Roadmap of an Image

Dawn, Vik Black Sand Beach

This is an image I shot on the Black Sand Beach in Vik, Iceland in early May. On the surface the composition is simple-- black basalt columns in the foreground, a foamy wave spread out on a canvas of ink-black sand acting as a leading line that points towards the dawning light and monolithic sea-stacks.

Step back a bit. What is composition? Basically it's how the photographer or painter choses what will be in the frame (and what won't). It's choices made in a way that tells a story, leads the eye into the frame. Choices. How each design element is balanced within the whole.

The physics of landscape. There's a fair amount of physics in photography, especially landscape photography. How the light touch the columns, sand, sea. How the camera sees that light and turns a scene into pixels. How the software algorithms change the light in post production from Raw file to finished product.

But that's only the beginning. Notice the blur in the breaking waves, the sign of a long exposure. But there's no blur at the top of the wave, where it pauses for a sec. Notice how polished the basalt columns are at their bottom, how rough at the top. In landscape photography the artist can harness the power of water, the shape of geology, of motion and inertia in a way that impacts the art work.

The experience. Every photo has a story. For this image, I showed up at 4:30 AM. Partly because I knew that by 7 or 8, the flood of tourists would start and that perfect black sand would be chewed up or someone would climb the columns for a selfie. But mostly I showed up then because dawn would hit at 4 AM and I was too jet-lagged to get down there sooner.

So I parked and dragged my gear out of the rental car. I read a bit of the Caution sign regarding the danger of "sneaker waves." It turns out this beach, at the very southern tip of Iceland, is one of the most dangerous spots in Iceland.

So I stowed my gear beyond the water's high point and looked the scene over. Even with the wind, I was stoked by the scene. But I took a second and breathed the location in. Looking at the wave action, how the light was hitting stuff. The wave foam was a nice leading line so I started with that. Seeing what happened to the waves with different shutter speeds, with catching the waves just as they came up, or receeded, and the columns. And got some nice stuff -- along with some wet feet.

But it wasn't enough. The thing is when I compose a shot, I like it to work on several levels at once. That way, the viewer can almost get lost in the moment instead of saying "Got it," after a quick glance. So I was frustrated.

Then I saw the black columns, really saw them with my jet-lagged eyes. "Isn't that funny," I thought. "That one pillar is so worn by weather and wave that it looks like the smooth palm of someone's hand." And that was the spark.

I weighted the composition by making that one spot my focus point. And as icing on the cake, I captured a wave just at its high point. I had what I needed. I did a few more shots of things from the other direction. And headed back to the BnB for some bed time.