The river ice is breaking up slowly. Shifting a little everyday in the sun and wind and really coming open where there are strong undercurrents. I was a little surprised to see this snapping turtle floating at the frayed edges of the ice, able to lift its head for air but otherwise shifting with the water like a piece of driftwood, too cold to move. It’s been a long winter for everybody and spring has been tentative. We have land now, though. Earth, mud, grit and weathered grasses. The snow is mostly gone, we are just waiting on the river…
© Karen McRae, 2014
draw and shoot 
Love the juxtaposition of the different tones. Spring might have finally pushed winter out here…we’ll see…
Thank you, yes, a little colour showing up now!
It’s been mostly cool/cold but we have had one summer-like day this week, followed by a chilly little snowstorm the next day.
It well, it will come!
outstanding!
Thank you, I love watching things unfold as the river melts – it’s always beautiful!
Beautiful photo’s; they breath serenity, but not to loud. And they fit together very well. See you!
That’s a lovely comment, Harrie, thank you. There is lots of serenity at the waterside. : )
The forms and colors are exquisite! Also the vast expanse of infinite beauty. You’ve managed to capture an energy in the transition of the river/season that is powerfully compelling.
Thank you, Elena. I love watching the ice melt away, it seems like such a big transition.
Just lovely. Outstanding. Your photographs are enough to make me miss winter, which just doesn’t look the same here in Florida.
I do find all the visual changes n the landscape compelling. I’m a winter girl too but I’m ready for some Florida-like weather!
Thanks so much, Linda.
The river comes to life. Bravo!
Bravo to the river! It’s good to see it starting to flow. Thank you, Brenda.
I like your way to capture subtle nuance in the vigor of nature.
Those nuances can be lovely. Thank you, Yoshizen!
Wonderful series. The subtle colors are gorgeous.
This is one of my favourite subjects to photograph. Thanks very much, Ken!
Karen, I don’t know, these places might actually exist, however I have a very strong feeling that you created them, to the last molecule! For that , I am grateful! 🙂
Ha, That’s a great comment, Marina. : )
They are indeed real, but I suppose part of it is how you look at things. Thank you!
as always stunning images Karen – and agree wholeheartedly with Marina above – this river of ice is so far removed from anything I have ever seen – very evocative.
Thank you, Veronica. I love how the river changes as the seasons shift. I’m lucky it’s not far!
awesome high quality pictures . nice way of capturing 🙂
Wonderful images. Winter this year has been rough and you have captured its ending.
Thank you, Victor! Things are moving along nicely now.
absolutely stunning
Thank you, Anthony. I am often in awe of the beauty we have around us.
so true
Such beautiful colours and textures.
Thank you, erassima. It’s fleeting moments like this that keep me going back again and again.
Cool! It’s hard to imagine the winter in that part of the world I heard so much about until I see photographs.
It’s been a winter, that’s for sure! We are well on our way to real spring now, thankfully.
So beautiful, Karen!
Thank you, Anette!
Wow, I can almost see the water moving…
A gentle release.
Impresive Photo…
Thank you very much, Edgar!
Beautiful colors and textures in the ice. I’m sorry you still have so much snow and ice around…!
It’s going fast now! Thank you, Tom.
Beautiful images.
I think most people living in locations like yours are especially glad to see signs of Spring this year. Makes one wonder if this harsh winter is going to repeat itself or be a ‘once off’.
Thank you, Vicki. Yes, all these warmer days feel amazing –
I even have my windows open today! : )
That’s a lovely kind of narrative. And the rich neutrals make me want to play around with those not really sombre colors.
Thank you, Sarah. I love these colours too.
Wow. All that amber and naples yellow and signs of life (forms). Feels very spiritual.
The river has spirit for sure! I love how it changes so much – mostly the ice is gone now. Thanks for your comment, Steven.
Wow, these are extraordinary – the colors, the way the images work together, the grace!
Thanks so much, Lynn. What a wonderful comment.
I can’t believe you still have snow and ice! Though they do make for wonderful images. But such a long, long winter for you. I wish a beautiful flowering spring for you soon.
We’ve lost most of the snow and ice the last couple of day now. It seems like it happened all of a sudden even though the spring was so slow. There are little purple flowers peeking through the earth too. Thank you, Lee.
Beautiful colours, shapes and textures; but it does still look cold.
David.
It’s warmer now, David, but it sure did take awhile. Thank you for your comment.
Gorgeous but still looking cold… That’s a very deep colour Karen is there a lot of iron in the soil around there ?
Thank you, Helen. The river is always a little yellowish but perhaps the runoff in the spring gives it a deeper colour. I’m not exactly sure what causes the colour, that’s a good question!
Wow! These are just stunning, Karen. The colour is delicious.
Thanks very much, Richard! I like the word delicious. : )
Those colours – silver and gold. A lovely atmospheric series Karen.
Thanks, Anna. Yes, I like the cool and warm tones from the ice. It’s all gone now though, it’s amazing what a few days does!
so natural colors ! looks scary a bit and powerful
Thank you, Victor!
Beautiful colours.
Yes, that what caught my eye. Colours you wouldn’t see unless the ice was there. Thank you.
Beautiful, Karen. I love the colors and the reflections of the trees in the water/ice. Many promises of spring.
Yes, spring, finally! It’s beautiful here today, Erica. Thanks for your comment.
