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Iceland, as many know, is a place of remarkable light. This morning from Dyrholaey Preserve was no exception to that quality.

My friend and I had risen early to photograph the sea stacks on Endless Black Beach. We were about to move on when the sunrise presented some beautiful colors on the distant horizon. So, I swung my camera south to capture compositions of the Reynisdrangar formation in the evolving light.

For this image, I chose my longest lens. It was a windy morning (no surprise in Iceland), and I had to weigh my tripod down with whatever I had at hand, including rocks. It was low light, and I wanted to give the ocean a silky look. I fell on 10 seconds to give me what I wanted. Any longer, the gusty wind would have ruined the exposure. A few of my images were distorted by the gusts.

I like the offset framing of the sea stacks in this particular image because the open sea around the rocks lends more context.