Uploads from orvaratli, tagged cave

Rays of Light

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:34:37 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

In a small mountain in middle of Thailand there is this beautiful cave which at a certain time of year at a certain time of day the rays of the sun will shine down to the floor below. Only when the sun is very high (~90°) in the sky do the rays reach all the way down. Thailand being in just north of the equator this happens over two periods each year.
The cave is only known to the locals and luckily enough I know somebody that knows somebody that could guide us there. Thanks to Noom for arranging this.

Where Snowmen Live - Vatnajökull Ice Cap, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:08:54 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

Again I was on the south east coast exploring glaciers and ice. We explored another ice cave my friend Einar at Öræfaferðir gave me information about. I went there with a couple from the US, Brian and Emily.

Although this cave did not have the extremely blue ice the other caves I visited have it was huge. To show the scale of it my wife posed as a model this time standing on a block of ice that had fallen before winter.

Again I want to emphasize that ice caves can be very dangerous and professional assistance is recommended for photography. If you want to visit this place you should contact a local mountain guide f.x.: Öræfaferðir or join my winter photo tours Winter Photo Tour

Return of Ice Age - Vatnjökull, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 06:52:01 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

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

Enter Iceage - Vatnajökull Ice Cap, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:39:03 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

On my trip with Skarpi last weekend we visited this ice cave I have twice before attempted to enter but been turned back by unfavorable conditions. This time however the lengthy cold spell and good weather made sure the cave was accessible and in prime conditions.

Flowing from Europe´s largest ice cap Vatnajökull the glaciers contain centuries old ice which has seen all its air pressed out of it turning it into this crystal blue ice. Not all ice caves have this colored ice but Vatnajökull seems to produce the right conditions for them to form.

Shooting this shot we decided to play models in the entrance. I normally dont put people in my images but in this case it really puts things into perspective. Shooting with a very wide angled lens (Nikon 14-24mm) allowed me to capture as much of the 360° scene. Here Skarpi is the model. You can see his version of the same scene in his photostream.

Because of a recent accident in Iceland where a young amateur photographer died on a glacier I will not give details of this caves location. If you want to visit this place contact a local mountain guide f.x. Öræfaferðir or join my Winter Photo Tour

Crystal Cave - Svínafellsjökull in Skaftafell, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:59:27 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

Some of the magic beauty of glacier ice lies under its outer surface. One either needs to strip the surface layer or go underneath it to see its real beauty.

The centuries old ice coming down the slopes of Öræfajökull via Svínafellsjökull glacier has had almost all of the air pressed out of the ice. Once air has been pressed out the ice turns into this magically blue crystal like ice. The outer surface of this ice (the surface of the glacier) gets bombarded by weather, sun-rays, dust and other things and it transforms the crystal blue ice white. Hidden under the white surface is the blue ice.

This blue ice can be seen however under certain circumstances. It can be seen in winter after long periods of rain when the surface layer of the glacier has been washed away. It can be seen in ice-caves like this one (unsafe in summer) and on floating icebergs that have recently rolled over.

This ice cave is on the edge of the glacier where it enters into a lagoon. It is only possible to access it when the lagoon is frozen. Ice caves are in general unstable things and can collapse at any time. They are however much more stable in winter when the cold temperatures harden the ice. Even so we could hear constant cracking sounds inside the cave. It was not because it was going to collapse but because the cave was moving along with the glacier itself. Each time the glacier moved a millimeter loud sounds could be heard.

If you would like to visit an ice cave consider join my Winter Photo Tour

Take Off - Hvítserkur, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:18:15 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

This is a much narrower angle shot of the same rock formation as in my last shot.

The rock formation is inhabited by small sea birds called "Rita" (Latin: Rissa tridactyla) in Icelandic and nests on very small ledges in sea-cliffs. It is a loud bird and wont go un-noticed while you shoot around here.

The morning sun rose up just behind the rock formation and created a nice silhouette. I wish I had a better zoom lens than the 70-200mm as this is already cropped. I would have liked to get close-up of the bird taking off.

Snow Arch - Hrafntinnusker, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 06:13:48 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

The Highlands of the Landmannalaugar area is Icelands most geothermal active and also one of Icelands snowiest areas.

The roads into this area don´t open until early July, maybe end of June on a good year because of the snow.

One of the most interesting features of this area is that creeks and shallow ravines that get filled up with meters of snow during winter often contain hot water from nearby hot springs. This creates tunnels inside the snowfilled ravines.

This snow cave was in its last days with only a large arch remaining. Other parts of it had collapsed into the river where it melts quickly.

Seljalandsfoss from Behind

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:09:58 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

The best thing about the beautiful Seljalandsfoss is that you can walk behind it ( actually all the way around it). Its not the highest or most powerful of waterfalls in Iceland but on the impressiveness and fun scale its at the very top.

This shot was pretty tricky to capture. The spray from the waterfall was pretty intense getting my lens covered in water in matter of seconds. The trick was to place the camera as close to the cliff as possible, where the wind did not carry the water droplets. Then cover the lens with a cleaning cloth, manual focus and the as soon as you lifted the cleaning cloth to release the shutter and cover the lens quickly again.
For this shot I did not even have to clone a droplet in post processing.

This shot was taken early evening as the sun was unusually red this high on the horizon. Typically the dry air in Iceland leaves the sun shining sharply until it at the horizon but this day the air was humid and the sun got red as it approached the horizon.

Fine Art Prints of this image can be purchased at Arctic Photo

Geysir

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:25:22 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

I went on a short trip to south and south-east Iceland last weekend with master landscape and travel photographer Lucie Debelkova.

Part of that tour was visiting all the classics, Geysir, Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón. I learned a great deal and got a lot of good photographs from this trip of ever changing light and conditions.

This is actually not Geysir, but its smaller brother Strokkur which erupts every 5-15 minutes or so. Geysir has stopped erupting, which is kind of sad as its eruptions where much more spectacular than of Strokkur.

Patience and alot of time is the key to capture a good Geysir shot. Waiting with the camera in your face ready to shoot for upto 15 mintues can be hard.

Ice Caves - Eyjafjallajökull Eruption, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:43:31 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

1,5 month ago I hiked up part of Eyjafjallajökull volcano while it was still active. I had to see it up close. I couldn´t get as high as I wanted (blocked by cliffs) but still I got a good view of those impressive ice caves in the glacier.

They where formed when the eruption became a lava flowing eruption for a short period of time. Unfortunately the lava flow stopped before the lava itself emerged out of the icecaves. It would have been a extraordinary to see a lava river flow out of a icecave!

On my way back from the volcano I got my car stuck in volcanic ash/mud. Having sneaked into a restricted area, calling for help was not an option. Fortunately some serious digging and pushing got my car loose in the early morning hours.

If you are in Iceland, drop by at my Photo Gallery: www.arcticphoto.is