Release to the Sea

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 26, 2015392 views14 comments

I spent several hours over different days along the southeast coast of Iceland in some of the nastiest weather conditions, so breaks in the weather were welcome rarities. Because weather could change in literally 5 minutes, waiting out squalls became routine. I am still editing through images taken along the volcanic sand beach near Jokulsarlon Lagoon, as weather allowed some different compositions and lighting. I liked this one because of the snow on the bergs and how it helped isolate them in the stormy scene. Obviously a popular spot for photographers and for good reason. Lots to see, and the surf and moving ice forms could change up compositions from wave to wave. I found the best images required getting wet. This image was slightly cropped off the sides and bottom for a tighter comp.

5DII, 16-35L, ISO 50, f16, 0.4 sec. RAW processed x 2 to optimize highlight and shadow exposure.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 26, 2015 at 9:15 AM

The focus on the snow capped icebergs works very well here, Harry. Then you add in the water movement in the foreground, the breaking surf in the background and the subtle color in the sky to create an outstanding image. Well done!

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on January 26, 2015 at 9:45 AM

Beautiful, Harry. Great scene, very dynamic and I love the cyan/blue tones in the ice.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Ronald Murphy on January 26, 2015 at 10:10 AM

Beautiful photo and perfect shutter speed. The one little berg cut off on the left is a little troublesome; might clone him away. I think the horizon is straight but my eye thinks otherwise for some reason.

Registered on March 13, 2012, 279 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on January 26, 2015 at 10:58 AM

Great light and composition! I would crop a bit from the left, to remove the tiny iceberg and put more focus on the three main ones.

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on January 26, 2015 at 11:49 AM

Thanks folks for all for the input.

Ronald / Roel - I do think the horizon might be a hair off. the beach sloped to the water, and I think I may have used the top of the beach for the horizon line instead of the water line - thanks for getting me to take a second look. I didn't crop the far left berg as it would infringe on the curved wave formation. A bit too much cloning for my comfort level. The uncropped image has more complete berg, but I thought too much water in LLC, so I made a decision to crop. moving to the left and shooting out to sea would have solved the comp dilemma, but I felt the background cloud was more important.

Registered on September 17, 2010, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on January 26, 2015 at 12:23 PM

An amazing place. The large version is a must see.

I find the two blocks of ice compete for your attention, eyes going back and forth from one to another. Perhaps a single berg with the others further back would have been a stronger composition.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on January 26, 2015 at 5:02 PM

Very compelling image, Harry. Reminds me of the wonderful documentary Chasing Ice by James Balog.

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on January 26, 2015 at 5:33 PM

This is real sweet, Harry! Beautifully composed and processed. No nits, here.

Well done!

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on January 26, 2015 at 6:02 PM

So nice dude! This works so well. My only nit is that I would clone the slightly distracting ice out of the left edge horizon line. Feel it interferes with the perfect flow here.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Louis Pattis on January 26, 2015 at 6:24 PM

Beautiful image, water movement and mood, I love the color balance as well.

Registered on March 30, 2012, 0 Posts, 164 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on January 26, 2015 at 9:22 PM

The snow covered ice is a nice difference from the usual pieces we see here. Well captured and very interesting visuals.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by D.A. Edwards on January 27, 2015 at 3:31 PM

Agree with Kah Kit that it is a nice change to see snow covered ice from this iconic location, Harry. The berg on the left doesn't bother me enough to make it necessary to remove it. The pink on the cloud really makes the image sing.

Registered on October 8, 2014, 226 Posts, 1187 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Reid on January 27, 2015 at 7:04 PM

Beautiful colors and tones in this Harry. The water looks really nice and your processing looks great. Beautiful image.

Registered on January 27, 2013, 65 Posts, 2460 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on January 29, 2015 at 10:27 PM

Very cool and different image from this spot. I like this a lot! Very nice color, contrast, and dynamic water action.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments