IŚLAND
The Land of Fire and Ice. A ten day solo journey into a world of creative introspection
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10 days driving around the perimeter of Iceland in solitude allowed my mind to clear of an immense amount of static noise that it tends to be filled with under normal living conditions. Towards the end of my time there, I would notice that conversations with other people were much more clearly thought out. I knew what to say before speaking, whereas normally, my mind tends to wander and stray from the conversation at hand.
Black sand beaches provide a stark vista that I find has the potential to suck the air out of your lungs when you stumble upon them.
Endurance
Not until I stood next to some of the most powerful waterfalls on Earth that the realization that they never really end or pause. Day or night; hardship or times of plenty; waterfalls are always there; roaring with majesty and indifference.
Patience
Standing on the black rocky shore next to the icy lagoon filled with icebergs the sense of patience is what I felt the strongest. At the inlet, water rushes with force as it empties into the briny ocean. Until those large pieces of ice melt down small enough to make it through the breach they wait patiently until it is their turn to escape. No rush, their time will come when the pressures of nature have decided it is time.
When I first captured this image I really didn’t know why I thought to stop and take the picture. Not only was it my second day in Iceland but it was around 11pm. I had spent most of that day frantically running all over the landscape trying to capture every image of each cliff or vista that presented itself. This just happened to be another one of those sites that I thought worthy of a shot. After getting the shot I didn’t even allow myself to sit with the image and process its meaning. I’ve found that to be a recurring theme with my photography. Often I’ll be in such a frenzy to find the perfect shot that I fail to pause and enjoy the moment that I find myself in. Only toward the end of my journey in Iceland that I found my mind slowing to truly enjoy my time moment by moment.
This was my favorite image to capture. I spent the larger portion of my time in Iceland moving around at night. Being there in July afforded me the opportunity to travel at night with enough sunlight to illuminate my path. This strategy allowed me to get into some of the most profound sites without the immense crowds that frequent locations like the one in this photo. This is Dettifoss, said to be the second most powerful waterfall in Europe after the Rhine Falls. In this particular instance I drove from a campsite I procured one evening at around 1am and having the entire site to myself, I began climbing all over the area in an attempt to capture different angles of Dettifoss. After I had my fill of climbing and shooting I packed up my gear and headed to the stairs back to where I parked my car. Nearing the stairway I turned to get one last look at the falls and just happened to notice some people on the far side of the river on a steep cliff. The moon was right at ground level at the cliff and I found that if I moved laterally just a little I could frame these people in the foreground of the neigh full moon. Immediately, I pulled my camera, 400mm telephoto lens, and tripod and began to shoot. No sooner had I got my camera settings than these two turned to face the moon and embraced each other completely oblivious to my presence and actions. As I continued to shoot, aghast that I was able to capture the image, I felt overcome with emotion by the scene before me and wept. Over the years I’ve tried to reason why I was moved in such a way. I speculate it may have something to do with the transcendent nature of love and how very much like the moon seen here or the waterfall below, love has always been there and will journey on with the human race and perhaps beyond.
