Iceland
ICELAND!
In late October 2019 I visited Iceland with 3 men from the Hillsborough Digital Photographic Society.
We were in Iceland for 10 days (10/20 through 10/30/2019) and it was absolutely incredible. 10 days only touched the surface as this island is much bigger then it seems and yet we saw and photographed so much.
This themed wall section features 6 of the 118 images on this website's Iceland gallery and I also have a YouTube video/slideshow on Iceland that's 13:32 long with 5 songs accompanying the slides. Most people find the video very Zen. I hope you can enjoy it, too - especially on a big screen TV!
All 6 images on display are HD Matte Metal. This provides tremendous detail with ZERO reflections and minimal glare. This is, without question, THE superior way to enlarge and enjoy wall art.
The sizes on display were chosen for this solo exhibit. Keep in mind that any piece is available at any size or on any medium; but as displayed they will make a bold statement wherever displayed in your home or office.
'Iceberg in Jokulsarion Lagoon'.
This tall, blue, pyramid iceberg is one of hundreds of icebergs recently calved off the Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier in this almost 7 square mile lagoon - before they float out to the North Sea. It's incredible seeing this for the first time.
We visited this lagoon 3 times in the 10 days we were in Iceland because the photographic compositions were almost limitless. Each time we were there, the icebergs changed - they moved, they became smaller, and some just disappeared altogether as they floated out to sea. It was an amazing thing to see. This iceberg captured my attention more than any of the others. This is a unique image no one else will ever have because this iceberg changed constantly.
And it really was this blue. Why is the iceberg blue? The long wavelengths of light from the sun (the reds) are absorbed by the ice while the blue light is reflected into light we can see. This is especially true with ice that's been under tremendous pressure for hundreds of years! So this iceberg was buried within the glacier for hundreds, if not thousands of years. It's kind of tough to grasp this while looking at it's intense beauty.
This is on display as a 36" x 24" HD Matte Metal for $765.00. This has to be seen in person as the details in this piece are really incredible - almost 3D details! And there are ZERO reflections!
Only our HD Matte Metal provides these key advantages over matted and framed artwork or gloss metal or acrylic. And this solution provides twice the resolution versus Canvas. This is without question the best way to create wall art.
'Fire and Ice'
Many of the icebergs washed out into the North Sea from the Jokulsarion Glacier Lagoon end up being washed back up onto Diamond Beach - so called because all the beached icebergs look like giant, uncut diamonds. There are hundreds of these ice chunks on this black sand beach - some as small as footballs and some as large as cars or larger!
We visited Diamond Beach at sunset one night and for sunrise two days later - and in those two days, all the ice had changed on the beach. On the sunrise visit, the icebergs were much bigger and dramatic. As I walked around looking for cool icebergs to shoot, I noticed this large iceberg of mostly clear ice glowing like it was on fire because of the sun rising behind it (fire - even though the sun is 94 million miles away). I positioned myself between it and the rising sun to capture this magical image.
Most people aren't quite sure what this is image is all about - now you know!
This is on display as a 32" x 18" HD Matte Metal for $540.00.
This is sure to create great conversation wherever it's displayed.
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'Vestrahorn Aurora'.
This image has quite the story behind it.
We visited the iconic Vestrahorn Mountains late in our first afternoon in Hofn, Iceland and got some amazing images late in the day - several of which are on this website's Iceland Gallery.
Then we just hung out in our warm vehicle and waited until it got dark. And waited. And waited.
All the 'experts' said late October was too early to see the Aurora in Iceland. Once the wind died down and the skies cleared on day 5, we saw the Aurora 4 nights in a row! We are so glad we were fortunate enough to see this so well and so often regardless of what all the 'guru's had to say. But as we waited we began to get a tad disappointed that maybe this night it might not happen. Patience.
By far the best Aurora display was this one. Once it began to appear, my friend and I rushed out to position ourselves on the beach hoping to get the Aurora reflected on the water and the wet black sand. We set up where the surf had just washed out, took our exposures, and as the surf rushed in again, we picked up the tripods and ran up the beach until it washed out again. Then we ran down to shoot again. Over and over again in order to get several images. We had a blast doing this - kind of Laurel & Hardy-like I'm sure. And it was 18 degrees. But we didn't care because there was no wind; which made shooting this absolutely joyous - compared to the first 5 days with 20-40 mph relentless, brutal winds.
The Aurora first appeared in the lower left and began morphing and dancing along the tops of the mountains until it became what you see here. It was absolutely magical, stunning, and quite overwhelming to see this all happening in person.
But the Aurora doesn't know there are mountains there. It's a random atmospheric event.
