Iceland has a spectacular collection of waterfalls throughout the country. I was fortunate enough to spend a week in the Southwest and Northwest parts of the country. I had gone there to witness the spring bird migration and was not disappointed. This image of Gullfoss was taken on a very cold, windy, and rainy day. Anyone who has been to this site and some of the other waterfalls has probably fought the prevailing swirling mist in the atmosphere while trying to take pictures. On this particular day I was constantly drying off my lens. As a result this image required some spot removal. Definitely a photographic challenge.
Iso-64, 17 to 35 mm at 28 mm, F-22, one third of the second, D 750, tripod, Adobe camera raw 10.5, Topaz adjust, TK sharpening action at 1%
David, the swirling mist and the cloudy sky fit very well together. The scene is quite dramatic with the huge waterfall surrounded by minimally vegetated rocks. I’m especially enjoying the swirls in what looks to be ice on the far side of the falls.
David, what an impressive amount of water flowing here. It always seems like a lot of the takes from Iceland there is never a lack of freshwater.
I agree with Mark about the right side seems to be almost ice like in texture. The sky really adds to the drama here as well.
Impressive set of falls and the swirling mist lends some wonderful atmospherics to this scene, David. I too am enjoying those swirls on the right side of the falls.
This is a pretty impressive set of falls, David! From this viewpoint it looks like the water is disappearing into the center of the earth! What looks like ice from the spray really adds interest to the scene also. Definitely a difficult contrast situation but it worked out quite nicely!
Gary, you are correct about the swirls being ice. This was taken in late May so much of what you see is melting snow and ice. The mist from the waterfall is so intense that it probably drifts over the snow field and refreezes during the night. The swirls in the ice or snow are like tree rings. There is deposition of dark matter carried in the mist as it refreezes on the ice. Amazing phenomenon…
