “Belt of Venus”. Also responsible for the Red lIghting on distant hills these long traveled rays. Ultimately reflected to my lens. All pink is sky images are reflecting this very light. Those long red rays are going through the most atmosphere. The really bound off the bright white frost flowers and crystals. Catching it digitally is another thing 📷🤔

This scene is produced here to the same colors I experienced that morning. It’s as close as I can do it. Note how the snow in the shadows is grey/white .(natural) While the sunlit pure white frost turns into a nearly fiber optic pink projector screen.

Exposed surfaces to the wind were coated here by 3/4 of an inch of hoar frost. The north side of trees, grass interrupted the air flow of moisture laden air. This changed the “Triple Point” (good google word along water vapor). The Hoar frost growth is ice forming simply by moist air flowing over objects where a SLIGHT pressure change from the turbulence causes deposition of the ice. It’s crystal growth live real time that I’ve watched happening real time during several trips up on the ridges. I have gone up in terrible foggy cold weather to work the flat light before a time or two lol.

Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands.

Title: Hoar Frost Red Light

Posted on December 28, 2019December 21, 2019 by Frank Bliss

Woven Wire Hoar Frost

Here on the Montana/Wyoming border, the snow is as deep as the backcountry is big with just a few plowed paths to provide access to the high ground. The wind here moves a lot of snow from ridges to the surrounding slopes so if your on the ridge, DON’T get off the ridge. You loose the traction of “position” off the top.

Given the opportunity, I will set up for a Close/Far perspective capture when ever a fence “of interest” is around. This was a very early morning session that started in early twilight and worked for several hours. It’s not every day I see this kind of hoar frost. It does happen but not necessarily every year up here. The highest ridges are 4000 feet in elevation. With valley fog being pushed over higher elevations. Thus creating a fantastic environment for hoar frost growth to prodigious proportions.

Title: Woven Wire Hoar Frost