This dataset includes high resolution orthophotographs of 21 lakes in the region of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. Aerial photographs were taken on October 8, 2014, three days after lake-ice formation. These photographs were used to identify open holes in lake ice that indicate the location of hotspot seeps associated with the releases of methane from thawing permafrost. Aerial photography can be used to measure changes in lake areas and to observe patterns in the formation of lake ice and other early winter lake conditions.