The Polar Vortex
My objective last Sunday morning was to photograph icicles. Not just any icicles; I was going for icicles on a Michigan lighthouse. And there were plenty of them because of the polar vortex.
According to the National Weather Service, “The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles. It ALWAYS exists near the poles but weakens in summer and strengthens in winter. The term ‘vortex’ refers to the counterclockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles.”
The polar vortex often expands in winter, sending cold air southward with the jet stream. The latest shift began last week sending dangerous, bitter cold into the north-central United States.
More Than One Color of Ice
Luckily, fellow photographer Scott Fuller was also interested in photographing lighthouses last Sunday. We arranged to meet at the St. Joseph, Michigan, North Pier Outer Lighthouse in the morning.
It was a frigid -12 degrees and sunny when I left Naperville. As I crossed into northwest Indiana near Lake Michigan, it warmed up to 9 degrees and the sky clouded over. Soon after that, lake effect snow started to fall. Road conditions deteriorated as the plows couldn’t keep up with the snowfall.
Slowing to 40mph, I noticed several cars in the ditch ahead. A few seconds later my car changed lanes without warning. I was on a patch of black ice.
In case you’re from California or Florida, black ice is a transparent glaze of ice on the road. All you can see is the black road surface beneath it. You only know it’s there when your car starts skidding.
The Shot
I was very awake when I arrived at St. Joe and met Scott. We got a few nice shots, but the light wasn’t great. We decided to backtrack to Michigan City and try a second lighthouse.
It was better there. Beams of light intermittently broke through the clouds providing much more visual interest. Despite a wind chill temperature of -5 degrees, we forced our numb fingers to work our cameras for about an hour and a half.
I liked this shot of the lighthouse framed by two capped 4-inch pipes on the left and a catwalk support on the right. The winds had covered them with frozen spray adding foreground interest and context to the lighthouse in the distance.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck