Natural Monochrome

As soon as I stepped out of the truck at the car park for Upper Kananaskis Lake this week, I knew it was going to be a tough day. Storm clouds often make for the most beautiful images, so I had made the decision to head out to Kananaskis in the hope of finding some methane bubbles in the ice.  The car park is sheltered by tall fir trees, but even from my sheltered position, I could hear the wind howling across the top of the dam, and see the clouds of spindrift being transported east to the lower lake.  

Once booted up I scurried down to the lakeshore where my micro spikes bit into the frozen surface. I opted to hike the southwest shore where I have previously found plenty of methane bubbles. Unfortunately the ice was not clear enough for any significant finds, so I continued on into the teeth of the wind that swept the surface of the lake. 

I did find numerous subjects and made a number of images along the way, all of which might be mistaken for black and white shots straight out of the camera. The storms overhead and resulting low cloud robbed the landscape of almost all colour. I did find a couple of shots where the light refracted enough to give some of the broken ice on the shore its usual turquoise blue, but overall every shot appeared in black and white straight through the viewfinder.  

As a result of this effect I needed to find some strong image anchors to hold the eye and contrasting light to lead us though the shot, I think this one meets both criteria. The island in the midground almost merges with the mountains in the background, leaving quite a distance between the foreground anchors and the island. By lowering the camera position I was able to close the gap and magnify the dark ice 'anchors' in the foreground.  While the image is not going to make the portfolio, I'm am happy with it given the circumstances on the day.