Crystal Grottos

Not exactly the hall of the Mountain King. These are miniature grottos of ice crystals from this morning's (very) sharp frost. Probably the last chance before the weather warms up for Christmas. All taken with K3 + Irix 150mm macro and all are focus stacks.

Thoughts, comments etc. welcome as usual.

1.



2.



3.



4.



The crystals are all on the leaves of my favourite icy plants, sempervivums . All are crops from the following originals:

5.Sempervivum 'Pacific Purple Shadows'



6. Sempervivum 'Raven Heart'



7. Sempervivum 'Raven Heart'



Steve

Excellent selection Steve - like them all but no.4 has the edge with the lovely green colouring

There really is something about images of ice, isn't there? However, #5 has the edge for me.

It's great fun doing these and you got some great ice/colour effects from them. Another place to look is on your car. Lots of edges where everything stands up and contrasts can be had.

Very nice, you can imagine you're looking down at a frozen pine forest.

Cheers
Mike

Thanks folks.

Sharp frosts aren't common in my bit of the deep south and frosts with juicy ice crystals are even rarer, particularly with bright sun for added sparkle. So I don't expect to be able to take any more photos like this for quite a while.

More like dirt crystals on my car!

Steve

Fascinating and well-captured. And yes, no.4 is a stand-out for me too.

No.4 for me also, I think it's because it has a more abstract look to it compared to the others.