I remember the last time I was tempted.
It must have been spring since there were icicles hanging around the garage in the back yard. That made it a fun place to play as a boy.
There was also a frozen metal pipe. Despite being young, I had enough first-hand experience to understand the danger. Yet despite this valuable knowledge, my tongue was still achingly drawn it. To this day, I don’t understand the attraction.
Before I knew it, the horrible deed was done. My tongue was freshly stuck to the metal pipe. How could this terrible thing happen again?
The unbelievably massive icicles in the attached photos couldn’t possible bear any comparisons to that fateful day … except there was an accompanying temptation.
The icicles hung deep into a steep canyon. By climbing part way down the easier incline on the opposite side, I was able to get a much better view. Still, so much of the icicles were hidden by the rocks beneath me. As I inched closer to the edge of the cliff, I realized each step made the photo so much more impressive.
Once again I had the feeling of being achingly drawn closer. Despite an impulse to ignore the free advice I was receiving from an unnamed source, I stopped while it was still safe.
Temptation averted … this time.
Krahnpix 
These are just gorgeous. With us getting a real taste of winter in the states I have been seeing lots of amazing ice photos. I get too cold even thinking about it to get out there and shoot them, but I love the photos and their bravery to hike into the storm to get them. The blue color on these is really something special!
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The added beauty of these is that lasted clear into May so absolutely no bravery required to take them. I imagine the extra winter weather has created some novel scenes for people who typically don’t get what I call winter.
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I feel this was out of your usual awesome animal photos! But these are just as amazing because you captured that amazing bluish color that ice gets!!!! Love it!
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I do like to mix it up once in a while to keep people guessing. I like that bluish tinge as well – adds that little extra touch. Glad you enjoyed this batch.
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Reblogged this on Floyd, Times Are Changin.
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Thanks.
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Interesting ice formations. I’d want to walk around and take a closer look at all angles. But, yeah, the tongue. LMAO as it reminded me of something similar. My reasoning to try was “if I do it quickly it will be ok”. Not!
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I wish I could say I hadn’t tried the do it quick logic as well. That weird attraction was just too powerful to resist.
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Wow, you actually made my tongue hurt…memories of a Canadian childhood.
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Another member of the Canadian club! Memories are powerful.
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Wow that’s amazing! Looks cold too. Yikes!
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Thanks. The funny thing is that it was a warm May day in Yellowstone.
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These are simply beautiful shots. Those commenting before me have said it all!
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I’m happy to hear you enjoyed them.
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Ok, the pictures are very beautiful, but what I’m most interested in is the story of your tongue stuck to the metal pipe. What possessed you to do that and how did you get set free?
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I wish I had a better answer for why it happened but all I can say is that it seemed irresistible just because it was there. Kids don’t always have the logic fine-tuned. Panic, adrenaline and some serious pulling managed to set it free. There’s a last time for everything.
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Panic, pulling and adrenaline. That sounds like how I’ve gotten out of many jams also.
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Amazing photos! This is a frozen waterfall?
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Thanks. Since it was completely frozen and some distance away, it was hard to tell exactly what it might look like in summer. I suspected it was slow running running water that kept adding to the ice.
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I’ve never seen anything like this! Awesome shot 🙂
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Thanks. It was one of those wonderful surprising discoveries.
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Oh yes, the temptation…we all did it ! Wonderful photos Lyle, these are amazing icicles, they’re huge !
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It turns out we can only focus on one thing at a time and often that means the photo. So it’s best to figure out the safety stuff before that. I really enjoyed viewing and photographing that wonderful place.
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Spectacular, I envy you as I saw 1% of this beauty in Romania and I got upset…the window of the train was too dirty and the train too fast to have a capture, but thank you for these.
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And thank you for commenting. It was spectacular.
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What an incredible sight! Where was the photo taken? The though of rushing water toppling over the edge and freezing in place is pretty mind boggling to this warm weather Texan.
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It really was incredible. The photo was taken in Yellowstone National Park in May. I don’t know exactly what happened here but often a surprisingly small amount of water flow can create large icicles because it keeps running over the edge, freezing and making it larger. I can see where all of this ice talk is quite foreign to a Texan.
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I thought it might be Yellowstone. In May! It’s usually already in the 90’s by then here in TX. Or 100’s even.
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Remind me not to visit Texas then – that’s way too hot for me.
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what to say – some sight
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It really was
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Holy Wow. That is one big sheet of ice. Fantastic capture, Lyle.
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There is a special kind of joy in turning the corner and finding a view like that which is followed by the pure pleasure of making an image that captures the moment. Glad you liked it.
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Achingly awesome!!! Your temptation (to get the best shots) certainly pays off for us!!! Bu,t be safe!!! Ha!
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Now there’s a good turn of phrase. Thanks. Safety is all about measuring risks and rewards – I’m completely comfortable with the balance I’ve found but then it’s entirely possible it was completely different when I was 20.
