Ruohomaa venerated traditional skills and lifestyles. His study of ice fisherman provides a brief glimpse into a treasured cold weather pastime. These environmental portraits show the fishers and the private worlds of their ice shanties, which are sometimes luxurious enough to include bunks and small cookstoves. The photos were made in 1950, and also illustrate a distinct contrast with the methods ice fishers increasingly prefer in the 21st century, which emphasize sonic tracking of fish movement and staying mobile across the ice to follow them, and a reliance on gas-powered ice augers to open multiple holes.