frozen dry, a photo from Snaefellsnessysla, Vesturland

Photographer's Note

An exceptionally cold summer.
An exceptionally unwelcoming place.
More than exceptional natural colours.

After our rough tour to the highlands and our little Mediterranean holiday in the West Fjords I didn't think Iceland reserved many surprises. But it did.

As we turned the corner, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Sneafellsnes peninsula glacier, Snaefellsj闥ull, it appeared to us for a short moment before slowly hiding underneath a soft layer of white clouds.

At the bottom of the hill the serious sign, warning us of pending danger for those who attempt walking on the glacier, did not dampen our spirits but just heightened our curiosity. It was getting late and my camera was itching my fingers, waiting to be pointed out and shot at all the marvellous sights around and the sun-painted hillsides.

After a truck sped past our little Libero and up the holey hill, we knew there was something odd about this place. The feeling was eerie, and the dark cloud sitting on top of the peak we'd seen a dozen of kilometres earlier seemed to sit there like an angry god, waiting to wrap us in its wrath. But we continued, our curiosity burning.

What sights! What golden colours! What green... it seemed that all the essential colours of this world stemmed from this mountaintop, and on we pushed, up the painfully steep hill!

It is only as we entered the thick moist air that a slight sense of fear crept through our minds and bodies. Something was wrong about this place. We were not welcome. It seemed that something or someone somewhere was just waiting to get us into fatal trouble.
We drove in silence, looked around and silently agreed that we would turn around and head back down as soon as possible. Reaching a little peak where we could see huge trucks and other machinery busy around the bottom of the glacier, we stopped and observed for a few minutes, before turning around and heading down.

Overwhelmed by the place's amazing strength but also beyond-words beauty, I was trapped between wanting to get out as soon as possible and wanting to run around shooting it all. So I asked for a little second, ran down the hill to a little dry stream right by the road, crouched and took this shot along with me back to the bottom of the hill, across the Ocean back home, to show it to you now, some year and a few months later.

I cannot tell you much about this picture besides that it seemed to be a dry stream. The summer was exceptionally cold, even the locals were amazed, so the glacier did not generously provide water as it would during other summers. I kept out the glacier which would have been visible had I tilted the camera just a few millimetres higher because I was fascinated with this amazing brown, green and turquoise. I hope you will agree with my decision ;D

In a huge hurry, I didn't pay attention to the settings. The original version is slightly moved/blurred so I had to make it a good bit smaller + had to work on it quite a bit for the expo to be able to print it in 80x60 cm. One of the most unexplainable of images but one that most people spent the most time looking at. I still don't know why I took it nor why it is so intriguing. I'm hoping that your opinions will enlighten me :D (perhaps you'll hate it?)

An advance Thank You to all those amongst you who take the time to criticize and/or leave a comment!

Nikon D70
2005/08/05 23:37:19.2
JPEG (8-bit) Fine
Image Size: Large (3008 x 2000)
Lens: 18-70mm F/3.5-4.5 G
Focal Length: 22mm
Digital Vari-Program: Landscape
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/60 sec - F/3.8
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 200
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-S
Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
Color Mode: Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0�
Saturation: Normal
Sharpening: Auto
Long Exposure NR: Off

delnaja, Paolo, cliffchappell, kensimage, AmiBe, chicken, delkoo, Manuel1982, atus, ktanska, Floydian, MikiM, mdetay, JonteW, mpb001, andante, sevman13, banyanman has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

delnaja (2056) 2006-12-01 11:06

Bonjour Julia,
l'Islande semble 皻re un pays magnifique, avec des paysages presques irr嶪ls, abstraits... Une nature tr鋊 particuli鋨e. Une photo qui me donne encore plus envie de le visiter...
Fred

