As I've already mentioned, Brittany isn't mainly known for its intense cold spells. Quite the opposite, in fact: our climate is temperate and humid, thanks to our proximity to the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. More often, storms make the headlines here. However, arctic air sometimes envelops us, dropping temperatures below 0°C for a day or two, 2 or 3 times a year. In the past, these freezing spells have lasted for more than a week, but this is truly exceptional.

On January 20, 2024, the elements had aligned to create the ideal conditions for frost to form. The frost would most certainly disappear during the day as soon as the sun would be high enough. That's why I chose a small valley 15 km south of Rennes: Le Boël. It's a special place in the sense that the Armorican massif that forms the region is very old and very eroded. The relief doesn't exceed 385m at Roc'h Ruz in Finistère, and steep-sided valleys like this one are few and fairly small. Le Boël covers just 3 hectares, but its cliffs exceed 80m in places. Nothing like the Grand Canyon, for sure! But it was enough to keep the night frost intact long after sunrise. Especially in winter, as the sun rises further south, only the west bank would be exposed to its rays, leaving the other, steeper bank in shadow for most of the morning.

I arrived before sunrise, not only for the first light but also to avoid running into too many people. I like people, but not in my nature photos. It was a Saturday, and I knew that from 10 a.m. onwards, the parking lot where I parked would be filled with walkers, joggers, and mountain bikers. The place is well known, and with these exceptional conditions, a cold and sunny Saturday morning, people would certainly come out to enjoy it.

This photo is one of the first I took when I arrived at the cliffs. The sun had just risen above the horizon, and a soft orange light tinted the landscape in front of me. This tall pine tree immediately caught my eye, and to isolate it in the landscape while giving it a bit of context, the 100mm seemed appropriate as it was about 200m from my position overlooking the parking lot where I'd left my car.

The air was so cold that I could linger long after sunrise, but after an hour, I had to face the facts: the frost was melting, so it was time to go further along the trail and find a promontory from which I could photograph the trees in the valley, which were still covered in frost.