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Fire & Ice! Literally!



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The burning sunrise shone its warm rays into the frozen ice cave in Vatnajokull glacier, creating these amazing contrasts so of course I couldn´t resist taking...
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The burning sunrise shone its warm rays into the frozen ice cave in Vatnajokull glacier, creating these amazing contrasts so of course I couldn´t resist taking a selfie... =D
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cameraCanon EOS 5D Mark IV

settings Aperture 11/1 ISO 400 Shutter 1/30 Focal Length 35/1 

upload_dateJan, 2017

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3860

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Awards

Contest Finalist in Never Stop Exploring Photo Contest
Peer Choice Award
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Contest Finalist in Unforgettable Landscapes Photo Contest by Zenfolio
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18
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Impressed
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Creative Boundaries Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
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All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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A Sense Of Adventure Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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I Love Photography Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Covers Photo Contest Vol 36Top 10 rank week 1
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Unforgettable Landscapes Photo Contest by ZenfolioTop 10 rank week 1
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18Top 10 rank
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18Top 10 rank week 2
Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 18Top 10 rank week 1
Covers Photo Contest Vol 35Top 30 rank

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19 Comments |
Stretch1904
 
Stretch1904 March 01, 2017
Really awesome shot! Love the colors
Stretch1904
 
Stretch1904 March 01, 2017
Really awesome shot! Love the colors
MartinAgius
 
MartinAgius March 02, 2017
Great image
CharlieV
 
CharlieV March 02, 2017
Wow
jymbraun
 
jymbraun March 06, 2017
The Mark VI is a "want it" camera body. Did you HDR or is this, basically, RAW unedited?
jymbraun
 
jymbraun March 06, 2017
Oopsy. Mark IV...typo.
SiggiPhoto
 
SiggiPhoto March 08, 2017
Thank you for the kind words everyone... =)
barbararybolt PRO+
 
barbararybolt March 26, 2017
Beautiful image. Congrats on the finalist status.
marcoimmervoll
 
marcoimmervoll March 28, 2017
you should wear a spacesuite! this looks like its from another planet!
daveseye Platinum
 
daveseye April 23, 2017
Wow! Just awsome.
Witmar
 
Witmar May 24, 2017
wonderful picture
loved2030
 
loved2030 May 25, 2017
WOW, truly awesome shot. Well done
KevinGoerzen
 
KevinGoerzen September 18, 2017
Wow! Amazing!
Bob5253 PRO+
 
Bob5253 February 15, 2018
Is this really planet Earth or some distant world? Great shot!
Deiderz
 
Deiderz July 05, 2018
Awesome pictures
anthonymannion PRO+
 
anthonymannion August 30, 2018
brilliant
BillC
 
BillC October 23, 2018
Beautiful! Are these formations naturally occurring? Never seen anything like this. Stunning!!
stigfagerli PRO+
 
stigfagerli March 04, 2020
Fantastic foto
jeffgauthier
 
jeffgauthier December 15, 2020
Stunning!!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#iceland #travel #tourguide #Photoguide #arctic #shots #glacier #sun #sunshine #sunset #sunrise #frozen #ice #cloud #dramatic #panorama #siggiphoto
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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in an ice cave called the "Crystal Cave" which is located under Vatnajokull glacier, Iceland. The ice caves are made by blue ice, ice that the glacier has squeezed the oxygen out of with its weight, leaving the ice incredibly blue.

Time

We got up early that day and met up with a local glacier guide by the glacier lagoon while it was still dark outside. From there we drove the rough trail up to the glacier for about 45 minutes and got there in good time before sunrise and well ahead of the crowds.

Lighting

As the sun rose, it lit up the cloudy skies outside with a fiery red color while at the same time shining it´s warm rays on the glacier, thus lighting up the deep blue ice dome of the cave. There were big contrasts between the darkness inside the cave and the sunrise outside so I had to shoot two seperate images and put them together to get balanced lighting. That´s why I shot the inside of the cave at 5sec and the outside at 1/30sec.

Equipment

I used a Canon 16-35mm lens at 16mm on a 5D Mark IV camera on a tripod.

Inspiration

I was there running a small photography workshop and when I saw where things were heading with this massive sunrise, I couldn´t resist taking a selfie. Then I realized that I had forgotten to bring my wireless remote trigger so I had to put the camera on a 10sec delay and run to the entrance to pose for the shot. I knew right away that it was going to be one of my best shots to this date as everything seemed to be coming together just right.

Editing

I had to do a 2 shot composite to get the shot right. One for the outside of the cave and one for the inside. First I did some basic editing in Lightroom on both shots before throwing both images into Photoshop and layering them up. Alot less processing than usual but then again it´s almost impossible to get a bad shot in these ice caves and the crazy blue ice dome.

In my camera bag

I like to travel light so always have just one camera in my bag, my Canon 5D Mark IV although I have a Mark III sometimes with me in the car. 2 Lenses. The Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Mark III and the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS Mark I. Wireless shutter release that reaches up to a 100 meters. A remote flash. Batteries for the camera, remote and flash. A polarizer filter for the 70-200mm and a couple of Lee filters for the 16-35mm. An extender (X2). Cloth for the lens and a lazer pointer to point out objects in the night sky during low light photography and to help focus on infinity at night.

Feedback

Go for a small local company that is flexible and willing to take you to the ice caves in the off hours. As I stood there taking that very shot, there were 2 buses filled with people putting on crampons out side and getting ready to flood the caves with people.

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