The Crackling Silence

"The Crackling Silence" | Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, Iceland

After being on so many unstable places, which would no longer be the same on a second visit, I finally found the king of pure budhist impermanence: the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon and it's endless floating sculptures of ice, right in front of my eyes, on day 5 of our trip.Iceland had so far surprised me like I never expected it would, but this place takes the crown of awe inspiring sceneries. Leaving the N1 road to the right, and entering what looks like a half-baked parking lot, it's just a matter of seconds until all your vision is filled with a gigantic lagoon, where enormous white blocks and delicate bits of melting ice dance in unison, headed towards the sea.

There is an absolute, almost mystical silence, interspersed with one of the most amazing natural sounds I ever heard: the frequent crackling of ice. absolutely three dimensional, coming from multiple spots.

As senses are sharpened by the extreme cold in the area, the global sensory overload feels like absolute pleasure.

Technical:

When planning which gear to take to Iceland, I quickly decided I wouldn't let myself be limited by near frozen waters. This photo was made with water up to my knees, or it would have been impossible to get that perspective. I used NRS Hydroskin neoprene pants and NRS Workboots neoprene boots with 3mm neoprene socks. They held up admirably well.

Once more, not an easy place to shoot, as most of the ice formations tend to move. I had to shot some of them at 2-5 seconds, but this one was stable enough to be shot at 30 seconds. Luckily, on our two photo sessions in Jokulsarlon, the water was extremely calm, mirror-like.

Sony a77 + Sigma 10-20mm
Exposure: 30 seconds
Aperture: f-11
ISO: 100
Filters: Formatt Hitech 3 stop soft ND Grad, Formatt Hitech 4 stop ProStop IRND
Wireless remote shutter
Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 tripod + MH055M0-Q6 ballhead
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