Breiðamerkursandur. That’s what they call it. But since I can’t say that, I think of it as the Black Sand Beach which is just across from the famous Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon in Iceland.
On my first visit there, I got one of my favourite shots from my whole trip. But it was the only one for that visit because of the sideways rain and gusting wind!
On the second visit, I had more opportunities to play with the natural ice sculptures that are scattered on the black sand beach.
But photographing the ice turned out to be much more challenging than I anticipated!
I thought I was well prepared having photographed my share of coastlines, rocks on beaches, and the motion of waves. I knew how to get the blurred water rushing away as the ocean pulls each wave back into its fold.
But what I wasn’t prepared for was the fact that the ice moves with each incoming and outgoing wave. And they move a lot!! They go tumbling by! So getting the stationary ice and the motion in the sea at the same time was indeed challenging.
I only ended up with a few photos that I’m happy with.
I often have expectations that everything I do will be better than what I’ve done before. But it doesn’t work that way.
The important thing is that I continue to create, discover and live passionately – and if I do that, hopefully I’ll create masterpieces along the way.
What glorious sculptures these are, Anne
Hi Andy, great to hear from you and thank you very much for your compliment!
They are such amazing shots Anne 🙂 … Iceland is indeed one place I would love to go to
Many thanks Spencer. I was certainly not disappointed with Iceland and know I will be visiting there again. Even though it’s a very popular place for photographers right now, there is so much to see and well worth it.
exciting photos of the ice! they are wonderful. Must go the one day soon!
Thank you so much Elizabeth, I appreciate it.
These are truly wonderful shots. One day maybe!!
Many thanks Wynn!!
Beautiful captures! I am seeing more and more photos of Iceland these days and now convinced the most photogenic place to do landscape photography and yours surely added more fuel to my burning desire to go.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Angelito, I think you are right! Iceland is one of the best places in the world for landscape photography that I’ve seen so far anyway. I have other places on my bucket list, but after I went to Iceland, it just went right back on my bucket list again 🙂
Beautiful pictures, Anne.
Thank you so much Andrei, I appreciate that.
Hi Anne. Love all the images, but the first and last are my favorites. I was on the same beach about three weeks ago and had the same problem. I really wanted the water flowing back out around the ice. Didn’t even realize they were moving until I got home and open the images. I did get a couple abstract B&W and even a couple full-color images that look like B&W. It was still a great day and a great week. I highly recommend a week or two in Iceland. I hope to go back in the summer and explore inland.
Hi Richard, thanks for your visit and comments and I’m glad you got to have fun on that beach too. It is such a unique place. Even though I’ve only been there twice (on the same trip) it has to be one of my favourite all time beaches!!
Your images of Iceland are fantastic and I have really enjoyed looking at them.
I have a Sony A6000 and am wondering what settings you use for the metering mode and the focus area and as you know Sony does not provide a lot of info. Would appreciate any help you can provide.
I formerly lived in Campbell River for 30 odd years and miss the ocean a lot. Hope you have a great summer parked in the estuary watching the float planes come and go!
Hi Martin, sorry to take so long to reply! I usually use evaluative metering which takes the whole scene into account. However, if I’m in a trickier situation I sometimes switch to spot metering and meter on the most important thing in the scene and let the rest fall where it may. For focus area, I always use spot focus. I absolutely hate it when my camera focussing on something that is not the main subject – it’s my pet peeve! I always think it’s funny when the cameras come out with more and more focus points, when I always switch mine to using just a single one. I hope this helps!
Thank you for your reply. I will try what you have suggested and will hopefully have better pictures. Have a great sumer!
Wow, it’s really marvelous pictures you have taken Anne.
I have never seen like that ice sculptures before really amazing creativity of nature.
I hope you enjoyed Iceland tour and its breathtaking experience seeing these Sculptures live!
Thanks for sharing. Really excellent photographer you are.
Hi Neha, thank you very much for your kind comments! I loved Iceland and seeing all the icebergs was amazing. I can’t wait to go back! I don’t have any immediate plans to go back, but I know I will.
Anne, you have a super eye for composition, and your timing is what I love most. The photographs posted online especially some of the wildlife in Tanzania and at Masai Mara are truly inspiring. Well done indeed !
I live in Mumbai, India. have you ventured into my neck of woods? Since you love photography so much and it seems to be in the flow of your blood – you must. There isn’t a country like India – believe me your lens will vouch for it.
Before I say cheers, September this year will see me taking a group of 12 others to Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Rwanda to experience the Gorillas.
Any professional tips for me? I’m [like you] an avid photographer. Though not professional yet.
Look forward
Hi Kishore, thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind comments! No, I have never been to India, but I have seen some amazing photos from your part of the world. I would like to visit one day. You are going to love your visit and Tanzania, the density of the animals is quite astonishing. If you are looking for wildlife photography tips, look in the right sidebar for “tutorials” and you’ll find some wildlife tutorials in there. Thanks for your visit and comments, much appreciated.