"The one who has seen the light has seen the true Iceland and will never lose sight of it again." Pall Asgeir Asgeirsson in the foreword to the book of Daniel Bergmann Iceland Landscapes. It was back in 2009 when I first travelled to Iceland, with two particular interests in mind. I looked for much simplified landscape from what I used to know in the Central Europe. And I hoped to photograph when the nordic sun stays shallow below the horizon and the bright nights still provide enough lighting to do so. But I found much more. Nothing short of the biggest passion for a place one can eventually have. The landscape turned out to be far simpler than my boldest imaginations. It felt like I returned million years back in time and I carried that feeling even deeper, the more I wandered through the country. Glimpses of light here and there have created dramas and experiences I got fast addicted to. Hard-core overnight photographing of deserted nature in what was like 'nowhere land' and 'no one's land but mine' had clearly become the most amazing activity I was lucky to do over many years. Spending endless time studying the landscape (and myself) in perhaps its most brutal form and fashion.
Icelandic Sphinx
I keep plenty of images unprocessed. They simply need more time to be discovered and understood. This one also resided in my archive for good couple of months until I realized that its essence may be the closest interpretation of my frame of mind for Iceland. The volcanic massif reminds an ancient sphinx, centrally based composition and reflections emphasize stillness and peace. So does the night falling on the landscape. Photographed when we reached the end of one of dirt roads near Landmannalaugar.
No wonder I have been getting regular calls tempting me to return back that grew more and more aloud lately. So this Friday, Ota and I set for another trip. We won't shoot whole nights this time but we shall experience Iceland different way than before. And weather permitting, we hope to bring some winter pictures of inland and of the northern lights. The same place two-fold as always: color and black-and-white. Watch this space, we'll be in touch.