This image shows “a spectacular display of hoar frost over the Derwent Valley”. Our judging panel loved the colours and light in this photo, as well as the sense of layers provided by the rolling hills, the different types of trees and the thin layers of mist. As one judge put it: “The more you stare at it, the more you see.”
Photographer Andy Gray was especially pleased to have captured this image as he feels hoar frost has become rarer in the Peak District. In Old English, the word ‘hoar’ is related to old-age, and so this frost gets its name from its resemblance to white hair. Hoar frost differs from ground frost because it occurs when the surface is already below freezing. The water vapour immediately freezes on contact with the object rather than first condensing as liquid water and then freezing.
The image was taken during a period of high pressure which led to particularly cold weather. Within high pressure systems (or anticyclones), air is generally sinking which leads to cloudless skies. At night, the lack of clouds means that more heat is lost to space, rather than being reflected back to the Earth’s surface. Winter nights can become very cold, encouraging the formation of frost and mist which can last well after the sun has risen.
Photo location: Peak District, England, UK
Photographer based: England, UK
Camera: Sony A7R III, Sigma 100-400mm