Ice Formations

• Photographer
  Ryota Kajita
• Prizes
  Bronze in Editorial/Environmental

This series is ice formations on swamps, lakes and rivers in Alaska. Many of the formations are frozen bubbles of gases such as methane and CO2 trapped under ice. When water freezes, it turns into ice slowly from the surface and traps the gases. The bubbles and freezing temperatures create unique geometric patterns. The diameter of the ice formations in these photos range from 10 to 40 inches. Because methane gas is considered one of the fundamental causes of greenhouse effects, scientists in Alaska are researching these frozen bubbles in relation to the global climate change.

Ryota Kajita is originally from Japan, completed his MFA degree in photography at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, worked at the University of Alaska Museum of the North as a collection photographer, and taught at the Joshibi University of Art and Design in Japan. Education 2014 # MFA in Photography, University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA 1999 # BA in Library and Information Science, University of Library and Information Science (presently University of Tsukuba), Japan