One of my favorite pursuits is wandering the shorelines of lakes and rivers in late autumn or early spring. During these times of seasonal transition, the ice skirting rocks and shoreline debris offers an endless variety of shapes and abstract imagery upon which to draw inspiration. Along exposed shorelines, the ice edge is carved and sculpted in unique and often exquisite ways by river current or the ebb and flow of repeated waves. In pools and quiet backwaters, the forming ice traps autumn leaves, pine needles, and various other bits of vegetative debris, forming frozen collages rich in colour, texture and photographic potential. In fast-flowing streams, the combination of cool air temperatures and spray from near-freezing water creates beautiful glazes and “ice candles” on logs and branches hanging near the surface or snagged in the current.

Most of the photographs in this collection were taken in the shield country of northwestern Ontario, specifically along the edges of the Rushing River in Rushing River Provincial Park, and the Winnipeg River, near the town of Kenora. The remaining images were captured in Manitoba, along the shores of Hunt Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park, and on the limestone beaches of Lake Winnipeg in Hecla-Grindstone Provincial Park.