Under a Cold North Sky - a book of snow and ice

 

Long dark winter months, with an absence of the usual diversions.

Trying to keep busy. These have not been easy days for many. A short interlude for Christmas, and then back to very quiet times.

Covid days.

Time to make a book. Always a happy diversion.

This one was created for the Instagram #areyoubookenough challenge on the topic of frozen. The challenge was started in 2017 by the book artist Sarah Maker, and brings together book artists from all around the world.

I have many images of snow and ice, and many happy memories of trips north, so the topic of 'frozen' had instant appeal.

A dive into my hard drive seemed like a good a place to start.

I searched for 'ice' and 'snow'. Up popped many images that are long forgotten.

Images from Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Yukon and Norway.  Some of the places that I am missing the most.




Firstly, a small fragment of ice from Disko Bay. Ice that has made its way down a glacier, and then broken into fragments as it fall into the icy water of Disko Bay; an iceberg graveyard.

Greenlandic ice fragment

Crystals of watery ice from a glacier.

glacial ice formation

Broken ice from a grassy puddle. This from Lofoten, where I was attracted by the texture of the snow crushed grass.

Grassy ice puddle

There are tiny fragments, and wide views. It is the juxtaposition of scale that I enjoyed when making this book.

Lofoten mountains

Initially I  printed out many small images.
I  then experimented with different combinations and juxtapositions.
Some images were rejected, as they didn't work with the others, or were just too ambiguous.

Icy reflections from Disko Bay were tempting to include, but the water was not actually frozen, so these were rejected.

Icy water in Disko Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

mini prints for layout experiments

 

 

For the start of the book I chose images of snow falling at night, and a lump of ice. The raw elements of icy landscapes.

I remember vividly standing under a lampost in Finland capturing snow falling in the early evening, the snow lit by the artificial light; blowing around wildly in the wind.

falling snow

glacial ice

Then I moved through gradually larger landscapes, trying to find pairings that complemented each other.

Grass and ice.

Black on white, white on black.

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A 'landscape' of ice crystals on snow beside a tree in a field.


The images are printed on bamboo paper 110gsm, made into a concertina. The hard cover is covered with a Lotka polka dot paper in black and white. Lotka paper is Nepalese, and is easy to fold around the cover of a book.

'Under a Cold North Sky' - concertina book

'Under a Cold North Sky' - front cover

I don't know when spontaneous travel will be possible again. My plans to return northwards in February are very likely to be thwarted.

But as soon as I am able, I will be heading in that direction once more.

 

You can see a slideshow of all the images here

Topaz filters and a little tree therapy

thicket © Caroline Fraser 2012

I have had a busy week, and have restored my equilibrium over the weekend with two long walks in the woods with dog.

I took a proper camera and a monopod; a compromise over the need to carry a tripod for decent depth of field, and my need to walk and feel unburdened by my equipment. As always I carry just one lens, and see what I can do with it. This weekend I have rediscovered the fun of a wide angle lens. My Sigma 10-20 mm has not been out for a while, but for my current project on chaos in the woods it is perfect, allowing a wider depth of focus than most of my other lenses, and better  quality images than a standard telephoto lens.

I have downloaded Topaz B&W effects for a one month trial, and am experimenting to see if it is something I would like to buy. I already have Lightroom which has a number of monochrome options, but am struggling to use the programme efficiently. Topaz can be used from within Photoshop, and is therefore simpler to use.


So what have I found?


I am wary of producing images that look overcooked. So many journalistic photographers seem to use Topaz filters for portraits, and the overall effect is to over accentuate the pores and wrinkles to a point where they look unatural. Likewise landscapes can have too much 'venetian' effect or 'pop', and the effect immediately destroys the image in my eye.


I like to use black and white layers within photoshop to enhance the contrast in an image without creating an obvious filter effect. I copy the background layer and convert the layer to monochrome. The blending mode is then changed to soft light or overlay and the percentage opacity altered according to taste.

black and white overlay on a colour image using soft light as the blending mode

Here is the first image unadulterated

and here with the Topaz diffusion filter applied as  a layer with some additional blur

with diffusion and blur

and here with no blur

with diffusion and no blur

Some images work better in black and white, especially for conveying nature's chaos.

original image

with high contrast monochrome effect and vignetting

original

colour image with  monochrome overlay in soft light blending mode

same image using Topaz BW  infra red effect, exaggerated grain and vignetting

One could play around for hours and  probably create all of these effects without Topaz, but the ability to preview many different effects, and then to fine tune the effect is attractive. 

grunge

aged effect

You just need to be careful not to overcook the albumen or go overboard on the 'grunge'. 

Print Space Food Competition - my fishy picture is a winner

Sometimes a little bit of luck comes along, just at the point when it feels like nothing is going to plan. I am delighted to have won The Print Space Food Competition with my monochrome image of fish in Cochin harbour, Kerala. I guess I'll just have to put up with the fact that they think I am a man; perhaps they are just a bit busy. The good news is that means I get to participate in their  show next year So ShowMe of images shared through social networking sites such as Flickr and Facebook