Frosty Day

Earlier this week, we traveled into Calgary to run some errands. I stopped at our mailbox to post a letter and saw the first sign of frost. I took the picture with my iPhone which did a pretty good job of capturing the detail of the ice crystals.

Had I known what was yet to come, I’d have gone back to the house for a camera. As we approached the city, we began to see signs of hoar frost and I started taking pictures. It was a bright day and the iPhone performed admirably. I took the next two shots as we approached our first stop, in Scenic Acres (no exaggeration on this day). The trees are absolutely covered with ice crystals, glowing in the direct sunlight.

Hoar frost is an unusual sight, requiring very specific atmospheric conditions. Wikipedia defines it as follows: “Hoar frost (also hoarfrost, radiation frost, or pruina) refers to white ice crystals, deposited on the ground or loosely attached to exposed objects such as wires or leaves. They form on cold, clear nights when conditions are such that heat radiates out to the open sky faster than it can be replaced from nearby sources such as wind or warm objects.”

I took this next picture at a restaurant where we went for lunch. It offers a closer view of the frost on the tree and shrub branches.

Later in the afternoon, I got this picture shooting in the general direction of the sun. The trees are backlit but the frost shows fairly well.

I captured many pictures during the day, but I’ll stop at this point. I was fortunate to have a very good day, with good light and of course the hoar frost. I was reminded that you never know when a good photo op will arise and it pays to be ready for it. In this case, the trusty iPhone saved the day.