Five degrees below zero

This year's coldest day of the year (so far)

I’m sure some people think I’m crazy for going out when the temperature is below zero. But here’s why I do it:

Isn’t that amazing? The center area, where it is smooth, is actually iced over. It is near enough to the shore and the 100-foot bluffs to be protected. Father from shore, the wind breaks up the ice. Then, close to the beach, the waves become more pronounced and also break up the ice.

And farther out, the water is exposed to the colder air, where it creates the steam, or “sea smoke.” Farther out is actual cloud cover.

By the time I got there, the sun had crested the horizon, but hadn’t really started to backlight the clouds. After a short while, it got high enough to light up all the sea smoke. In the image just above, there are some birds on the ice on the far right, lower middle. In case you’re looking for some sense of scale.

Interestingly, the waves reflect off the ice shelf where they curve and cross with the incoming waves. It makes for a chaotic if relaxed surf.

Here’s another look at the waves…

The temp was -5°F, which isn’t too bad, except it was windy. My hands were cold because my gloves aren’t the best, but while I was shooting I felt fine. But the walk back to the car, into the wind, was brutal.

Next is one from the night before. It was about half an hour after sunset, and my car said the temperature was 3°F.

Here’s one from shortly after dawn several days prior. I think it was 13°F. I usually look up the names of the ships I see, but I didn’t have enough time before work.

As I said, it was pretty brutal out there, and I’m not sure I can improve on these, so I think I’m done with this for the year. Although… if we have another cold snap, but with crazy waves making crazy ice on the beach, I’ll be back out there. Not sure about dawn, though.