I took this image on my first visit to Iceland. We were meant to spend our week travelling the well-trodden tourist (and photographic) route along the south and west coasts but encountered persistent clouds and grey skies, so we decided to head to Myvatn, northeast of the island.
The conditions in the Myvatn area were perfect – long and gently beautiful twilights in the morning and evening, sunny days and, importantly, cloudless nights so that we could see the northern lights. It was freezing, though, which was a small price to pay for the glorious light.
I took this image from the side of the road as we passed through Dimmifjallgardur, a mountain range with the highest point of 857m, on our way back to Myvatn. I liked how the road curved towards the mountains, disappearing into the distance, and composed the image accordingly.
It was early afternoon, but we were already well into the 'blue hour', which refers to the phase of twilight when the sun is so far below the horizon that the light's blue wavelengths dominate. In December, the blue hour lasts longer than an hour and affects not only the sky's colour but the snow's colour, which is definitely blue-toned.
Although I like the colour version of this image in colour, I prefer the black and white version as it allows greater focus on the shapes and tones. Typical blue hour light is soft and delicate, so I kept the post-processing relatively subtle to enhance the peacefulness and emptiness of the scene.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor