As winter begins to fade, I'm finding image potential once more in the roadside puddles and ditches. The melting snow produces standing water which then freezes overnight. Get out early with a tripod and macro lens, and a whole new world of possibilities unfolds.
Here, last year's fallen weeds lie suspended in and under thin ice, overlaid by a million frozen bubbles. An abstract tangle of shapes and textures; a transient moment in an ancient process of death, decay, and rebirth. A minor miracle. A wild moment of imaginative connection that, for me, transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The pano crop was an afterthought. Last spring I started shooting "macro panoramas" - consciously - applying a format usually reserved for landscapes to other subjects. Why not? The standard 2:3 ratio is just fine as a default, but there's no reason we can't push the boundaries of conventionality when other options arise. A panorama seemed just right for this shot.
I added a 1.7x teleconverter to the 105mm macro lens for this, allowing me a little more working distance from my subject. It also meant I didn't have to lean over as far to frame the shot - my back isn't what it used to be, and the less strain I put on it, the better. These roadside ditches are less fascinating if you fall face first into one.
Photographed in Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
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