Vestrahorn Blue Hour

February 17, 2020
by Michael Scandling
comments 27
Iceland / Landscape / Monochrome / Photo Log / Photography / Seascapes

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January 28, 2020 — Vestrahorn, South Coast, Iceland

One of the iconic vistas in a land full of iconic vistas. Ignoring advice, I didn’t put on my wellies, preferring my waterproof insulated boots. The wellies, being higher, would’ve allowed me to go further into the water, which would’ve changed the angle, which would’ve afforded better reflections. My solution was to go out as far as I could and try more shots. I stayed long after the others had gone to higher ground, leaving me alone on one of the most breathtaking beaches on the world. I kept shooting long after sunset — well into blue hour.

And for all that, I went away thinking the shoot was a wash. Once and twice through the frames in the selection process, it still seemed to be a wash. Blah reflections. Blue hour not blue enough. It was only upon going through a third time that this one showed potential. A starting point. It took a fair amount of work in post-processing to transform it from a potential to what I had been hoping to see in the first place.

Meanwhile, the Kp index had been messing with us. In the morning it was 1. Midday, 2. Now approaching 3, but as with weather forecasts, it’s no sure thing. And will the clouds go away?

(Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)

The Author

California based fine-art photographer featuring abstract, impressionist, and minimalist seascapes — near and distant — and floral-based images. Fine-art photography can be seen at www.amagaphoto.com All original images on this blog are copyright 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Michael Scandling. All rights reserved. No images on this site may be copied, duplicated, reused, published, or re-purposed in any way without express permission from the copyright owner, Michael Scandling.

27 Comments

  5. shoreacres says

    Are those fingers of the famous black sand reaching into the image from the left side? I suspect so. If so, it’s perfect that you included them, since over time the action of water on rock can result in sand. I like that the sand is shown between the mountain and its reflection, too.

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    • Michael Scandling says

      Thanks very much — and yes, leaving the sand in was a carefully considered decision. It provides some grounding and a nod to the blackness of the sand, while at the same time being a bit of wabi-sabi in the otherwise perfect symmetry.

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  9. brenda says

    Thank you for this amazing image…so beautiful. The tiny ripples in the water’s reflection…the eyes moving from left to right along the horizon to the landscape in the far distance.

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  13. Steve Gingold says

    Very nice, Mike. You never know and judging by the back screen usually doesn’t do justice. I am glad you gave it third go round because missing this would have been a shame.

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