© Brad Mangas

One of the first winter type of shots I took this year. I guess if that’s not counting last January and February. It was the first weekend in December this year  and the weather was to get below freezing and I knew there would be an opportunity to find late fall mixing with early winter. I done a fair amount of driving around an area lake with heavy woodlands and nothing was really striking my fancy. I always drive past a spot on the way to the wooded area that is simply a roadside ditch with standing cottonwoods in it. It has always captured my attention due to the water that is usually standing around the cottonwood trunks. Lots of moss and algae form in the summertime. I had never stopped and checked it out closer but this particular morning the shallow standing water had frozen and I could see all the leaves captured in the icy grip.

After an hour or so of exploring this small area, maybe 30 yards long by 10 yards wide a few good compositions did appear.

I processed this intentionally trying to keep the ice darker to bring out the deep tones of the cottonwood leaves. I really seem to like the jagged edges of the layered leaves.