March 18 - Pure Beauty

Icy Pines

In the aftermath of a wicked Nor’easter, with 60 MPH winds and heavy freezing spray, the towering trees along the North Shore stood their ground, encased in thick layers of ice. Near Tettegouche State Park, the shoreline was transformed into a wonderland of lake-forged art.

March is a wild and stormy month — a battleground between winter and spring. Lake Superior magnifies the struggle with its wide-open waters and towering waves as opposing fronts collide for days at a time.

I rarely encounter a spectacle like this. It was worth crawling across the frozen crust to witness such grandeur. There is something about photographing a scene that makes you feel both very small and deeply blessed. That tension — humility and wonder — is the draw of the art.

“By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.” — Job 37:10

The pure beauty of this image was born from powerful, violent weather. Much like life, it is often the fiercest storms that shape us into something extraordinary — a masterpiece formed by the Master’s hand.