Reynisdrangar Stacks, a photo from Vestur-Skaftafellssysla, Sudurland

Photographer's Note

180km to the east of Reykjavik one finds the Reynisdrangar basalt rock stacks, close by the tiny village of Vik i Myrdal, the most southerly in Iceland.

The volcanic stacks, at the foot of Mount Reynisfjall, and at one end of a beautiful black beach called, naturally enough, Reynisfjara, are about 65 metres high at their highest point. Apparently the beach was voted one of the top 10 most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world. But that was in 1991, and perhaps other beaches have moved past it in the rankings!

Of course, one finds many people crawling and climbing on the stacks, taking selfies, posing, yelling, and all the rest; but if one is patient it is possible to catch someone coming into the picture from 'around the corner' (where dozens more are wandering).

According to Wikipedia, "Legend says that the stacks originated when two trolls dragged a three-masted ship to land unsuccessfully and when daylight broke they became needles of rock. Contemporary legends note the story of a husband who found his wife taken by the two trolls, frozen at night. The husband made the two trolls swear to never kill anyone ever again. His wife was the love of his life, whose free spirit he was unable to provide a home for; she found her fate out among the trolls, rocks, and sea at Reynisfjara."

Shutter: 1/160
F-Stop: f/7.1
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 24 mm

pajaran, papagolf21, PaulVDV, holmertz, snunney, Energysavingelk, jhm, Royaldevon, worldcitizen, Lidka, gervaso, bukitgolfb301, Cricri, startacked marcou esta nota como útil

Critiques | Translate

SteveH (8220) 2017-12-03 0:22

Hi Andrew, and the wait was worthwhile. Exceptional composition, with the stacks in the BG and people for perspective and a bit of colour in the otherwise monochrome image. Cheers, Steve

papagolf21 (152605) 2017-12-03 0:44

Bonjour, cher Andrew,
Une prise de vue très originale avec ces pierres un peu à l'instar d'une pyramide.
L'image est belle et les personnages donnent l'échelle de l'environnement.
Merci pour ce partage.
Amitiés.
Philippe

PaulVDV (62752) 2017-12-03 1:16

Hello Andrew,
I understood it's not so easy to photograph these basalt rocks without tourists crawling on it.
Here the mother and her child are positioned well on the image. I have the impression that it's cold there even in mid-June.
Beautiful strange rocks rising from the sea. Just stalagmites but in an unusual place.
Fortunately no one has climbed there :)
Best regards, Paul

lousat (138541) 2017-12-03 1:45

Hi Andrew,bad weather for you too there,i remember very well the black beach and its terrific wind...ehehe...the composition is a wonderful idea,perfect to show us the basalt rocks and the others in the sea too,the symbol of the Vik's beach,and the mom with chils walking is a lovely special bonus. Have a nice Sunday and thanks,Luciano

Tue (91478) 2017-12-03 1:54

Hello Andrew,
What an amazing place. The shapes of the rocks both in the left hand side foreground and in the sea in the distance are fantastic. You captured them in a good, tight composition and you included mother and child very well too. The cloudy day added a moody atmosphere.
Lars

ChrisJ (171146) 2017-12-03 2:01

Hi Andrew,

There are a few places in Australia with equally good hexagonal basalt organ pipes, such as Fingal, NSW & Millaa Millaa Falls in Qld.

Australia
Battery Rock Rest Area, Located on the Golden Highway, 15 kilometres southeast of Merriwa and 19 kilometres northwest of Sandy Hollow on the western side of the highway.[16]
Glass House Mountains, Queensland
Fingal Head, New South Wales
Mount Scoria Conservation Park, Thangool, Queensland[17]
Bombo Latite, Bombo, New South Wales
Narooma Basalt, Narooma, New South Wales
Organ Pipes National Park, Victoria
Black Point, D'Entrecasteaux National Park, Western Australia
Sawn Rocks, Mount Kaputar National Park, New South Wales[18]
Ruined Castle, Falls Creek, Victoria [19]
Ben Lomond National Park, Tasmania
Cape Raoul, Tasmania

Now I am interested in Falls Creek & Organ Pipes National Park in Vic!

https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.5056293.9966/flat,1000x1000,075,f.jpg

Anyway, good sharpness with a pleasant diffused light and the people at right provide scale. Tfs!

holmertz (101890) 2017-12-03 2:30

Hello Andrew,
This photo is quite fantastic. I love the balance of the composition where two thirds show this very strange rock and one third the view towards the sea, with more strange rocks. The very discreet colours, looking desaturated but quite possibly being perfectly natural, create a strange and rather rugged atmosphere, and the two persons have chosen perfect colours for these surroundings. I will have to add this to my favourites.
Best wishes,
Gert

snunney (130967) 2017-12-03 2:52

Hello Andrew,
Excellent composition, you were definitely right to wait for the 'right' moment. Mother and son in their rain-gear make a colourful subsidiary focal point and contrast well with the predominantly grey tones of the rest of the image. Very good rendering of the textural detail in the rocks and the beach.

