Photographing ice on trees can be a magical experience, capturing the delicate beauty of nature's icy touch. Here are some tips to help you get the best shots if you are lucky enough to experience an ice storm.

Timing:  The best time to photograph ice on trees is after an ice storm and the ice is still fresh and hasn't melted yet. This is typically around sunrise when temperatures are at their lowest. However, an ice store may only occur once every winter and sometimes the winter may come and go without an ice storm. We were lucky a couple of days ago the conditions were perfect and we got an ice storm. The best place in Canada is in Eastern Canada.

Location:  Look for areas with dense foliage or trees with lots of branches. The ice tends to accumulate more on surfaces that are not directly exposed to sunlight. You will have to get outdoors before the sun melts the ice.

Composition:  Pay attention to the composition of your shot. Experiment with different angles and perspectives to find the most visually appealing composition. Consider including elements such as branches, and the surrounding landscape to add depth and interest to your photos.

Lighting: Soft, diffused lighting works best for capturing the intricate details of ice on trees. Although overcast days or shaded areas can provide ideal lighting conditions by reducing harsh shadows and preventing overexposure. For the photos in this article, the sun was shining with a blue sky.

Close-up Shots:  Don't hesitate to get up close to your subject to capture the intricate patterns and textures of the ice. Use a macro lens or switch your camera to macro mode to capture fine details. In these photos, I used a Nikon 24 - 120mm lens on a Nikon D 850

Use a Tripod: I never used a tripod for the photos in this article. However, if you are likely to be shooting in low light conditions, using a tripod can help stabilize your camera and prevent blur caused by camera shake. This is especially important if you're using slower shutter speeds to capture more light. In this case, I used a shutter speed of 500sec and a f 16 f-stop at ISO set to auto.

Adjust Settings: Experiment with your camera settings to achieve the desired effect. Consider using a wide aperture (low f-stop) to create a shallow depth of field and blur the background, or a smaller aperture (higher f-stop) for greater depth of field and sharper focus throughout the image.

White Balance:  Ice can sometimes appear bluish in photos. I used Auto white balance and did a white balance correction in Lightroom.

Post-Processing: After capturing your photos, you can further enhance them using post-processing software like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop. Adjusting contrast, brightness, and sharpness can help bring out the details and make your icy images pop. For the photos in this article, I processed the photos using Lightroom.

Experiment:  Don't be afraid to experiment with different techniques and creative ideas. Ice on trees offers endless opportunities for artistic expression, so have fun exploring and capturing its beauty in your photographs.

An ice storm does not occur very often even in eastern Canada. There is no way to predict it you will just have to keep an eye out for the effects.