How do you tell the real cold has arrived? Rivers freeze over.
Humber River freezes by Old Mill, typically by mid January. The ravine transforms into a giant ice tub. Rushing water is replaced by icy stillness. Trails are closed and covered, blended into a continuous surface of white quiet. Somewhere underneath that thick ice, the river still flows.
January of 2019 was particularly cold – producing a massive ice harvest. This is how we can always walk on water in this country – mere mortals braving the deep cold of dark January. Canadian Winter – the season that tests us all. With its harshness and length.
Persevering through it, we first learn to tolerate, then embrace, and finally find joy in those dark and cold mornings. I guess you know you belong here once you find excitement in standing on the river ice surface in freezing cold and enjoying every second of it.
This particular roll of venerable HP5Plus did not quite capture what I hoped for, but definitely left me with a note, a memory, of images that are still left out there, on the ice covered Humber, that cold morning in January.
Medium: Ilford HP5Plus (120 format)
Gear: Mamiya 645 / Mamiya Sekor C 80mm 2.8