From Wikipedia: “Ice is the name given to any one of the 15 known crystalline solid phases of water….It can appear transparent or an opaque bluish-white color depending on the presence of impurities such as air. The addition of other materials such as soil may further alter the appearance. The most common phase transition to ice Ih occurs when liquid water is cooled below 0 °C (273.15 K, 32 °F) at standard atmospheric pressure. It can also deposit from a vapor with no intervening liquid phase, such as in the formation of frost. Ice appears in nature in forms as varied as snowflakes and hail, icicles, glaciers, pack ice, and entire polar ice caps. “
Icescapes by photographer Randy Fitzgerald and sculptor Tom Holmes, is a unique photographic, coffee-table-type book of 34 stunning color photographs that demonstrate the incredible detail and beauty of ice. Randy and Tom work independently and collaboratively to create one of a kind, of-the-moment ice sculptures with coloring, and even the beauty of ice as it begins to melt. These unique photographs explore frozen water in a way you’ve never seen it, before.
Although it is Summer, and it’s quite hot and humid, before we know it, Winter will be back. Love it or loathe it, ice will be everywhere! Icescapes will give you more respect for the beauty of Winter. Ice isn’t just something to slip on, or skate on, or cool your drinks with. Ice, generally perceived as clear and uninteresting, is anything but! These photos are bursting with life!
Eclipsing the Sun (from Icescapes) Frozen Planet (from Icescapes)
I can’t post every photograph I loved from this book, but what’s so amazing about all of them is how the artist can transform the ice into photos that you would never imagine came from frozen water. For example, “Freefall” colored blue against a background of red, reminds me of stalagmites growing deep within a cave. “Deep Space” looks like a green and turquoise Earth, or perhaps a large body of water as seen from outer space. Each one of these gorgeous photos will absorb your full attention. Even better, you’ll see something new and wonderful in them every time you open the book.
Randy Fitzgerald is a talented photographer with a lifelong relationship with the biological sciences and the natural environment he captures around the globe. Tom Holmes is a talented sculptor. Together, these two artists make the mundane, marvellous! The book would make a wonderful gift for a special person, or for yourself “just because.” You’ll never tire of looking at these fascinating photographs. ICESCAPES $75.00/book is available from artist Tom Holmes http://www.tomholmes.com/contact.htm