But to watch it do what it did was incredible. This image is completely unique and will never be duplicated.
Since my 14 mm lens could not capture the full width of the mountains with the Aurora extended beyond them on either side in one shot, I made two images and Photoshop beautifully stitched them together into this two image panorama.
The two images that make up this one image were each shot at 14 mm, f/1.8, for 30 seconds at ISO 400. This is what brought out the beautiful reflections and the 14 mm allowed for the 30 second exposure. The fast 14 mm 1.8 lens allowed for the 400 ISO. And both shot in one session between the incoming surf! Incredible.
This is on display display as a 32" x 18" HD Matte Metal for $630.00.
If you'd like to see a 60" x 40" HD Metal of this image, one was just installed at 92 East Main St., Somerville and can be viewed any work day. It really is something to see in person.
Most people have seeing the Aurora on their 'List'. Having this on display in your home or office is the next best thing.
It will certainly foster conversation wherever it's on display.
'Gatklettur Rock Arch'
This is near Arnarstapi on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland.
The entire coastline of Iceland is quite dramatic and this naturally formed rock arch is most impressive.
We stayed in an Air B&B home less then a half mile away from these awesome sea cliffs.
Gatklettur Rock Arch is the dominant feature in this amazing seascape of 60' tall sea bluffs; but the views in all directions are wonderful there no matter where you look.
This is on display as a 32" x 18" HD Matte Metal for $540.00.
Created as a 3 image panorama, it was cropped down to the 32" x 18" image seen here. The full panorama is available as are the individual images that make this up this panorama; providing lots of options.
The details in this piece are really amazing and, once again, there are ZERO reflections distracting your viewing.
'Merkja River at Gluggafoss Falls'.
This is a 30 second exposure of the raging water flowing from the 60' tall upper waterfall to the left of this image to the lower waterfall just to the right. The 30 seconds smoothed out this water like pudding glass while the 'light' is perfect just before the sun entered this gorge. Capturing this image was a very special moment for me.
The upper falls cuts through relatively soft palagonite rock and the lower 4 falls cascade over basalt rock. It was beautiful.
This is on display as a 32" x 18" HD Matte Metal for $540.00.
The details in this are incredible and everyone seeing this will be blown away once they realize what they're seeing.
'Upper Gluggafoss Falls'
Most visitors to Iceland mob the most obvious and easy to get to waterfalls, making for very difficult images with all the tourists in the way. Of course, those tourists have every right to be there, too.
We found this little double waterfall while driving back to our Air B&B house near Vik, Iceland one morning. We had traveled inland to a location for a (hopefully) dramatic sunrise, but it was too overcast and brutally windy where we were, with unrelenting 40 mph wind gusts. We left there after trying several spots but it was insanely cold and windy; so we were all a bit disappointed. As we drove back we saw a sign for Gluggafoss Waterfall and we all agreed - why not try it? It ended up being one of my favorite shooting locations; and almost no one even knows about it because it's not right on Rt 1, the 'Ring Road'. While there, we only saw 6 other people who came and went as we all did our long exposures.
Gluggafoss Falls has a lower waterfall that's actually 4 individual waterfalls that flows over a basalt ledge; and an upper falls that flows through palagonite or tuft rock - and there are more waterfalls beyond uphill. At the top of this lower waterfall is a 80' long raging river that connects the upper to the lower falls. I have 8 images on my Iceland Gallery of these falls.
It was blissfully NOT windy in this gorge - a welcome break from the early morning with those brutal 40 mph, gusty winds - and there were many compositions within this gorge. To create this image I took 3 horizontal 30 second images which I later stitched together into this vertical panorama - once again, this is an original, unique image no one else will ever create.
Most waterfall images are shot at 4 to 8 seconds, but I just love how the 30 seconds treated this waterfall and the river. And I love how the rocks and ice formations surrounding the falls create a natural triangle. All the icicles are a bonus!
The details in this are amazing and this would be a stunning image in any setting.
This is on display as a 36" x 24" HD Matte Metal for $765.00.
Few people have ever seen anything like this; and since so few visitors to Iceland even know this waterfall even exists; so you will own a very unique, original image - and on HD Matte Metal, too!
The images taken at Gluggafoss Falls are some of my favorite from our 10 day trip to Iceland - but there are so many more images on my site including impressive mountains, churches, more waterfalls. glacier lagoons, icebergs on a black sand beach, Aurora Borealis and, of course, the beautiful Icelandic Horses.
Please visit my Gallery or watch the YouTube video for more images of this amazing place.
And let me know if any of these images are of interest for your home or office.
908-240-7484.
