South African Flowers Frozen into Fleeting Arrangements

South African photographers Bruce Boyd and Tharien Smith have spent the last two years photographing clusters of brightly colored flowers trapped in blocks of ice. The temporary sculptures are captured underwater, where the ice begins to crack and add further dimension to the floral compositions.

Flowers are sourced from Cape Town’s gardens, hedges, and trees, which are then placed in plastic containers and frozen for three nights. At dawn, Boyd and Smith take the capsules to the nearest stream or pool to begin their photoshoot. “Very few of the frozen arrangements come out perfectly,” explains Boyd to Colossal. “Mostly bubbles form that obscure the flowers, or the flowers drift from their set positions. We have learned to accept the imperfections, and even make it part of our work.”

You can see more of their arrangements on their project website Zero Degrees, in addition to Facebook, and Instagram. Boyd and Smith also offer fine art prints of their frozen flowers. (via Colossal Submissions)