Drinking Dragon
The Hvítserkur (White Shirt) is thought to be an ancient volcano plug. The tough basalt structure has withstood many thousands of years of Icelandic weather, although it recently had a concrete base manufactured to prevent further erosion.
This image was taken during a Summer sunrise session in June at 03.20 in the morning. The action in the sky was limited to a small area at first which forced me to take a bunch of verticals, but as the sun moved around, the sky became more useful for Horizontal shots. So here I am square on to the Troll Rock and I am using the sea rock to balance the composition and add some depth. The challenge is getting the 2 elements into the right areas of the frame. Having a tripod without a centre column is very useful here because I had to get down really low. Getting low means that composing the sky is easier. I was watching for the way the brighter parts of the sky interact with the Troll Rock and it’s reflection.
Camera Settings
F/14, 13 seconds and Magic Cloth to give the sky about 1 seconds and the lower half 4-8 seconds. The longer exposure had a positive effect on the saturation of the reflected colours.
The location is easy to find, but access down to the beach can be a challenge. There is a very steep path from the look out point, but this should only be attempted in an upwards direction. Further back along the beach there are steep, but safer routes down.
On Flickr
Fjallabak Night
Taken on July 17, 2011 on a photo tour through Iceland’s Southern Highlands (or Fjallabak – behind the mountains).
Kirkjufellsfoss SNOW
Ice Gorge
This is at the Fjaðrargljufur river canyon in South East Iceland. The unassuming river winds like a snake between the rocks.
