The Reynisdrangar rock formation is a basalt sea stack situated near the southern village of Iceland called Vik I Myrdal. The formations shoot dramatically out of the ocean under the looming cliffs of Mt Reynisfjall, resulting in a beautiful site. The rocks were one of the filming locations of the Game of Thrones and are an iconic location well known by many landscape photographers familiar with Iceland.

This picture was captured from the Dyrholaey cliffs, a few kilometres west of Vik. Most pictures captured from this location include a beautiful basalt column in the foreground. However, I preferred to ignore it and isolate Reynisdrangar into a minimalistic composition instead.

I consciously chose not to compose according to the rule of thirds as I wanted to emphasise the beautifully coloured monochromatic sky by placing the rock formation in the lower left corner. This offered the picture more tension, displaying the contrast between the dimensions of the 66-metre-high rocks and the amazing winter-coloured sky.

The basalt sea stacks look tiny in this minimalistic composition but dominate the picture. In order to emphasise the two main elements in the picture – the rocks and the sky – and not to distract the viewer from the movement of the waves, I used a 30-second exposure to smooth out the surface of the sea.

I used my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, a 10-stop ND filter and a solid tripod to capture this beautiful view.

I prefer to travel to Iceland during autumn or winter as the light is amazing during those seasons. This picture was captured at the end of January during a sunset.

---

Create your Personal Portfolio Page and let us share your published pictures with over 300,000 members and followers.
Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor

Benefits of VIP membership:
• Download all new issues of Landscape Photography Magazine
• Download all back issues of Landscape Photography Magazine
• Download all new issues of Wild Planet Photo Magazine
• Download all back issues of Wild Planet Photo Magazine
• Download premium eBooks worth £19.45.
• Create your Personal Portfolio Page – click here to see sample
• Your pictures stay attached to your Personal Portfolio Page forever
• We promote your uploaded pictures to over 300,000 members and followers
• Submission Priority – your submission goes to the front of the queue
• Fast Support – we aim to reply within 12 hours

Subscribe to VIP now