Ice Palace
Updated: Jan 21, 2019
I promised myself that this year, I'll try to be more adventurous. Well... not really. But maybe just try to be more "out there". I know, it just sounds like one of those New Year Resolutions, but I thought it was a good start. It might not last the whole year, but at least I'd enjoy some (if not all of them), and that would make me come back more to do more activities.
I started with our college's Outdoor Resource Activities. I bought tickets for things I think would otherwise be uncomfortable for me, or new to me.
So there was a ticket for a Sleigh Ride and Smores activity. I didn't want to go alone, so I invited my friend Levi Stum, so sorry in advance if you've seen him a lot recently. Of course, I didn't leave with my camera.
The location was called Labelle Lake. I've never heard it, but seeing pictures of it, I was very interested in coming. I almost chickened out, but I ended up getting the strength to go. It was very cold. Well, it's not even really that cold (compared to a normal Rexburg winter), but being outside for quite some time did a no-no on my fingertips and toes.
It was definitely a cool place, and I was glad I came. They had a show every 30 or so minutes, and we got to see some of them. It's a fire show so it was a nice addition to the coldness of the place.
Side note: The performer has a joke that he tells every time he begins his act. He would say "What's the difference between a pizza and a fire performer? The pizza can feed a family!"
I don't have a lot of night photography experience. I would love to, but I'm not really confident taking them. I guess at least not yet. I still tried though! After all, one of the purposes of The Chroma Venture is to show my progression of learning.
The coldness didn't help my fingers adjust shutters and whatnot. Also, I probably have to invest in a faster memory card. The RAWS are so big (at least on my camera since there's an option to use compressed RAW or uncompressed RAW, and I chose the uncompressed RAW, which makes it even bigger), that the memory card is having troubles keeping up writing. So definitely learned from that.
I did try to play with shutter speed. My brother is good at it, but I'm not (the actual photographer brother I mentioned before). It's not the best, but it's definitely something I would love to dabble in later on:
One of the troubles I've had with night photography is I'm very inexperienced with exposures and what not— well especially that during the event, I had to move around fast, so I didn't really got a lot of time. If I have more time and exposure time, I may have had a better chance at shooting. For example:
I wish I could've exposed the picture more to let in more light on his face. I kinda wish I have an outdoor strobe with a diffuser and what not, but that's just very not courteous to the others in line of course. I didn't include this in the gallery. I wasn't proud of it. But learning is great. Plus, we made a new friend:
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Later on, we got into the sleigh ride. We got separated from our group, so we got in late. I wish I could've got pictures of the sleigh ride itself, but it was a bumpy forest-y area. Also, it's one of those things that I felt I'd rather experience than take photos of which I'm still looking to find a good balance. Sometimes, I really want to take pictures and preserve it, sometimes, I just like feeling it.
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We landed on the other side of the location. The lake is frozen, which they turned into a sledding location. They have a cabin and it looked very nice. They even have this patio / tower thingy that seemed like a good place to propose honestly (not that I have ideas or what not). I did check the place later on the internet and I was right about it. Here's another picture I wish I could've had more time. It was okay I think, I just thought I can make it have less grain (though, it does give it that "effect" some people like):
My friend Levi is into Macros and what not. I've never really been into it since I feel like some people just take some pictures of inanimate objects just cause it's "artistic", but I tried some. The first one is his, and my attempt at the post light was mine:
Sometimes people don't like unfocused pictures, but sometimes, I quite like them. It makes me feel like times where I don't have my glasses, but sometimes, I take off my glasses just to see the lights flare and nothing else. It's kind of weird. So I indulged into taking one:
There was more to do, or pictures to take of the place. But like I said earlier, I just enjoyed it. After all, that was the whole purpose of the trip. I tried breathing in what I can.
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Later on, we went back to the ice palace:
There was another fire performer. I tried to put on my tripod but my hand were too cold and numb to put it on. So I just tried my best. He has this joke that everything is better if you named it "of Doom", so that's what he calls his torches and his act. Even went to saying that even "puppies... OF DOOM" sounds cooler. This was him explaining it:
Later on, he performed a fire breathing act (which I didn't know was actually really one of the most dangerous fire acts you can do despite looking easy AND impressive):
The other performer also came back and did another round of performance. He had sparkling fire this time, which I was kinda sad I didn't got to capture. Most of the time, I just watched too, so it was worth it:
We went back to the Ice Palace one last time.
Tried to take some "artistic" shots:
And some shots of the actual place:
One thing I definitely enjoyed doing was silhouettes. I was thinking, since I'm having a hard time with lighting anyway, I can just adapt! And since I haven't really done a lot of silhouettes (than most), I might as well as add some more. This is honestly one of my favourite shots here:
I actually tried to do the shot again but with more light, but I kinda like the one with less light on the subject. It made it more ominous in my opinion.
To end this blog post, I am gonna end with this thought:
I was gonna end the post with this picture cause I don't really like looking at my face, or be seen, or be looked at by others. I have a low confidence when it comes with myself. So I was just gonna end with this—
But I got my friend Levi to take pictures of me. I don't look perfect, or like a model. I just look like an average person. A person with messy hair, dry lips from the coldness, and not quite there.
But sometimes, I guess you just have to appreciate that you're still walking in life. Even though you've seen nothing but snow, ice, and blizzards in your life.
Sometimes, life winters have it's moments.
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Fin.