Godafoss
Yesterday a long drive from Höfn to the hotel near Husavik. The journey started in the rain, but by midday it was gloriously sunny. First contact with the big volcanic fissure in Namafjall with intense sulphur smell and mud springs.
After a short tour around Myvatn we reached Godafoss.
We decided to photograph Godafoss again early in the day before the sun rose. Thick fog greeted us at the East car park. There were few people, and those who came after us ran as if their lives were at stake. If you had a spot, someone was happy to stand in front of it, armed with a smartphone.
Down on the riverbank I could take my shot in peace and without people. The warm sunlight first reached the rocks at the small waterfall to the right of the two big ones to the left. Through manual and software-based HDR, different exposure times were superimposed so that the river appears to be strongly moving.
Today it was the day of the waterfalls. Each one is different, each one has a different photographic appeal. The Dettifoss waterfall made a viewer feel the force of nature. We reached it after a 130km drive by car, the last 50km on a road without pavement. So one was already emotionally prepared by the tangible road conditions.
An arduous 1.4km walk took us to the east side of Sellfoss, which I immediately liked. For a creative eye, Sellfoss is a veritable treasure trove. So many waterfalls at once !
Finally, we went to Hafragilsfoss, whose viewpoint could be easily reached by car. Because the feet didn’t want to carry the weight of the equipment any more. Here the picture was of an animated autumnal green-yellow landscape in the middle of a dead stone desert. Again and again, the stony landscape raised the question: on which planet are we right now ?
The water in Iceland ultimately comes from precipitation, which either glaciers, melts or penetrates directly into the ground as rain. A late summer rain in the early evening with the typical Icelandic light coming in from some side forced me out of the car on our return trip. I only noticed the rain outside when I walked around the car with my camera. It was weak and warm.
Julian Köpke
I like to make things visible the naked eye isn't able to see. That's part of my profession as a radiologist, too.