Los Angeles-based experimental photographer Tristan Duke has developed an extraordinary artistic technique that combines photography with climate activism by sculpting functional camera lenses from glacial ice. His innovative approach creates dreamlike, abstract images while serving as a powerful metaphor for the urgent issue of melting glaciers caused by global warming.
Duke's inspiration came from an unexpected source – a Japanese ice press used by mixologists to shape ice into specific forms. After witnessing this tool in action, he immediately began designing and building his own custom ice presses specifically engineered for optical purposes. The resulting ice lenses are attached to a large tent that functions as a camera obscura, creating unique photographic effects as the lenses gradually melt during use.
Each ice lens possesses distinct characteristics based on the purity and structure of the ice from which it's carved. However, Duke explains that even a single lens continuously evolves during the shooting process. "As it melts, its focal length shifts, becoming more myopic, and new distortions begin to emerge," he notes. This constant change forces him to adapt quickly and improvise in the field, creating what he describes as "a collaboration with the elements and with the glacier itself."
Working in Arctic conditions presented unprecedented challenges for Duke's ambitious project. He constructed an enormous camera obscura tent and hung massive 42 x 100-inch paper negatives inside to capture the images. "Every day, I loaded nearly 200 pounds of equipment into a Zodiac, landed on the ice, hauled everything overland to a location, set up the tent, shaped the ice lens, hung the film – and all of that just to take a single shot," Duke recalls.
The technical requirements for ice lens photography proved surprisingly complex. The lenses must be in a state of active melting to function properly, as overly frozen lenses will frost up and become unusable. Duke initially worried that Arctic temperatures would be too cold for his concept to work, but a record heat wave during his visit provided the necessary conditions. In a profound irony, he acknowledges that "the project was made possible by global climate change." To encourage melting when needed, he would dip the ice lenses into salty seawater.
Duke later transported his ice lenses to dramatically different environments, including Colorado in the aftermath of the state's most destructive wildfire on record. During his documentation of the Marshall Fire's aftermath, he faced the hottest conditions he had ever encountered while working with ice lenses. "It was over 100 degrees, and inside the tent camera, it felt like an oven," he explains. "The lenses were melting so quickly, I could barely take a single shot before they disappeared."
The artist's work extends beyond Colorado to other climate-affected regions, including documenting the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in New Mexico and photographing solar installations at the Mojave Wind Farm in California. He has even captured a solar eclipse through a melting ice lens, creating strange optical aberrations that add to the surreal quality of his images.
Duke's motivation stems from his desire to create new perspectives on climate change that can reach people on an emotional level. "I've collaborated with many climate scientists on this project, and they all tell me the same thing: we know what's happening, the science is clear – but society isn't acting fast enough to make the necessary changes," he states. "This, I believe, is where art comes in. We urgently need new perspectives and new stories – ones that can shift how we see ourselves in relation to the world."
While Duke's work appears entirely novel, he has discovered historical precedents for ice lens technology. The earliest documented reference comes from Chinese alchemist Zhang Hua, who in 290 AD described using a ball of ice to focus sunlight and ignite tinder. Throughout history, ice lenses have been associated with creating fire, leading to fascinating symbolic connections between opposing elements.
For his various projects, Duke sources glacial ice locally whenever possible. However, he has also collaborated with the National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility, which provided him with sections of ice cores to shape into lenses. For fire-related documentation work, he often uses clear ice made from local water sources to emphasize connections between fire, drought, and declining water tables in the American West.
Looking toward the future, Duke plans to continue his ice lens photography with a new series focused on disappearing alpine glaciers, particularly those in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. He also harbors ambitions to work in Antarctica. Simultaneously, he's eager to expand into other experimental projects, including designing new cameras, creating optical installations, and developing what he calls "other devices of wonder."
Duke has recently published a book documenting his groundbreaking work titled "A Brief History of Ice Lenses, Tristan Duke: Glacial Optics" through Radius Books in Santa Fe. The publication serves as both an artistic portfolio and a documentary record of his innovative technique that transforms the urgent message of climate change into hauntingly beautiful visual art.
