Colony’s Last Stand

Colony Glacier spends the summer shedding hunks of itself onto Lake George, in a nearly inaccessible basin about 45 miles east of Anchorage. The process can produce a vast conglomeration of icebergs and brash, with fluted shapes and eerie geometry. The sheer amount of ice makes framing a single iceberg a matter of luck and tenacity. We found this berg—with its distinctive arch and craggy rim—surrounded by a rare patch of mirror-smooth water. I had 10 to 15 seconds to capture this image before the wash from the helicopter churned up the lake. Notice the cracks in its melting ice—a sign that it could shatter apart at any moment. Everything about this image was morphing in real time. This ancient piece of Colony would be gone within days.