Description

“Iceland is known for its glaciers and black sand beaches. However, most people don’t realize that there is a place where these two phenomenons become one. Jokulsarlon and its local beach commonly referred to as ‘Diamond Beach’ are my favorite places to photograph in all of Iceland. I had visited a few times and each time I learned more about how to capture the beached ice as well as what I wanted to compose to give the most accurate feeling of being there. On this night the sky and clouds had a brilliant contrast and feel to them. This was the perfect scene I had begun to plan for and only dreamed of one day capturing! Everything had aligned as I had hoped, all the way from the waves and tides to the clouds and sky. I captured several images of individual chunks of ice of various sizes as well as some groups of ice that looked nice. But the image that is most special to me because of how it truly represents what you see there in both directions up and down the coast is ‘Diamond Beach.’ What you don’t see in this scene is the ice-cold temperature and brisk wind. By the time I was done shooting on this evening, I couldn’t even feel my fingers. Another interesting fact about this image is it was captured just before 11pm. The sun barely dips below the horizon in the summer months in Iceland, keeping it light all night long on most days.” – Jon Barnes