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The rewards for us are great!! What happens when that giant icicle thaws?!?! Stay out of it’s way!!
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That could be interesting unless you were below it.
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Yikes!!! Photograph grass growing, or something…just for a change of pace from the ultra-dangerous shots!!!
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Absolutely beautiful! I can relate to the temptation. In my younger days I didn’t always heed to common sense and I almost lost my camera to a waterfall. I was with a co-worker on day and during a break found a small waterfall that I wanted to shoot – from the bottom. The only way was to climb down a rock face which I did without incident. On the way back up I saw a great shot, pulled the camera to my eye with one hand but the strap was caught under the camera bag strap. I pulled and one end of the strap broke, the hand holding the camera extended to my left and the camera was now over the water about 20 feet up. Luckily I had a “kung fu grip” on the camera and it wasn’t lost – neither was the lesson.
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That’s a great story – glad it had a happy ending for you and your camera. Hopefully you got the shot. When one’s focus is on the shot, it’s easy to lose track of what’s happening around you.
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Awesome – beauty.
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It really was beautiful. I think if could have been much better if I could have found a better angle.
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What a sight to see! I can understand why it would be hard not to get closer. My advice, in addition to staying warm, stay safe. Photography can be dangerous work!
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It can be dangerous but like most things in life a little common sense goes a long way for keeping warm and safe.
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Indeed, incredible. That must have been a very cold day. Yesterday it was -2 degrees C in the morning and it did not get above 3 C and I thought it was a very cold day…
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The funny thing is I took the photo last May in Yellowstone National Park. I don’t recall the exact temperature but it was a beautiful day and I don’t think we were wearing jackets. It was a lot colder at home this past week -30C with a windchill around -50C. Cold is definitely relative.
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Massive icicles are cool. This would be an excellent application for a quadcopter + gopro 🙂 Explore (safely) to your heart’s content.
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I love that idea! It would also give me the fun of playing with a really cool toy. I imagine they would be fairly cheap …
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Just under $500 for the quadcopter. Would be fun.
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Hmm. Cheaper than I thot.
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+$300 for the gopro unless you already have one; then you are all set.
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WOW! This is great photograph…. I couldn’t have imagined…. so beautiful. Thank you, love, nia
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You raise a good point about not imagining something like this. I think truth is often stranger than fiction … and more beautiful than you could imagine. Glad you enjoyed it.
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Mike thought of Odysseus, I thought of the kid in the movie, ‘The Christmas Story’. The triple-dog-dare-you scene. Glad you decided to play it safe at the waterfall, however.
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Another good one. We always had this rule for me and the kids that we wouldn’t take risks where we could die. Get hurt yes but not die. I felt perfectly safe all the time which hasn’t always been true.
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The sheer mass of all of that water, frozen in place as it fell, is impressive and alluring–it’s easy to see the attraction. It reminds me of the Siren’s song of Greek mythology, the beautiful women whose songs caused so many sailors to shipwreck on the rocky shores of their island. Like Odysseus, you may have to tie yourself to something to resist the temptation to get even closer to the beauty of the falls. Your photos are amazing, though they make me shiver.
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Alluring is a great word. I love all the comparisons you drawn on – I didn’t think Odysseus and I had anything in common! I should have tied myself to something which would have allowed me get closer to the edge and see more of it.
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Yes, this is just a big wow:)
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I could hardly believe it when I saw it. I think the best part was that is was so wide.
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fantastic!
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Glad you liked it.
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awesome image
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Thanks so much.
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Well done on resisting the temptation and on still capturing great images.
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The trouble is that you really never know where the end of safe is until you’ve gone too far. I like to think I have a balanced perspective on this but then I suppose everyone does.
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What a ‘water fall’, Lile. Or should I say ‘Ice fall’? Fantastic! We have them here also, but this was an impressive one. ANd besides – due to global warming we have still 5 -9 degrees C ( PLUS!) over large parts of our country. I hear the situation is quite different in the USA (and possibly Canada?) for the time being?
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I had also seen them before but this was easily the largest. Where we live it gets cold in January so this week was down around -30C. Given all the complaining you would think this never happens but it usually does. And then it gets warmer.
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Yes, WOW is about right – great pics!
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Thanks so much. We drove by there a number of times and thoroughly enjoyed the scene.
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Incredible,I have never seen anything like this.Amazing photos
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I don’t imagine you get a lot of ice scenes in your country! This was remarkable.
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No ice here at the moment they are frying eggs on shovels out west,extreme heat.
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That’s what I expected.
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Not much to say but “WOW”!!! It makes me feel even cozier here where the temperature is 48ºF (9ºC?) near midnight. More good advice: do try to stay warm.
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Glad you liked that scene. While the ice was cold the day I took them in Yellowstone was reasonably warm. Unlike the temperatures here this week which were down around -30 (where the differences between C and F aren’t too large anymore). And yes I do stay warm and we always survive and then after everyone complains a lot, it gets warmer.
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