January 28, 2020 — Diamond Beach, South Coast, Iceland
About a half a mile from where the photo in the last post was taken, the lagoon empties into the North Atlantic. Miniature bergy-bits flow out and then are washed back ashore by the tide and the surf. There they sit, shining on the beach awaiting their inevitable trip back into the sea. They look like diamonds. This one seems to be sniffing the air, contemplating its fate.
(Just so you know, during the trip there was the constant subtext of checking the Aurora app on our phones and the Icelandic weather site in the web, hoping for a Kp index of at least three and a relatively cloudless night. So far, no joy.)
(Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
AMAGA Photography Blog 
oh my, what a beauty, classy, stunning work…Now you probably can guess that I like it lots!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks very much. I’m glad you like it. You must see it in person.
LikeLike
What a cool image, Michael. I love how you were able to capture such wonderful details of the ice, showing all kinds of glistening facets. The material makes me think of crystal and the depending on my mood, the shape makes me think of a diving bird, a seal emerging from the water, or a submerging whale’s tail. The soft, indistinct but recognizable background helps to draw our attention back to the shining ice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank, Mike. I also thought of a bird or a seal. The backlight through the ice makes it look like diamond facets.
LikeLike
Is that diamond ice Michael? I follow some humans here who do cool work on Abraham lake…it’s lovely I love the blue hues…cool and sharp 💙 smiles Hedy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Diamond ice? I don’t know. I tend to think of them as ice diamonds.
LikeLike
yes my friend Jeff Wallace has some on his IG feed…also I think Paul Zizka…they do some fantastic works, as well…after I noted you have diamond in your title 🤦♀️🤓smiles
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful photo, Michael. And, coincidentally, I was just listening to that song yesterday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much. And I must listen to that song today.
LikeLike
At first I thought I was looking at a bird diving into the sea with its head already under the water and its left wing raised still raised into the air.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As the surf started to pull it back into the sea, it changed orientation and looked like many many things. In this shot, it mostly looks like a seal to me.
LikeLike
Wow. That is a stunning composition, Michael.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much.
LikeLike
A glorious image of …the beauty of this country, Iceland. Perfect light and composition. On my wall.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Thank you! And yes, Iceland is amazingly beautiful. I look forward to returning.
LikeLike
– To the shining diamond in the sea.
LikeLike
The first thing that came to mind was my Kosta Boda crystal votive. The texture’s remarkably similar, although I couldn’t find a photo that captures the votive as well as you captured the intricacies of the ice.
It also made me think of Icelandic spar, a clear crystal with an interesting history:
“A crystal of Iceland spar has two very interesting properties. First, it is a natural polarizing filter. Second, because of its natural polarization, Iceland spar is birefringent, meaning light rays entering the crystal become polarized, split, and take two paths to exit the crystal – creating a double image of an object seen through the crystal.
There is good evidence that the Vikings used the polarizing effect of Iceland spar to navigate the North Atlantic. The constant fog and mist in the North Atlantic often make navigation by stars or sun impossible. The Vikings called Iceland spar a ‘sunstone’ because the polarizing effect can be used to find the direction of the sun even in dense fog and overcast conditions. It can even find the direction of the sun when the sun is actually below the horizon, as happens when you’re sailing above the Arctic circle.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Here’s the link for the article I quoted from.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fascinating. Thank you.
LikeLike
Thank you very much. The crystal votive is beautiful and the article is utterly fascinating. I had no idea. Your breadth and depth of knowledge never ceases to amaze me.
LikeLike
Whatever the weather, when you do something like this, you have been successful. It’s beautiful and it’s different from other Iceland images I’ve seen. I love the foamy wave edge colors and texture and of course, the crazy shape of the bergy bit. Wonderful!! I hope you don’t feel too bad when the weather isn’t cooperating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very very much. Sometimes I am disappointed if the weather isn’t cooperating and it’s my only chance (or a very rare chance) to look at a particular scene. That happened in England last summer. But as my mentor said, it just forces you to be even more creative.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly, I’m sure it would work that way with you! And I guess we shouldn’t beat ourselves up for feeling disappointed either.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s not mutually exclusive. You can be disappointed, and then say, “well this is what I have so what am I gonna do with it?”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am all for natural subjects, and this looks otherworldly; the ice fragment looks like a bird in flight. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Definitely otherworldly.
LikeLiked by 1 person