On Ice. Image Series.
Freezing The Moment
On Ice.
Taking a photograph can be viewed both as an act preservation and transformation. A photograph gives a moment a degree of permanence. However making an image changes our perception of an object, person or event. Photographs through the use of light, framing and other techniques conceal and reveal. The image that results will, or should have some kind of emotional charge that grabs the attention of the viewer.
The images in the On Ice series are more about transformation than preserving. Although the freezing of flowers, petals and leaves halts the natural process of decay this is only temporary. As the ice thaws ironically decay is accelerated. Capturing an image becomes a balancing act between the beauty of the subject held in ice and it turning to mush.
On Ice. Influences
I first came across the idea of freezing and photographing plant material in Fleur Olbey’s book Fleur. I was immediately struck by the fragile beauty of the images. The way freezing had leached colour from petals making plumes and clouds in the ice. The way the ice and the subject interacted; bubbles of air in the ice and other imperfections framing and concealing. The sense of a petal or leaf floating beneath the ice surface made me feel as if I was gazing through a window into another world.
On Ice. Experiments
The how to do it aspect also intrigued me and I started to experiment. The freezing process can be frustrating. Often flower or leaf moves in unexpected ways creating both happy and unhappy accidents. I worked out that once a flower or petal is frozen, so long as the ice sheet is not too thick it is possible to carefully break it out and reposition it, add more water and refreeze. This has to be done reasonably quickly to avoid thawing. This method allows layered compositions to be built up with a greater degree of control.
Happy Accidents
Control is only ever partial. When a macro lens is trained on the subject unexpected possibilities present themselves. Lighting reveals further creative opportunities. If a flash with a snood that focuses the light to a narrow beam is punched through the side of the ice, dramatic areas of light and dark can be made. A transformation from fragility to something more brooding.
Final Thoughts
Recently I have discovered the work of Croatian photographer Maja Strgar Kurecic. The photographs in her Floating Garden series are both stunning and beautiful. Building up multilayered compositions in ice she explores the ideas of transience, youth and beauty her images.
Juine
1 Sep 2021Beautiful, awesome, any positive words say it all. I love this work.
mariusgrose
1 Sep 2021Thank you for your kind words and interest Juine. I’m hoping to offer print sales in the not too distant future.
Marius Grose
2 Sep 2021Posted up some new under ice photos
Elise Naudé
3 Sep 2021I really enjoy your work, Marius. Thanks for the beauty.
Mrs Anna Taylor
8 Sep 2021We love this Marius! Our favourite is the forget-me-not cloudscape. Brilliant!