Return of Ice Age - Vatnjökull, Iceland

    Last weekend on a trip with Erez, Dima and Shy to Jökulsárlón and Skaftafell area we got some "insider" information on more ice caves. This one had been in-front of my nose on a previous trip there without me noticing it.

    The cold spell for the last 2-3 weeks had frozen the small lagoon infront of the cave and it was accessible. The cold also made entry farily safe as the ice was hard and stable. I have said it before but do never enter an ice cave when the temperatures are above freezing.

    The harsh and contrasty light in the cave made a single exposure impossible. This is a manually blended image from 6 exposures. Although I like to do things in a single exposure but in this case the technical limitations of the camera sensor could just not capture what the naked eye saw.

    If you want to visit this place you should contact a local mountain guide because of inherent danger of ice caves: Öræfaferðir or join my Winter Photo Tour

    Comments and faves

    1. provbenson2009 (17 months ago | reply)

      Thats a beautiful place you live.

    2. Jón Óskar. (17 months ago | reply)

      Rosalega flott mynd og þessi blái litur ótrúlega flottur !!!

    3. © In 2 Making Images | °L.A. (17 months ago | reply)

      This is a great image, never seen an ice cave! Great work in blending the exposures!!

    4. starrypix (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing shot and color!

    5. Rachel Dunsdon (17 months ago | reply)

      Wow. Amazing place.

    6. Kevin J Allan (17 months ago | reply)

      A fantastic image, you share many out-of-the-ordinary scenes

    7. xris74 (17 months ago | reply)

      Superb and vibrant shot! This is simply great work!
      Merry Christmas to you of you and all your loved ones.

    8. diamir8000 (17 months ago | reply)

      this is sooo great, incredible.

    9. Lizzy Berube (17 months ago | reply)

      beautiful! i never seen anything like it!

    10. kh-photos ~ Kurt ~ (17 months ago | reply)

      A fantastical scene! Awesome capture.

    11. PJ Resnick (17 months ago | reply)

      Really cool.

    12. Paul Holman (17 months ago | reply)

      Brilliant shot: I like the figure to give some scale, but above all it's a great example of how to use multiple different exposures to capture what the eye sees and the camera can't cope with.
      Just OUTSTANDING

    13. M Atif Saeed (17 months ago | reply)

      outstanding

    14. Horia Bogdan (17 months ago | reply)

      Really stunning scene with excellent scale and depth.
      I'm really curious on how the light actually was, as i can't tell just by looking at this photo...the blending is masterful and makes it look as the shooting conditions were ideal :)
      Well composed and precessed. BRAVO!

    15. efte78 (17 months ago | reply)

      Thats an amazing shot. Merry Christmas !

    16. richpope (17 months ago | reply)

      Wow, these caves are incredible! You did a great job with this... Just outstanding!!!

    17. DecioC [deleted] (17 months ago | reply)

      Masterpiece,magnific image and magic moment and fantastic atmosphere!!!!

    18. dorothea73 (17 months ago | reply)

      Impressive work!!! Awesome Ice Cave :D
      I'm jealous... :P

    19. wild prairie man (17 months ago | reply)

      Surreal. Astounding. Wow...

    20. Gregor Samsa (17 months ago | reply)

      this is totally awesome ...

    21. balbowatch (17 months ago | reply)

      Fantastic shot, merry Christmas!

    22. Joshua Cripps (17 months ago | reply)

      Love the blue color!

    23. subarcticmike (17 months ago | reply)

      wah! for your skills
      capturing this naked eye totality

      I like the frozen 'tidal bore' incoming

    24. Jesus Morales (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing picture!! Merry Christmas and a beautiful and photographic wonderful New Year 2012.

    25. sermorod (17 months ago | reply)

      Very good detail.

    26. cedergreenphoto (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing! Merry Christmas!

    27. hollmarran (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing picture! The blue colour is incredible.....
      Thanks for sharing

    28. R a q u e l d e C a s t r o (17 months ago | reply)

      Sencillamente spectacular este lugar ,increible como la luz penetra en el hielo y refleja esa fantástica gama de tonos azules.Parece hecho de cristal.Gran trabajo Örvar,un saludo.

    29. Charles Augustus (17 months ago | reply)

      I see one of your images of this cave is published in the British "Daily Telegraph" of 24 December.
      Stunning work! Happy Christmas!

    30. Lynette Reeves (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing - just beautiful

    31. *manda (17 months ago | reply)

      wooooooow

    32. Chee Seong (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing details Orvar. I would love to photograph this someday.

    33. Fr Antunes (17 months ago | reply)

      Merry Christmas

    34. Terrible76 (17 months ago | reply)

      un sogno, a dream

    35. glorygg (17 months ago | reply)

      very beautiful

    36. Fraser McCallum (17 months ago | reply)

      Breathtakingly good.

    37. CelticRose55 (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing and lovely.

    38. Mattia Oselladore (17 months ago | reply)

      Stunning place and shot!

    39. pollen.. (17 months ago | reply)

      Wow!! Awesome I wish I knew about this when I was there a few weeks ago!! Awesome!

    40. Joao Oliveira Photography (17 months ago | reply)

      Amazing beautiful!!!

    41. larbinos (17 months ago | reply)

      magnifique !

    42. Iceland Aurora (Photo Tours) (17 months ago | reply)

      Fantastic blues!
      Very Merry Christmas!!

    43. Jói Gunnar (17 months ago | reply)

      Mögnuð...

    44. Amg80 (17 months ago | reply)

      Geggjuð mynd vá Gleðilega hátíð

    45. twoeyes (17 months ago | reply)

      Absolutely incredible.

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