On one of the coldest days this past winter, I joined hundreds of other undeterred Canadians gathering at a park in Edmonton, Alberta to view ice sculptures and to enjoy some winter activities. When I first heard about this event I knew there would be amazing photo opportunities and I was excited to bundle up and shoot some winter fun.
I arrived around 4pm, which offered some great lighting since the sun set around 4:45pm. Walking through the luminous structures of an ice castle, I was inspired by the craftsmanship and beauty. I came across Halley, an avid white water kayaker and sledge hockey team member with the Paralympic Sports Association. She was in charge of tending to the fire pit for the winter enthusiasts. I loved the way both blue and ash covered icicles framed her as well as the contrast of fire and ice. I immediately asked her if I could take some photos.
My biggest challenge here was the near -30C temperature. I was using my Nikon D610 and Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 set-up and the cold was affecting both my automatic focus and memory cards. Neither would work. Luckily, after some rudimentary heating techniques (AKA body heat), both started functioning so that I could take this photo. After experimenting with different angles and compositions I decided on a straight on photo at 14mm to capture the full structure of ice surrounding the fire pit.