After the Freeze: Black and White Frost Patterns on Connecticut Flowers
This is my entry for the #monomad challenge
Three days before Portugal. Two days before I leave for Cambodia after that. And this morning, Connecticut delivered its first frost of the season.
Yesterday, I wrote about flowers blooming defiantly before the freeze warning. Today? I grabbed my coffee and headed out to see what survived.
The Morning After
I've been home the whole summer this year—arriving early spring, staying through leaf changes and flower blooms, right up to the beginning of frost season. That's longer than I've been in one place for years. Getting to witness the full cycle from spring awakening through first frost feels like closing a chapter before the next adventure begins.
The frost wasn't heavy. First freeze of the season rarely is. But it was enough—tiny ice crystals coating leaves, petals, and stems. The flowers I photographed yesterday looked different this morning. Not dead, exactly. More like sleeping. Wilted but not finished. Some might recover when the sun warms them. Others won't.
I shot these with my Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and processed them in Luminar Neo to achieve the black-and-white effect. The monochromatic treatment felt right for this subject: frost patterns, dormant flowers, and the stark reality of seasonal change.
Why Black and White?
There's something about black and white images that hits differently. Color photography captures reality. Black and white captures mood, texture, form. The ice crystals were tiny—first frost always is—which made getting close and finding high contrast compositions essential.
I tried to shoot with black and white in mind, looking for strong contrasts even while viewing in color through the phone screen. High contrast subjects work best for monochrome conversion—the ice against dark leaves, frost-covered petals against shadowed backgrounds, the texture of frozen plant matter.
The early morning sun helped. That low-angle light creates strong shadows and highlights, perfect for black and white work. Color photos of the same scenes looked fine, but the black and white versions carried more weight, more presence.
Capturing Frost Patterns
The ice crystals weren't dramatic. First freeze rarely produces the elaborate frost patterns you see in deep winter. But they were there—delicate coating on leaves, subtle texture on petals, tiny frozen droplets catching morning light.
Getting close revealed details the eye might miss. The way frost follows leaf veins. How it clings to petal edges differently than smooth surfaces. The texture difference between frozen and unfrozen plant matter.
Some flowers looked completely transformed. Others showed just hints of frost damage—wilted petals, darkened edges, the beginning of seasonal decline. All of it felt worth documenting, especially knowing I'm leaving in three days and won't see Connecticut winter this year.
The Cycle Continues
This is what the cycle looks like. Yesterday's defiant blooms becoming today's frost-covered specimens. Summer transitioning to fall, fall giving way to winter's first touch. The flowers that pushed out late-season color now paying the price for that defiance.
But they're not all gone. Some will recover. Others produced seeds before the freeze. The perennials will come back next spring. Nothing truly ends—it just transforms and cycles forward.
Shooting black and white felt appropriate for documenting this transformation. The absence of color strips away distraction, leaving only form, texture, and the stark beauty of frost meeting plant matter.
Technical Notes
Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Processing: Luminar Neo for black and white conversion
Time: Early morning, just after sunrise
Subject: First frost of the season on late-blooming Connecticut flowers
I'm still deciding whether I prefer Luminar Neo or Lightroom for post-processing. Both have strengths. Luminar offers faster workflow for certain tasks. Lightroom provides more granular control. For these frost shots, Luminar's black and white conversion tools worked well.
Note: If you want to try Luminar Neo yourself, you can get 30% off using my affiliate link. It's a solid post-processing app, though I'm still comparing it against Lightroom.
Three Days Until Departure
Tomorrow I'll be cutting out 150-year-old sewage pipes with a plumber. Saturday I'll be doing final trip prep. Sunday I fly to Portugal for the Fisherman's Trail, then onward to Cambodia.
This morning, I stood in my folks' yard with coffee, photographing frost patterns on flowers that were blooming yesterday. It's a good last memory of Connecticut fall before heading into months of international travel.
The cycle continues. Blooming and fading. Freezing and thawing. Staying and leaving. Three days left, and I'm spending them documenting seasonal transitions and replacing century-old plumbing.
Exactly how it should be.
What's your favorite image from this set? Do you prefer organic shapes like these, or would you like to see more human elements in monochrome photography? Let me know in the comments.
Books by Tim Mack
The Last Train: 46 Days with the Final Ringling Brothers Circus
In April 2017, I left my Atlanta circus company to join the final tour of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus—"The Greatest Show on Earth" closing after 146 years.
The Last Train captures the last 46 days of an American institution from inside the legendary mile-long train. Experience the brutal 12-hour setups, the international community of 300 performers from over 30 countries, and the bittersweet reality of giving everything to something that's ending.
Paperback – August 23, 2025
The Secret to 7-Figure Living: How to Open Your Life to Boundless Joy, Prosperity, and Freedom
This book redefines prosperity and success beyond superficial wealth, instead measured by intentional cultivation of creativity, adventure, strong relationships, and purpose.
Paperback – February 12, 2024
Continue following the journey at RoamingSparrow.com - where adventure meets authentic storytelling.
Contest Entry Information
Challenge: #monomad
Community: Black And White Community
Photography: All images shot by Tim Mack
Processing: Black and white conversion in Luminar Neo
Subject: First frost of the season, Connecticut flowers