A look back at the magnificent Icelandic horse, which is deeply interconnected with Iceland’s landscapes and culture.
As I’m going through my portfolio, I encountered another great memory from the August 2022 photo trip to Iceland. With all the stunning landscapes, waterfalls, glaciers, geysers, it’s easy to overlook this unique contribution to the world of equines.
The Icelandic horse is rather unique and photogenic…
Beauty in the EyeThis horse is truly connected with the rugged land and its people.
For an even more complete look at his wonderful creature, check my original post on the Icelandic Horse.
An impromptu iPhone image at the Vatnajökull glacier, highlighting a striking contrast of colors against a muddy meltwater pond.
This week I am going for an image that I shot during a 2022 photography trip to Iceland. We were shooting in somewhat challenging conditions, due to wind and rain; also the light wasn’t great, but the scenery was still stunning! As we had been photographing the Vatnajökull glacier for a while, I packed up my camera and tripod before the trek back to the van.
Taking back a different route, I looked back and saw this scene…
As I didn’t feel like setting up for another shot, I took a couple of snaps with my iPhone, the last of which resulted in the above image. There is just enough color to provide some contrast with the murky, muddy meltwater pond.
It just goes to show that sometimes, we just have to get lucky!
Another image from Diamond Beach in Iceland, where ice and sand juxtapose.
In last week’s post about Diamond Beach (Diamond Beach Abstract), I spoke of the impact of the seasons on the display of rough diamonds. There may not be a lot of opportunities in Winter to get the sun glistening through the ice. That does open up the possibility of a different mood presented in each image. During my visit in February of 2024, there was beautiful subdued lighting on the beach.
Here’s another image from that day…
Even with muted sunlight, this large diamond has an internal glisten to it. As it stands against the black sands of the beach, it shows Nature’s presence. Albeit it a small piece of the glacier, the ice is filled with beauty.
In particular, I find the structure and contrast between ice and sand fascinating. The experience in Winter is worth it, especially as there are few, if any, distractions!
Iceland’s Diamond Beach is renowned for its stunning ice formations. Winter’s weather conditions provide for a different, more subdued expression.
Iceland’s Diamond Beach (Breiðamerkursandur) is a truly photogenic location, well known for its glistening ice. Segments of ice break off from Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon and wash back ashore, creating a photographer’s dreamscape! Of course, the conditions have to be right for this. During the Summer season, there will be plenty of ice escaping from the glacier, but Winter is a different story.
In February of 2024, I visited that area for some different exploration…
With an overcast sky, my objective became to create some different images from the stunning, sparkly photographs of Summer. Among some of the spectacular ice formations, I found this understated little sculpt. The combination of the black sand and its scratched translucence provides a sense of modern, abstract sculpture.
There are more impressive ice structures that I photographed on that day, but this one still speaks to me. Of course, it speaks with a soft, subtle voice of beauty that ones was…
We take a look at the practice of packing herring in salt for preservation.
In last week’s post titled Texture for Sunday, the focus was on some of the extreme aging that can be affected by weather conditions. As I continue to explore this theme, today’s image is more about the contrast between textures…
This image is from the same visit to the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjördur, Iceland, as last week’s entry. This is a little detail about the packing of the freshly caught herring in salt to preserve it for the long months when there might be no catch, or for transportation to far away Europe and America.
I wanted to get a bit of the sense that someone might come back from their break any moment to pick up the shovel and get to work on their hard day’s labor.
In Siglufjördur, Iceland, we witness the enduring nature of windows amid ferocious weather.
This week finds us about as far to the East as we were to the West in last week’s Wednesday Window. We’re going from Grafton, Utah, to Siglufjördur, Iceland.
The elements are ferocious in both locations and the years of weather can definitely show their impact and reduce the functionality of the window…
Here the window tells us about the history of the building and how it has bravely battled the elements for many years in an attempt to protect those who brought in the bounty of the ocean; this window is part of a barn at the Herring Era Museum complex in Siglufjördur in the north of Iceland. It is interesting to get a sense of what life was like for the men, women and children who made up this community; life wasn’t easy during the herring fishing times and everyone in Siglufjördur contributed.
For more fun with windows, please check out the Monday Window blog!