Energysavingelk (7816) 2017-12-03 3:21

Hello Andrew,

to be honest: I never heard of those rocks and beach before, though I am Scandinavia-oriented. Wonderful and typically icelandic capture including two trolls :-)

Thanks for sharing!
Sven

jhm (211734) 2017-12-03 4:00

Hello Andrew,

This is a wonderful rock construction.
You chose a nice angle, create depth and perspective.
Colours and sharpness are superb.
Pleasant composition and presentation
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice Sunday,
John.

ric50 (769) 2017-12-03 7:41

Hi Andrew,
A lovely composition. The image is clear and sharp throughout and the two walkers and the boys green waterproof add balance and interest to the scene.

Richard

Royaldevon (85602) 2017-12-03 8:33

Hello Andrew,

This is just like the Giant's Causeway in Ireland though maybe, a little taller near the beach.
This is a very intimate photograph, with attention on people and weather, as well as the environment. We can easily appreciate the conditions under which the parent and child are walking, the stones to the side, acting like impassive spectators!
It's a beautifully composed photograph, the couple strongly placed, the stones covering the right amount of space and the two verticals in the sea, mimicking the couple as well as creating a strong sense of depth.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

BennyV (34726) 2017-12-03 11:52

My first thought was: hey, there are people and water on the moon! A very alien landscape, this one, like a set for a sciencefiction movie (Arrival?)...well taken, thanks for sharing it, Andrew.

Cheers

Benny

worldcitizen (15930) 2017-12-03 12:43

Hello Andrew,
What a beautiful, and atmospheric composition. Of course the stacks of rocks dominate most of the frame, but I'm also pulled in by the people calmly walking by, and by the other stone structures in the background. It's a wonderful scene.

Lidka (527) 2017-12-04 1:23

Dear Andrew!
Amazing rocks, amazing woman with a child. Superb scene and scenery.
Fantastic lightness and colours.
Good contrast and sharpness.
Very fine composition.
Excellent effect.
Well done!

gervaso (28177) 2017-12-04 13:08

Hello, Andrew!

Very interesting rock formations, with curious shapes, including the ones in the background, and I like the presence of the people to give more colors and life to the scene! The cloudy weather gives an interesting atmosphere to the image! Beautiful job!

mamcg (7077) 2017-12-07 6:17

Here the human figure helps to determine the size of these blocks and we say LORD'S creation but it is well framed also composed nice, good shot.

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2017-12-14 17:44

Hi dear Andrew

Due to some reasons I was away but now come back to TE. Please kindly keep in touch as before.

Very impressive image! The combination and comparison of the rocky wall and mother/child is so appealing, two positioning is the best in the ideal framework.

All the best and have a good day! Takero

kasianowak (17662) 2017-12-17 6:33

You really captured the mood of the cold, wet and grey Icelandic summer here (ok, I know 12 of June is technically still spring... but this is how Icelandic summer looks like). As you say in the note, this beach must be really popular in the summer, but when I was there in March, there weren't so many people around, certainly lots of occassions to take "lonely person surrounded by the elements" photos.
I like the balance exposure and the details in the foreground basalt columns.
This is one of my favourite places on earth so I'm not surprised it's high in the rankings...
Best wishes
Kasia

Cricri (176) 2017-12-18 6:00

Hi Andrew
Fantastique ces rochers volcaniques, un peu comme une pyramide, la vue sur les rochers sur l'eau, la maman et sa fille ajoute des couleurs supplémentaire sous en plus le ciel gris, superbe image
Joyeux Noel a vous aussi , merci
cricri

emka (157280) 2017-12-20 23:27

Hello Andrew, I missed this picture with the basalt rock stack. Nice view, when we look we feel cold. Interesting also these rocks in the sea. Nice inclusion of the mother and kid. It enliven the scene and gives the scale and mood.

Kind regrads Malgo

tenretin (3275) 2017-12-30 9:19

Hello,
Très belle photo. la masse d'un coté et la fragilité de l'autre. Bien vu.
Bonne fêtes,
JP

Photo Information

Copyright: Andrew McRae (macondo) (20449)
Genre: Lugares
Medium: Cor
Date Taken: 2017-06-12
Categories: Natureza, Momento Decisivo
Camera: Olympus OMD EM5 MkII, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 12-40mm f2.8 Pro
Map: view
Versão da Foto: Versão Original
Date Submitted: 2017-12-03 0:10
Favoritos: 1 [ver]

Viewed: 3328

Points: 44

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::: Reynisdrangar Stacks by macondo (20449)

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