Winter and hoarfrost

Winter is when the prairie shows its quiet side. On the coldest mornings, the moisture hanging over the river freezes onto every twig, fence wire, and blade of grass, and for a few hours the whole countryside turns white. Hoarfrost is the part I wait for all year.

I look for frosted woodlots and lone trees, old barns half-lost in a winter haze, and long fence lines that lead the eye into nothing. Snow strips a scene back to its bones, so the shapes matter more and the colour almost disappears. Some of these frames are pale blue and silver, and a few are black and white because the light asked for it.

Most of these were made on cold mornings between November and March. The best days are the still ones, when the frost stays on the branches until the sun climbs high enough to melt it away, so I go early and go slowly.

Red barn in snowy fog behind a split-rail fence

Photos

  • Frosted trees arching over a snowy trail
  • Hoarfrost-covered trees on a snowy prairie field
  • Black-and-white winter sky over a snowy field
  • Dense hoarfrost covering a woodlot
  • Frosty aspens and a broken gate in a snowy field
  • Old barn and a frosted tree in winter fog
  • Lone tree and a fence line in thick winter fog
  • Single bare tree fading into white fog
  • Dark forest in blue winter fog
  • Black ice-fishing shack on a frozen lake with frosted trees
  • Hoarfrost-covered tree standing alone on a snowy pasture
  • Weathered barn and bare trees in a snowy field, in black and white
  • Snow-covered spruce trees and a small shed

Back to prairie landscape photography, or see Manitoba bird photography.