Themes are emerging in my search for a coherent portfolio. Here we visit Holavallagardur in Reykjavik to explore one theme.
I definitely feel that I’m making progress in bringing more organization to my portfolio, as categories are defining themselves and themes are emerging.
The emerging themes are not a complete surprise, as I know of my predilection towards images that give a sense of lonely struggle with a bit hope of beating the odds and elements. While this is a bit broad brush, my favorite landscape images are not those that portray a beauty, but rather those rugged ones where you can see yourself persevering.
In a more urban setting this often translates to a draw towards cemeteries…
This image is from the new graveyard in Reykjavik, Hólavallagarður; new, as it was established in 1838, as the one that had been used since Viking times didn’t serve the needs of the growing city.
For me a walk through a cemetery is restful and provides a sense of connection with those who have gone before; older cemeteries are my preference due to their portrayal of the history of the area and giving some idea of how people approached both life and death. Memento mori is a great reminder to all of us.
When I saw the lantern hanging above the grave, it provided me with the idea of lighting the way to the great beyond, which is a theme throughout millennia of civilizations. The Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Bardo Thodol in Buddhism and crossing the Styx in Greek mythology are examples that spring to mind. We, the living, want to make sure that the dead find their way to a good place in the great hereafter.
Texture conveys a sense of history and age, such as the side of a weathered barn in Siglufjördur.
In my journey through all my images there are a set of themes emerging; one of these is that textured play an appreciable role in my photography, especially those that give a sense of history and age.
Today’s addition to a more (aka semi) permanent position in the portfolio is an example of this bent in my images…
The climate in Iceland is not for the faint of heart or those among us who might prefer clear blue skies and poolside weather. There is plenty of rain, snow, ice, wind mixed in with a bit of salt when anywhere near the ocean that surrounds this lovely island. These elemental forces will take it out on anything they encounter, and the side of this barn shows the scars from this epic battle between weather and wood!
This capture is of one of the buildings of the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjördur in the northern area of Iceland. This great little fishing town had its heyday during the era when herring fishing was plentiful and driving its economy. Nowadays it’s a lovely, quiet town with a population of around 1200. For those among you who enjoy a good read, Siglufjördur is the setting for Ragnar Jónasson’s detective series entitled Dark Iceland.
A step back in time to 2015, when I visited the magnificent Godafoss on a sunny day.
Thus far, I have visited Iceland three times (I’m not counting the short times at Keflavik airport when I had a connecting flight there), and I am confident that there will be more visits in the future. Iceland is simply a photography paradise with so much to offer that I cannot see myself ever getting to the point where I will experience a lack of subject matter there.
Today’s image is from my trip there in 2015, when I spent a short number of days in the Akureyri area and thoroughly enjoyed the beauty that the landscape offered…
One of the mighty waterfalls in Iceland is Godafoss; this waterfall of the chieftain is not the largest or tallest, but does present a truly impressive sight when one clambers down to the side of the river to observe it up close. On this occasion I was lucky enough to catch the falls on a sunny day to create this spectacular vista.
The challenge and joy of pulling together a portfolio. The memories of the circumstances are relived in this process.
As I have started in earnest to begin to pull together a more comprehensive portfolio, I’m also beginning to realize how monumental a task this may be. There are just a lot of images to go through and I really want to do a solid job gathering all that might come into play.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that it’s an unpleasant task, as part of the fun is looking at older shots and remembering things about the time and situation. Among these, this is one…
As there might be an opportunity to capture the Aurora Borealis while we were in Vik, a bit of location scouting was needed. Part of my thoughts about shooting the Northern Lights was that there should be a certain amount of interesting landscape silhouetted with the sky’s light display. Plus we should be far enough from any town to reduce light pollution.
This field became the location for our Aurora shoot a couple of days later (cf. A Return to Iceland post). It helped that there was good access by road and far enough away from a main road, and the experience was amazing!
A note about the process I am using to organize my portfolio; Lightroom is my tool of choice, as it enables me to quickly go through images. If I see an image that I want to take a closer look at later, I give it a rating of 1 star. On a second, slower pass I take the time to decide whether this image actually speaks to me, in which case I upgrade its rating. Sometimes this does mean that I will take a quick dive into processing the image to get some idea of what the end result might be.
There will be more on progress!