Skogafoss. Iceland
Dec, 2015Views
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Awards
Winner in Black and white Landscapes from around the world Photo Challenge
People's Choice in water in motion Photo Challenge
Peer Award
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Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
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Superior Skill
All Star
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in Skogafoss, in South Iceland, during a 15 days road trip I made in the summer of 2015.Time
The day I visited Skogafoss was one of the longest trips I did during my road trip in Iceland. I started the day earlier in Hofn in the southeast of the country. Travelling through the southern part of the Road nº1 (the main road that circles the country), I visited other famous sights of Iceland, like the ice lakes, the black beaches of Vik... I arrived to Skogafoss late in the afternoon, when all the tourist buses had already gone and there were only a few tourist and four other photographers. I spend a long time taking photos of the waterfall from different angles and with different exposures. This one is one of my favorite, as there wasn't any tourist in front of the waterfall while I was taking the photo. I left the place before the sunset, as I wanted to arrive to another famous waterfall at the golden hour with enough time to see the sun setting from behind Seljalandsfoss.Lighting
The day was a bit cloudy and it was a bit late. When I arrived the sun was already a bit low and behind the cliffs, so there was no chance to capture the waterfall with a rainbow. Instead, I decided to play with long exposures and focus on the texture of the water falling.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS 1200D with the kit lens, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II. I also used a tripod, a circular polarizer filter and a ND8 filter to increase the time of exposure.Inspiration
When I was planning my trip in Iceland Skogafoss was one of the first images I saw from the country. It is a beautiful and impressive waterfall, and a very elegant one. It became soon one of the highlights of the trip. I had a lot of ideas for this photo, but when I arrived to the place, the light wasn't really great, so I decided to capture long exposure images of the waterfall and play with the absence of color to focus more on the water falling.Editing
I edited the photo in Lightroom. I converted it to Black and White and then I increased the contrast and the clarity, did a bit of dehaze to reduce the effect of the mist created by the waterfall and add a vignetting to focus the attention to the waterfall.In my camera bag
When I travel I always have my camera, the kit lens, a telephoto lens, wide angle and a luminous prime lens (50mm f/1.8), a tripod and some filters (ND1024, ND8, ND4, ND2 and a polarizer), a remote shutter, 2 batteries, a few sd cards,...Feedback
This is one of the most photographed waterfalls in Iceland for obvious reasons. I would have liked to arrived at the golden hour in summer or travelling to Iceland during the winter and capture the waterfall with the snow and ice and maybe the northern lights in the sky... I would recommend to search for photos of this waterfall when you are planning your trip to Iceland and when you arrive to Skogafoss, just try to make something different. I think the place is gorgeous under any conditions, so just enjoy it while you photograph the place! ;)
