Frost: Photographs

Hans B. Neumann is a history lecturer at Scarborough College, University
of Toronto.

Before the television age, what child had not stood before a
frost-covered windowpane marvelling at the intricate and delicate
patterns of the frost on the glass? And what viewers of the immensely
popular film Dr. Zhivago do not vividly remember the winter-transformed
“ice castle,” with its frosted windowpanes? For people who delight
in the designs and patterns of nature, and whose imaginations are
triggered by such scenes, this book of frost photographs will be a
unique pleasure.

Allen taught art and design for 37 years at the University of Manitoba.
She retired in 1971, and has since become an accomplished photographer.
This book, a collection of 59 color photographs of frost patterns on
windowpanes, reveals her photographic skill. The almost uniformly lovely
photographs leap at the viewer in burnished patinas of gold and silver.
The pictures are all untitled—an invitation to viewers to use their
creative imaginations and make these photographs their own. Brief
comments by the author/photographer are scattered among the photographs:
all offer insights into her approach to photography.

We may grumble about our long Canadian winters, but this book offers
ample compensation to those who appreciate the delicate and fragile
beauty of frost patterns on glass.