Icy Flames

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My body folded into itself to stay warm as I hunched over a waist-high tripod. My back was starting to ache; I mean, my posture is horrible in the first place, but mix the frigid air with a way-too-low camera, and I may as well start answering to the name Quasimodo.

I caught the falling snow with a piece of glass, examined it under a macro lens, found nothing, wiped it clean, and repeat. The snow hardly resembled a flake of any kind. Shards and clumps of ice were all I saw.

Two hours into this I was ready to pack up the gear and head to some warmer ground… like the floor of my apartment. I could almost feel my toes again as I thought of my snuggly Gracie Lou.

I took the last images of the last snow catch and reviewed them on the screen. That’s when I saw it, down at the bottom of the frame: my first fully-formed snowflake!

The universe has a way of taking me right to that line before my breaking point. My excitement pushed me through the pain well past 2 am that night.

Persistence pays off.

Just as I was about to give up, I discovered this little ice gem.

Just as I was about to give up, I discovered this little ice gem.

 

What are these numbered posts all about? Read the introduction to my Photo & 100 Words project and find out!

 

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