In the mid 1970s, I was a student at The Rochester Institute of Technology. In the winter on either Saturday and Sunday I'd get up at 5AM and have a hearty steak and eggs breakfast. Pack up a simple lunch, large thermos of hot coffee, and a high calorie snack. High Bean's waterproof boots, double wool socks, and layered clothing. 8x10 B&J Commercial view camera with my only 8x10 lens at the time (12" Wollensack f/4.5 Velostigmat in Betax), two loaded film holders, meter, etc. All went inside a Government surplus backpack on a frame. Wooden B&J tripod carried over the shoulder or used it's spiked feet when walking on the frozen over stream. Get inside the VW Beetle and head out for one of the frozen over streams on one of the gorges in the Finger Lakes region. Hiked in usually around 9AM and hiked out hopefully before sunset. Lake effect snow in the afternoon was a given. Got back to the student's apartment complex well after dark. Fell through the ice every now and then but fortunately never into more than waist deep water. One time descending a frozen over probably 20 foot waterfall, stared into the water running behind a clear window of ice. If the ice gave way, I most certainly would have gone under the ice and eventually under the ice of one of the finger lakes.
Two 8x10 images attached
Now to the present... Nowhere near as fit as I was 45 years ago. Shot ULF in the winter up to about 10 years ago, then switched to LF. A few years ago I decided that winter hiking with either a Pentax 67 and maybe three lenses (45mm, 55mm, and 100mm macro) or a Noblex PRO 6/150UX with its slow exposure module in a small backpack was the way to go. Most of the time just the 67 camera with its 100mm macro lens. I usually use a monopod which doubles as a hiking stick. Spike on the bottom helps walking over icy patches. Nice thing about the Pentax 67 is that I can easily use it when it's snowing. One shot that keeps eluding me is when a stream ices over then the water level under the ice lowers and you can see the underside of the ice covering. I have come across this scene twice over the years but both times had on hiking shoes and not a pair of high boots which would enable me to stand in the water.
one CU of ice crystals attached
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