Elizabeth Glass' photostream  

I co-own a small gourmet market, work ridiculous hours, and therefore take extremely local photographs. Most of the shots I post are largely the result of luck--at least technically--since free time is at a premium and the urge to capture what I see usually wins out over the need to learn how to operate my camera properly. I am trying to summon the discipline to change that. If not by studying formally, then at least by examining and learning from the results of the decisions I make as a photographer. I also learn a great deal from the wonderful artists here on Flickr.

My greatest passion within photography is ice. I love the many forms it takes, and the way it wrestles with light. Here is most of the introduction I wrote for the "Ultimate Ice" group:

I live in Boyne City, Michigan, which is at the foot of Lake Charlevoix in the northwestern part of the lower peninsula (aka "the mitten." If you use the back of your left hand as a map, we're somewhere in the nail of your ring finger). I'm surrounded by streams, rivers, and lakes of all sizes. Lake Charlevoix dumps into Lake Michigan less than twenty miles from here, and we are just slightly north of the 45th parallel. In the winter months there is PLENTY of ice.

In December 2009 I glanced over as I was driving past and noticed that the old pilings at the city waterfront were shrouded in ice. Closer inspection revealed their coats to be remarkably elaborate. I went back often, and found amazing ice forms under the nearby dock as well. (I wish I'd been a more skilled photographer then. I don't think my "ice room" will ever form again, as they have added a long floating extension to the dock and are using bubblers to keep the ice from crushing it. The waves can't reach the original section anymore.) Next I started exploring the ice in the Boyne River, and was delighted by its smooth, scalloped shapes--such a contrast to the ice formed by the more violent weather out on the lake.

Ice is amazing. It changes every day. Who wouldn't want to be out there watching it do its thing? This year I've been stalking it since the beginning of the season, and I've been fascinated by the various phases it goes through as it forms. The lake has already frozen solid and then partially thawed several times, and is now freezing the melted parts again. A few more weeks and it will probably start melting toward spring, and I'm going to stay right in the middle of it. Waders are a cumbersome pain in the ass, but totally worth the bother as far as I'm concerned. I've had enough of "wow, I bet that would be a cool shot if only I could get closer."

...which brings me to the question of gear. Staying warm (or, more realistically for me, "less cold") is essential. I have frostbite damage in my fingers that I am constantly re-aggravating, and I've been playing around with different combinations of gloves and mittens for a year now. Some things work better than others, but I've decided I'm going to have to invent the perfect solution. Right now I wear ill-fitting battery-heated gloves under dexterity-killing oversized mittens. It drives me crazy in all sorts of ways, but I've kept the frostbite episodes to a minimum this year. I imagine winter photography would be even harder with no fingers at all.

As for photography gear, I completely agree with Jay Arpin. Passion, looking, and seeing are paramount--if all you have is great gear and technical knowledge, then you're going to get really sharp pictures of nothing special. That said, it's not uncommon for me to see something that either I don't know how or am not equipped to capture. So I'm saving up for a macro lens and a "grounder" tripod, and I am trying to summon the discipline to study the fundamentals a little bit. Trouble is I have hardly any free time. When I get some, especially if there's any kind of light, I ain't exactly headed for the books."