Iceland One-Off - Höf∂ibilastae∂i Su∂ur
I was going to call the series “One-off Wonders,” a play on the term “One-hit Wonder” used for bands that had one big hit, then were never heard of again. For several reasons I opted not to. First, it assumes the images are “wonders.” I’m not about to assume that my images are “wonders” or anything more than the fact that I find them pleasing. For this series, not all of them may be even what I consider a “Photograph” as opposed to a picture. Second, it assumes that there may only be one post, with no more to be see again and I doubt that will be the case. So the series is simply “one-off” in reference to images that are made either as a single image during an otherwise unsuccessful photography outing, or that are made for a particular reason that applies to no other images made around that time. Basically, there’s something about that image that warrants me saying something about it, unrelated to any other particular image. Time-wise, well, these are likely to jump around chronologically. The other Iceland posts are in chronological order; these, well they’re one-off and will likely hop back and forth in time. So on with the series . . .
Sometimes all you get when you go out to make photographs is a single image (or none at all). Sometimes, that single image makes all the effort worth while.
On our second trip to Lake Myvatn Ann and I decided to hike around a wooded area that extended onto a peninsula that jutted into the lake - Höf∂ibílastae∂I Su∂ur. It was actually the third of three potential spots we had tried that morning; both of the other locations in the vicinity didn’t have any available parking spots big enough for the bimobil. Third time lucky they say.
It also seemed to be a hike doomed to failure. We really had no destination other than we knew there were several trails that wound through the peninsula. And given that Ann and I had been photographing earlier in the morning in the cold wind, while we were game to go out, we’d agreed to take one trail and not explore all of them. Well, other than this photograph, taken on the short trail that led to the multiple other trails in the island, it seemed I kept picking the wrong direction (right and then left) whenever we hit a fork because all we got were dense young woods and the periodic view of waterside features . . . looking directly into the sun. The rest of the hike was a photographic bomb.
Let’s just say that this image supports the adage, “If you see an image, make it. You never know what you’ll find later, and it just might be nothing.”
It was the two silver tree trunks in the foreground that first caused me to pause and look at this image. The sky had wispy clouds, which filtered the harsh sunlight somewhat and kept the scene from having that overly contrasty woods in sunlight look. I set my tripod up on the far side of the wide walkway and struggled with framing. There is a large lava wall/hill in the background that kept the overall setting darker. I had to avoid framing any of the sky (visible in the upper right corner of my first framing efforts), because it was incredibly distracting. I wanted the image framed so that all I had was trees, foreground grasses and the mysterious background.
While my main focus was the two lit trees, as I examined the scene further I became enamored with the dark receding area off to the left, so I decided to incorporate that into the image. All that was left was for me to decide how much vegetation to the right and left sides of the frame to include. The right side was easy, with a pair of thin trees appearing to embrace each other creating a natural edge to the frame. The left side was a . . . mess. I ultimately decided to include the base (which lit up every time the clouds thinned) of a felled tree trunk that had sprouted the reaching trunk lines that caused the visual confusion. That lit trunk at least explains the mess on the left.
I made a couple of test images, inspected them and discovered I had to decide whether to use the long exposure that my desired f-stop and ISO combination produced, or to increase the ISO for a faster shutter speed that would freeze the branches and leaves blowing in the wind. I opted for the gentle movement visible in some parts of the image.
All that was left was to wait for varying levels of sunlight and to make several exposures. You never really know which one(s) will be best while in the field - it’s impossible to determine in the viewfinder or 3” LCD screen on the camera, or even the 16” screen of my laptop. The ultimate image selection will have to wait until I’m at home.
But I must say, I am pleased with the image and can’t wait to develop just the right frame and then to print it. Sometimes, all you need is a single image to make your day.