I have been silent to this blog in the recent weeks. Too hot in my roof workroom, too much football (the most of it quite crapy though), too much happening in my non-photographic life that proved to be no less important than images. But now, it's time to catch up fast. It's raining in Prague now. Pleasing more than 20 degrees difference from how it was in Bratislava today - 41 Celsius when I sat into the car this afternoon. I went through some storm drama on the highway that somehow associated my thoughts with two things. One is the concert of Soley, one of endless musical talents from Iceland, whose concert in Prague was cancelled earlier this month (sadly) and I'm still left with the ticket (I will survive till the next one hopefully). So I'm playing her now while the soft rain kisses the terrace of my house on the background. It always amazes me how deep the music of many Icelandic artists I get to discover over time (and trust me, it's so many of them) connects with their landscape and its mood. Try this one while looking at photographs below, for instance. And be patient for a minute (or rewind :-)).
The second association got me to one of the beaches in Iceland this winter. Perhaps Ota knows the name of the place, for me it was an inspirational stop on the way to one of his places. I usually do not pull out my camera unless there's a spectacular light or scenery around, or, obviously, a combination of both is what makes me scream from joy. This one proved to be different though. The weather could not be more dull and depressive. No sign for any light anywhere. Occasional soft rain instead, bringing along the atmosphere that in some weird form or fashion fitted this bizarre place much more than any colorful drama in the sky above. I felt like I newly discovered a planet, looking at it through my tears.
Photographically, I got attracted by many graphical schemas created by the black beach, car tracks and snow leftovers in there. I had travelled back in time to my school geometry lessons - it's just we drew in black on white paper. Here, plenty of leading and crossing lines in white on the dark surface, deep contrasts and otherworldly feelings all around. The monotonous sky suddenly sounded like an evident part of the deal. It all pulled me into a compositional exercise with results so different from what I am always after. Here, I present the collection of my first black and white images created unintentionally, still using my standard on location and post-process practices. No digital BW techniques were needed to be imposed. Except from putting my digital back at work rather than the film. Enjoy and feel free to comment. I know I moved to a thin and uncomfortable piece of ice with this effort. But just for this time. :-)
