OceanBling

As I approached the black sand shores of Jökulsárlón, I didn’t know what treasures would await me. I had heard and seen many things about this other-worldl...
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As I approached the black sand shores of Jökulsárlón, I didn’t know what treasures would await me. I had heard and seen many things about this other-worldly place, however, nothing can prepare you for the raw, uniquely beautiful events that take place here… especially when it’s just you, the ocean and the ice.

This picture was made around 3:30am just after sunrise… After being plagued by bad weather I halfheartedly decided to get up and make the 10 minute drive from the Hali Guesthouse to see if the sun would finally break through. This turned out to be one of my favorite experiences—alone for over an hour and a half—except for a small seal that crawled up the beach literally feet from me. As the sun broke through it colorfully lit up the perfectly polished masses of ice—an incredible sight. This one in particular was about the size of a small car. In a matter of hours, most of this ice sculpture had melted away and new ones were in the water ready to be washed ashore.

It was somewhat difficult to get movement in the water as well as a still iceberg. Many times the water would move the ice ever so slightly resulting in a blurred image. Other times it’s even dangerous as the ice can and does move several feet. I had some close calls. Other issues included the water moving the tripod as well as frequent cold wind. Loved having my Neos knee-high shoe covers which allowed me to get in the water and stay dry as well as a large microfiber towel—both essential for an Iceland trip.

As far as processing the image, I used luminosity masks and a graduated filter. Don’t have to do much to the ice to make it pop. It really does glow like that.

Website: exposurescape.com

Aerial Drone Video:
http://exposurescape.com/aerial-iceland-flight-of-the-drone/

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