Frozen floral photos Just add ice
Still-life specialist Mandy Disher shares how to create unique and beautiful f loral art by photographing f lowers encased in ice!
Using a macro lens can get you close to flowers to reveal their wonderful colours, enthralling textures
and tiny details. The process of freezing flowers is unpredictable, yet fascinating and surprising too – you never know where the bubble trails and wonderful icy patterns will develop in the block.
Flowers are diverse and they can respond differently to the freezing process due to their thickness or density. Some flowers are changed little by the ice, while the petals of delicate blooms may take on a wonderful transparency.
Just putting flowers into a tray of water and popping it into the freezer won’t work, as the flowers will float to the top and swirl around uncontrollably. So you need to anchor them into position. To do this I use a couple of freezing methods, both with good results.
The first method involves creating a frozen flower block in gradual stages. First, pour a little water into a freezer-proof container so the bottom is just covered, about 2mm deep. Freeze this first layer. Next, arrange your flowers and foliage facing down onto this sheet of ice. Once you’re happy with the composition, wet the flowers a little so that they stick to the ice – add a trickle of water but don’t fully submerge them. To make sure they adhere to the ice, freeze again. Then add around an inch of water and freeze one last time, giving you a block.
My second method is a little simpler, but offers less control over your flowers’ position. Take two same-sized plastic containers and place your flowers in one, then add around 1.5cm of water to cover the flowers. Next, place the second container inside the first, trapping the flowers under the water. Ideally there should be a gap of about 1cm between the two containers’ bases. Use a weight to keep the top container firmly pushed down in place. After freezing, remove the top container, add more water and freeze again to make a thicker block if needed.
With the frozen flower block formed, remove it from the container and photograph it in your preferred way. I like to backlight the blocks as I like a fresh, bright high-key feel.