Frozen in Winter...

Sometimes art is truly about catching something at the right moment...before anything changes, the sun shifts, or in this case the ice melts! I was driving past a building I have seen countless times, admiring its design as I often do, when I noticed something different. Outlining the entire front facade were hundreds of icicles. I immediately had to find a spot free of snow so I could jump out of my car without causing any major traffic problems (fortunately it was a slow time of day...) and take a picture.

From a distance the icicles didn't seem too imposing, but up close they looked much larger - and a little more dangerous! Even though it was hovering around 15 degrees, I was anticipating one of these large spikes of ice to loosen from the building and come crashing to the sidewalk. I am always certainly interested in capturing the perfect image, but have not been inclined to risk my life to do so - I have never been one of those dare-devil videographers/photographers. Fortunately for me, in this case, standing directly underneath the ice would not have afforded the best view! I was able to grab a great picture without endangering myself or the camera.

What is it about ice that seems to amaze bystanders? Is it the way light is reflected? Maybe the unique shapes that are formed as the water or snow freezes?

As I mentioned earlier, I have always been a fan of this particular building because of its contrasting textures and variety of color. On this particular winter day the icicles seem to add another dimension: a moment frozen in time. The first person to whom I showed this picture (yes, call it a sneak peak) said it looked like the water ran down the arch in between each brick and formed on the edge of the building. In its effort to travel down the brick facade and form a puddle on the sidewalk, the water was stopped midstream by sub-zero temperatures. Instead, it began to freeze in shapes that seem to reflect the building from which it originally fell.

Even though on the day I took this photo the sun was bright and shining, a reminder of the precipitation from days earlier was still hanging amongst the colored tiles of each pillar...waiting for a warmer day when it would finally be set free. Unless warm temperatures arrive soon, these icicles could become so long that they might actually come close to touching the sidewalk!

That's the Golden Perspective...what's yours?