Sunrise Through the Snowy Pines
Hoar Frost covering every surface on this high ridge line pine grove… Deep winter in Wyotana..
Sunrise Through the Snowy Pines
Sunrise Through the Snowy Pines
Tag: Hoar Frost
Hoar Frost Falling
Hoar Frost Falling
Very cold conditions cause frost to fall right out of the sky. This isn’t snow… It’s snow diamonds or hexagonal plates falling from clear air…
Hoar Frost Falling
Frosty Hoar Frost Feathers
Frosty Hoar Frost Feathers
This image is looking straight down. Just on the edge of a cut Coal Mine Equipment Tire. This tire is 10 feet across and holds maybe 800 – 1000 gallons of water for my stock. It’s indestructible of course. That tread cleat on the top is 10 inches across. These are 2 to 3 inch feathers which make them pretty big around these parts. With the right weather conditions, many unusual things happen up here.
New these tires cost maybe 12 grand or more new. I bought one repurposed for a stock tank recently installed for 700 bucks. One side wall is removed. Cut off with some effort and a water jet I believe. Delivered by semi-truck, he thick rubber tire is laid down on prepared ground. Hopefully near a pipeline spigot. Powdered concrete under the center drain PVC pipe already in place. This seals the tank upon filling the first time. These tanks will last maybe a century so they are a one time installation for me. They would be virtually impossible to hurt. Your truck would bounce off of them if you ran into it. Might break the seal lolol. Occasionally one will spring a leak, just drop some powdered concrete over the hole and fill it up with water will usually patch it.
Repurposing is a ranching tradition. When an object is useful, it will be stored on ranch for decades. I have used many iron pieces from 100 years ago in various welding projects lol..
Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Montana borderlands
Title: Frosty Hoar Frost Feathers
Sunrise Through Frosty Fence
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.
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 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
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
Down Yonder by the Fence
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
Barbed Wire Hoar Frosted
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
Hoar Frost Fence Line
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
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
Woven Wire Hoar Frost
Woven Wire Hoar Frost
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 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.
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…. 📸🤔
Title: Woven Wire Hoar Frost
Hoar Frost Framing the Moon (Look Closely)
This was quite a morning with Hoar Frost Framing the Setting Moon (you really have to look to see it over the tree in the center).
This is actually a 400 mm telephoto capture from 30 or so feet back, very high fstop and a LOT of light (thanks for that lolol).
I drove 10 miles to this spot HOPING I could get the moon to stand out in the mist. Any later and it would have disappeared into the low ice clouds.
High ridge lines with freezing fog frost (hoar frost) are well worth hunting for. Temp at the time was certainly somewhere around zero as it is most of the early winter mornings here.
Post Pounder From Hell
Post Pounder From Hell
Best example of Hoar Frost I’ve ever seen. 1.5 – 2 inch needles. Captured here at the homestead
This used to be just a 30 pound pipe with handles. Now it’s a prickly pipe. The borderlands always have surprises for me to photograph.
Driving T-posts for fence use is their purpose around the ranch. It was upright on my ATV on a freezing fog night that covered ANYTHING that disrupted air flow. There is a natural funnel between the building on tI have many images from that morning but I believe this to be the best.
I spent hours walking around with a few cameras that morning. Hoar frost usually only deposits on sharp surfaces/points where turbulence changes the triple point.
Science Musings:
The triple point is where the combination of temperature and pressure is such that something like ice can be in any of its 3 states. Ice, Water, Water Vapor co-exist at the “triple point. (Great google word for the day). Ice can change at the tiple point right to gas in a process called sublimation. Condensation is where water vapor collects into droplets of Liquid Water, Evaporation is liquid water changing to gas. Each phase change takes
I won’t get into the math of this. IT is definitely a good science class all in and of itself. Science and the knowledge of it give you the ability to understand what is ongoing around you. The pursuit of knowing is key to actually see beyond just looking. Humans are generalists mostly. Good photographers, not so much. They see into the “zone” catching the little areas of zen in the common that others miss. Keep on Clicking folks.. 📸
Square Aspect.
Location: Bliss Dinosaur Ranch, Wyoming/Monatana borderlands (Wyotana)
Title: Post Pounder From Hell