I know these colours (even if I haven’t seen them yet) and you work with thes so well.
Yes, these colours are among my favourites. You will see them soon, Bente, I’m sure! Thank you.
Another series of these beautiful, surreal shots…really incredible work Karen.
Thank you, Randall. I feel very fortunate to live close to this river. It’s a bit of a muse!
I love that idea, and yes places can be the best muses of them all. Cheers!
Beautiful compositions. Superb sequence.
Thank you so much!
I just love the colours in this series Karen. Beautiful!
Thank you, Adrian!
This is gorgeous, Karen. It’s remarkable how bright subtle color can be in the right image. The textures are so sensual as well. Beautiful work, as always.
Thank you, Elizabeth. These melting landscapes are so fleeting and I love to document the changes. I’m happy you enjoy the photographs!
Gorgeous colors. I truly love the warmth the earth tones bring into those cold scenes. The complexity of some scenes make me wanting to see those photography printed big and presented to me in a silent room with no one disturbing my viewing pleasure. 🙂
Thanks for your lovely comment, Roland. I wonder if they were printed very large if you would feel like you were there. The melting ice always seems so beautiful to me.
I am sure a careful selection of the print material could further help to translate the two dimensional photograph into a truly perceivable “reality”.
beautiful tones and textures… I can feel the frozen surface shifting.
Lots of shifts now, Emily. Thank you so much.
really beautiful set!
Thank you, Mark!
Some very nice abstracts!
Hi Martin, thank you. I love watching how the ice shifts at the end of the season.
These are lovely. The color, design, and emotions, all spot on. Makes cold seem beautiful. Good work.
Cold can definitely be beautiful, even if it drags on a little too long… Thanks for your kind comment, Maggie.
I like the colours, the fresh feeling and the hope for spring. Lovely pictures, Karen!
Yes, we have spring! And it’s so welcome. Thank you, Gro.
Gorgeous. High awareness of color, line, and relationship. Combinations so sweet, I want to lick ’em. Or roll up in them like a fuzzy blanket. Either one.
Ha! Thank you, Anna. River Popsicles…?
*shudder* I don’t want to commit to a flavor, reality being what it is and all. I’ll just say they LOOK good enough to eat. Ha!
Look at you! Freshly pressed! So well deserved. I love that even more people will get to dive into your stunning imagery.
The second one is like a favorite Andrew Wyeth painting, which means you somehow achieved realism and dreamscape, all at once. Sigh. So lovely.
Stunning! Finding sites like yours are my favorite thing about FP.
What J Turner did with a paint brush in the in the C19 you have done with a camera. Inspiring stuff.
Cold, Cold, Beautiful, Beautiful….Just like Life. Truly Awesome.
Beauty of nature at it’s finest.
These are stunning.. for a second, I actually thought the third and fourth picture were painted… they’re really gorgeous, you must be so pleased with them!
Great photography! A lot of these look like paintings instead if photographs. I want to think that this is the St. Lawrence River.
Congratulations on being freshly pressed! I’m glad I found you first. 😛
Loving this confusion of solid and liquid!
Absolutely beautiful!
Great composition and color, seemingly abstract or surreal? One can tell you see things most people cannot.
Really very stunning.
Beautiful!
beautiful pics
Marvellous! The colours, the cracks and the shift all exhibit the lust of longing, especially the turtle, who is floating away in anticipation. Glad I came across such gorgeous post. Many thanks and congratulations!
Very interesting post with great pictures!
absolutely beautiful!
Beautiful pictures!
I love your last two shots. The sencond to the last is a delightful, serence shot that reminds me of the sea…one of my favorite places to be. The last shot, thought taken from a moving car perhaps, has an interesting play of water on a window that looks like birds in the sky! I love it.
Stunning!
Fantastic
The pictures are lovely. I enjoy the information you provided about the river too.
Without the rivers where would we be. Follow them to the source of life and travel down to the sea and oceans to the end of the trial.
Beautiful images. Wonderfull sense of p-lace with a restricted palette.
congrats…it’s a beautiful post…lovely spaces.
beautiful! ❤
Hi Karen! to me this piece is somewhere between a photograph, abstract painting and a film. How fun to watch your mind at work.
I really love the composition of the ice breaking apart, it makes the river look so abstract. It makes me wish there was a river in my town that I could photograph! Nice shots!
No snow nor river in the place where I stay. It was nice to see the pics.
You set a high standard that I’m going to try to learn from in my ice pictures next winter. Thank you so much for the light.
Great!!
Karen, I always look forward to your posts! I love all these, and especially #5 – like a Monet painting (beautiful pairing of yellows and blues) – and the last one: a perfect reflection; there is a lot there to think or dream about.
A hot weather in India really brings out the solace and peace of mind to see the subtle snow surpassing season and spring rejuvenating the natural cycle of life. Thank you for such wondrous photos!
A very beautiful set of pictures, and congratulations on the recognition you’ve gotten here. What a wonderful bunch of comments!
Wonderful pictures, and wonderful memories. Thank you for giving us a look into something so beautiful and personal!
Beautiful prose, beautiful images full of scent and light.
Brilliant!
Beautiful!
Very ethereal and beautiful. I love the abstract nature of some of the shots
Beautiful series of images!
The yellow running through this series feels earthy one moment and airy the next, an intoxicating color.
Beautiful – http://www.bgallery.co.uk
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Dying river