In Feb. 2012, strong Northeasterly winds, know as “bise”, blew down from the Western Swiss plateau to the basin of Lake Geneva. The wind reached force 6 with gusts of up to 80 km/h. Combined with air temperatures of -15 degree Celsius and the lake water close to freezing, the spray of the waves turned instantly into ice, before even hitting the shore or any object close by. Ice-covered cars parked near the waterfront quickly made headlines in the world press.
As the weather pattern persisted for almost 13 days, I was able to revisit the scene in the mornings on my way to work, which coincided with the magic light present just before sunrise. In the first two days, I merely explored the area, taking some images with the point-and-shoot. The winds made it impossible to set up a real camera, which would have transformed quickly into an ice sculpture itself. On the third attempt I was able to find some shelter, but had to go down on my knees to operate the large-format camera.