It was the pattern on the ice of frozen Catfish Creek near Dubuque, Iowa that caught my attention. The little river joins the mighty Mississippi just around the bluff in the background. There is the pattern of randomly blown snow, crossed by the shadows of trees, and illuminated by the mirrored rocks on the blank ice. Nothing spectacular, but good enough to make my day.
The photo was made in Cerro Gordo, an old miners ghost town high up in the Inyo Mountains. Not unusual for the Sierra Nevada, the light was very bright, although the scene was in the shade. I knew I was not able to come back at a time with better light. Sometimes we have to take it the way it is and deal afterwards with it.
The original image looked kinda sterile but I really wanted a "warm rotten charm" look. Applying a warming filter with NIK Color Efex Pro 3.0 gave it the warm tone I was looking for. I like this software and the intuitive way it works.
