This is really starting to bite deeply for me as I sit here at my desk staring at the mountain of paperwork I am supposed to be working through – Get me out of here please! With another three months or so to go before I leave for Iceland I am growing green with envy at some amazing photography being done of the Volcanic Eruption by photographers already on location. Steini Fjall has just posted his most recent shots from the eruption and there are some spectacular images for sure; both from ground level and aerial. This is other world photography in the land of fire and ice. Where is my passport…..?
Category: Landscape Photographs
Landscape Photographs from around the World
Volcanic Eruption in Iceland
I think just about every landscape and nature photographer worth his or her salt is wishing they were in Iceland at the moment – me included. The recent eruption has and is providing some wonderful photographic opportunities. Each day amazing new photographs are being posted to the internet by local and visiting photographers. Christopher Lund has posted some of his recent photographs on his website that are well worth a look at this amazing natural phenomenon. There are also numerous workshops that have sprung up overnight inviting photographers to travel to Iceland to photograph the eruption including one by Seth Resnick which sounds great. Were it not for work commitments and the fact that I am already headed to Iceland in July for three weeks I would be very tempted to jump on the next plane and join in the experience. I have no idea how long this eruption is expected to continue – I am sure it is wishful thinking to hope that it is still erupting in another three months. Fingers crossed!
Alpine Valley
The road and drive up to Mount Buffalo in the Victorian Alps is one of my favourites in Victoria. The road snakes around the mountain and at various points provides excellent views to both the East and West for Sunrise and Sunset photography. There are lots of opportunities for landscape photography at Mount Buffalo, but some of the best in my experience are actually on the drive up the mountain. This photograph was taken just before sunrise looking into the Buckland Valley filled with fog. When I left my hotel in the pre-dawn dark and started the drive up the mountain I was unsure if there was going to be any opportunity for photography as visibility was so poor. After climbing half way up the mountain I emerged above the fog and cloud just as the sun was about to rise and was able to take this photograph literally from the side of the road. The swirling cloud and fog in the gum trees in the lower left hand corner of the frame provides the depth and dimensionality that make this photograph enjoyable for me. The orange and yellow glow of dawn adds a wonderful warmth and contrast to the cold blue of the fog. A higher resolution copy of this photograph is also in my Australian Portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com
The Hidden Gems
One of the great things about landscape and nature photography (and in particular photography whilst travelling) is those hidden gems and moments you occasionally stumble across when you least expect it. Because these finds and moments are unplanned there is never an expectation of just how good they might be (It’s not like to going to the Grand Canyon where one expects to get great photographs). Without the chance of an overly built up expectation I find they almost always produce results that are at the very least uplifiting to the photographic spirit and at best that can produce truly wonderful work.
Whilst travelling in the South Island of New Zealand last July between locations we stumbled across a well hidden slot canyon just off the side of the road – A hidden gem as it were. I would wager that more than 99.9% of people driving past this location would never even know its there. There are no signs and no markers of any kind. The only clue is a bridge crossing with what looks at first blush like a cave to one side. As we crossed over the bridge I happened to be looking in the right direction, as was Phillip our guide and I just caught a glimpse of what looked like a really beautiful glacial stream feeding out of a cave. Phillip turned to look at me to see if I had spotted the location; which I had. The excitement in the air was palpable and it must have been written on my face because Phillip had that cheeky look of someone about to reveal something truly very special. As indeed he did.
We immediately pulled over the side of the road, grabbed our camera gear and scrambled down the steep rocky and snowy gully under the bridge where all was revealed. From this vantage point we could see the pristine river flowing down from a stunning slot canyon. We took our shoes and socks off and waded up the freezing icy river to set up our cameras (I have never had feet this cold before – thawing them out afterward in the car was a very painful experience). A light mist and water run off dripped down from the moss and foliage at the top; which was lit from behind by the overhead sunlight. Conditions were perfect for photography and I literally could not wipe the grin from my face.
The photograph below is my favourite from the hour or so we spent photographing in this location – which I affectionally dubbed ‘Shelob’s Lair’ – the obvious reference to The Lord of the Rings seemed apt for New Zealand’s South island. Truth is, if Phillip had not dragged me away (quietly kicking and screaming) I would probably have spent another hour photographing in the freezing stream and may well have ended up with frost bitten toes.
It was an interesting choice of how to shoot this as my first reaction was to reach for the polariser to remove any reflections from the photograph. What I concluded in discussion with Phillip was that we both agreed the wet rocks were what gave the whole scene its magic and that removing the wet look and reflections would overly flatten the image. So I photographed this strait with a 24mm lens without any filters. It was quite dark in the canyon despite being lit from directly overhead, so I used a tripod. The exposure was six seconds at F11 at ISO100. The almost iridescent moss and lichen combined with the crystal clear aqua of the stream being lit from above really speaks to me as small slice of nature untouched. New Zealand’s rivers and streams are truly stunning in their purity. Its quite hard to see in the small compressed jpeg on screen, but in print the backlit misty water and run off from the top makes the photograph. I also very much like the feeling this photograph invokes for what may be around the corner of the canyon. Before anyone asks – I am sworn to secrecy on the exact whereabouts of this slot canyon – sorry! But I am definitely going back and this time with a set of waders.
New Zealand Fox Glacier – Ice Torn
This is one of my favourite photographs from my time at Fox Glacier in the South Island of New Zealand (I have a large framed print on my studio wall). For me this photograph summarises the beauty, power and danger of a glacier. The deep crevices are clearly in frame with their precipitous ice walls; which naturally lead my eye into and through the photograph to the background distant mountains. I also very much like the ‘rip’ in the ice – indicative of the power and pressure of glacial ice as it makes its way down the mountain side. The mist and fog hanging between the mountains in the distance adds the ‘weather element’ that is so much a part of mountain photography. We were fortunate throughout the time spent at Fox Glacier to have wonderful clear weather that allowed us the opportunity to charter a small helicopter for the best possible photographic opportunities.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 