Paolo (41258) 2006-12-01 11:09

Hi Julia, excellent image and note.
the colours and the landscape are the typicall ones of that fantastic island in the midlle of the Atlantic.
i saw something of really similar in Skaftafell, where the ice and the water of the Vatnajokull glacier go down in the sea.
excellent quality and POV.
thanks, ciao

rhizomes (15343) 2006-12-01 11:10

Hi Julia,
Impressive flow and great colors !
The contrast and saturation are high but here I think it works well...
Nice !
Christophe

dhurjati (2709) 2006-12-01 11:28

Hi Julia,
Lovely deep colours.Excellent composition with good details and sharpness.The patterns are very interesting inndeed.I do feel the contrast level is bit too high though.
Greetings from India,
Dhurjati

cliffchappell (223) 2006-12-01 11:42

Great colors and composition. I love the way the eye is pulled along the lines in the shot.

AmiBe (6042) 2006-12-01 12:55

Salut Julia,

I cannot tell you much about this picture...

Ben dis donc, on a fr犨� l'encyclop嶮ie en 18 volumes :)
J'ai du mal � me rendre compte de la dimension, il n'y a aucun rep鋨e pour donner l'嶰helle.
Cela dit, les textures sont superbes, comme ce m幨ange de vert et brun.
Belle courbe qui guide le regard...
a+

chicken (1557) 2006-12-01 13:12

Yes, Iceland's backroads have plenty of wonderful surprises. Thanks for your very extensive note.
I like the curves the little river left in the sand. The blue in the background is a bit irritating and I'd try a crop without. Great work anyways.

kurekpit (401) 2006-12-01 14:30

Hi Julia
Very nice photo,good composition,colours and POV,very interesting note,best regards,TFS

* Piotr *

delkoo (68) 2006-12-01 15:25

bonsoir julia
de tres belles couleurs , un peu surealistes, le vert est particulierement lumineux, les differentes textures sont aussi tres interessantes, j'aime bien le ruisseau argent� qui serpente au milieu de la photo.

ddidier

euryan (8442) 2006-12-01 15:54

It𠏋 interesting that Adrian finds that part blue irritating, because it's my favorite part. It gives us something to settle on after following the riverbed. This looks like something that would be in National Geographic magazine. Nice work. I love it.
Regards,
Ryan

dvlazar (6662) 2006-12-01 16:51

An interesting scene youve created, many unusual textures and patterns.
Well done!
Dave

Manuel1982 (1142) 2006-12-01 18:53

Hi Julia,
fantastic shot with a stunning sharpness. I love the structure in this shot. The colours are brilliant as well
Thanks for this impressive shot
Best regards
manuel

atus (15878) 2006-12-01 19:06

Hello Julia,
very well captured, very nice landscape shot of this fanatastic place. Great texture and light, fantastic colours. Excellent work, compliments!
Tfs and best wishes.
Attila

cobraphil8 (84) 2006-12-04 2:27

Salut Miss Julia,
effectivement on frise une encyclop嶮ie � chacune de tes notes, mais c'est 嶲alement cela la richesse de tes posts, nous transporter au travers de ta prose jusqu'� d嶰ouvrir l'endroit photographi�...
Superbe au demeurant, toujours aussi sauvage et hostile.
Je pense que certains partiront en Islande gr歊e � toi.
Grosses bises et bonne semaine
Philippe

billabongx (1585) 2006-12-04 9:40

Hi Julia,
a very suggestive photo. Great colors and perfect POV. I like the contrast between green and the brown.

I love Iceland and I hope one day to visite this country. With your pictures I can admire and see the land. Great job and thank for sharing.....

byebye
daniele

danielswalsh (13597) 2006-12-04 21:26

Great shot Julia;

This image has a somewhat abstract feel to it as it took me a minute to figure out exactly what I was lookign at.
Almost seemed to be a painting- but then the eye starts to catch glimpses of fine detail.
I really like the earthy & contrasty tones highlighted by the green of the banks.

Nice work Julia!
- Dan

ktanska (45094) 2006-12-05 5:46

Hei Julia,
Water, like wind, makes fascinating patterns. And here they show at their best on almost dry sand bed. I also like the saturated dark colours, especially blue.
But again you have a photo which is not at it's best on 800 pixels. No wonder you prefer expo sized prints!
Kari

Floydian (30970) 2006-12-05 11:59

Hu Julia,
If it wasn't for the green colour i would say again that it was an image from space seeing large meanders floating over the earth surface.
A truly intriging photo with superb detail and composition with an enormous depth.
Wonderful composed...a real good one..!!!
Regards, Henk

pady (4800) 2006-12-07 16:13

C'est pour moi un magnifique spectacle dont je ne me lasse pas. M幨ange entre v嶲彋al et min廨al dans une terre aust鋨e. C'est sans doute la nature dans toute sa force et sa fureur qui nous domine et nous effraie mais toujours nous fascine.
C'est une tr鋊 belle image
Amiti廥
Pierre-Andr�

Clairedelune (4923) 2006-12-10 14:08

Julia, tu es l𠌊ne de ces personnes pour lesquelles je dois 嶰rire mes critiques ailleurs, tellement tes notes nous 幨oignent de la photo. Et je navigue alors de ta photo � ma critique plus ais幦ent. Mais, quelles notes! Toujours un plaisir � lire. Et ici, je suis rest嶪 en haleine, me demandant quelle 彋ait donc la cause de cette 彋ranget�. Mais, tout comme toi sans doute, je ne le saurai jamais. Il y a des lieux comme 蓷. D𠿟illeurs, ton titre aurait pu 皻re "Un froid 彋range". ;)
J𠿟ime ce serpent se faufilant vers le bas, vers le bleu. Les couleurs sont sombres, bien camp嶪s, bien fortes. Comme le disait Pascal, on n𠿟 pas d㠙d嶪 de l㘾chelle, ce qui apporte � la d廥orientation, au d廧aysement.
Et je comprends ton envie de prendre des photos. J𠿟i pris des photos dans des endroits o� tout mon corps me disait "Va-t𨬓n!" et je persistais. C𨬓st ce qu侊n appelle la passion...
Claire

PixelTerror (0) 2006-12-11 4:33

Salut Julia,
D'abord je dois te dire que je suis assez epate par tes notes, perso j'apprecie les notes sur TE car j'aime "apprendre sur le monde" et les gens ici, alors chez toi je suis servi car tu as toujours de belles histoires a (bien) raconter. Alors maintenant pourquoi cette photo attire, tu l'as deja ecrit pour une part, les tons et le graphisme de la riviere sont certainement un bon point de cet attrait, moi j'indiquerais aussi que l'angle et l'absence de reference de taille me font fortement penser aux photos vues du ciel de YAB, donc apres "La Terre vue du ciel" de YAB, nous avons en presque premiere mondiale sur TE l'Islande vue du ciel par JLA (Julia Leijola dans les Airs) ;-)
Bonne journee,
JEan-Yves

Mistral (15416) 2006-12-14 10:07

Hi Julia
great stunning place of wild with a detailed interesting note.
I think I've to go to see this place one day...
A smile and TFS
Luca

MikiM (1924) 2006-12-14 11:06

Hi Julia,
Excellent capture - like a strange planet but due to the greens it is our. It could be art. I've never seen similar one.
No words. I would double the greens.
Congrats,
Mikl鏀

guillaumejm (0) 2006-12-15 18:12

Bonsoir julia,
Moi cette photo je l'aime bien parceque d嶴� j'ai pris le temps de lire ta longue pr廥entation. Cette photo est plus proche de la peinture abstraite que de la photo a mon sens et c'est pourquoi elle est fascinante.
Amicalement
JMarc

mdetay (4929) 2006-12-16 4:18

Salut Julia,
Belle photo et superbe composition.
Bien vu. Je ne connais pas ce coin, il va faloir que j'aille y faire un tour.
Bien amicalement.
Michel

BHo (2177) 2006-12-16 10:13

The combination of fine details, bold colours, and formations make this an amazing abstract nature shot, Julia. Not to mention the notes! :D

sebcz (2345) 2006-12-17 8:42

Hi Julia!
It really is exceptional, as you say. Intriguing shapes and textures, well shown.
TFS!
Seb

ctorrent (1195) 2006-12-17 12:54

Tr鋊 belle composition, avec un cadrage sans ciel qui ajoute au myst鋨e de cette image. J'aime ces courbes qui serpentent et nous m鋝ent vers l'inconnu. Une ambiance tr鋊 islandaise.

JonteW (190) 2006-12-20 16:39

Two things fqascinate me with this shot. First the colors. The green mountanside and the blue galcier just look unreal. But knowing a little about Iceland I'm acclined to accept them as real. :-) Personally I don't like the blue nor the green in this image, they are a bit ugly, odd and cold. But they work great in this image!

And the other thing is scale. The side walls look to be really close. The galcier looks really small. But in reality it is probably really far away? (5-10km?) The middle of the picture does not claim either far away or close. In the lower right corner my eye catches some colorful boulders, gicing an indication of being really far away again. My overall impression is that someone built a miniature landscape as the different details fight for scale.

The dry riverbed give the eyes something to rest on and return to while my brain tries to fight itself to workout what scale it is seeing...

It's also interesting to note that the "rule" of always including something in the foreground is ignored. And it still works. :-)

capthaddock (28790) 2006-12-22 16:55

Hi Julia - an otherworldly place isn't it, somehow nature and colours seem reversed from elsewhere, with a liberal dose of shades of black and gray in unexpected places, excelent detail of patterns here, I was able to see the top of snaefells, will upload it oneday.

mpb001 (4602) 2007-01-03 19:19

Absolutely stunning shot, Julia. This shot works well as both a strong landscape and and artistic abstract. I like the swirling streams made by the water from the glacier. It has a mesmerizing and facinating effect.
Mike

jeanguy (686) 2007-01-15 13:05

Bonsoir Julia, cette photo est subjuguante. Le trac� sinueux du ruisseau commence � attirer l'oeil puis les couleurs et le contraste saisissent. L'Islande est un pays que je souhaiterai vraiment visiter... Merci pour tes photos. Amicalement, Jean-Guillaume.

andante (7092) 2007-03-05 9:29

What a gorgeous presentation. I wish I had the ability to express myself as fine as you do. The image is full of contrast and details. Yes, like you mention, you were able to capture the golden colors of the light reflecting upon the frozen river. Great capture!

PS Thanks for your kind words on my image, I was very deeply touched.

banyanman (7797) 2007-07-26 4:13

Hi Julia. If I'd seen this a few weeks ago, I would have immediately thought you had manipulated the colours in PP, but having just returned from Iceland and having seen similar strange landscapes, I can believe that the colours are real. You asked in your interesting note why this image is so intriguing - I think it is because of the strange combination of unusual colours combined with the very dynamic curves of the stream that make this such an unusual photograph. I like the composition a lot. You were right to include the green and blue, and probably also right to exclude the glacier as that may have provided too much for the eye to take in. Cheers . . . David

gramma (3519) 2007-11-18 2:44

Salut Julia,

Quelle ambiance effectivement ! Le graphisme offert par ce glacier est tout simplement 廧oustouflant. Si le gros travail effectu� sur l'image se voulait am幨iorer la nettet�, il contribue surtout � rendre cet endroit encore plus surr嶧liste. Bravo pour cette capture !

Christophe

brandstaetter (15915) 2009-03-06 5:32

Hi Julia,
you愉e a talented and technical perfect photographer, it seems...how I like the rough wilderness, the untouched patterns of nature in this one.
Compliments, Christian