Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Toad's Iceland: Jökulhlaup
#1

Aftermath of a Jökulhlaup

This photo shows the remains of a steel highway bridge, destroyed by the catastrophic 1996 jökulhlaup.

A jökulhlaup is a glacial outburst flood that occurs when a volcanic eruption under a glacier causes countless tons of ice to melt - but remain trapped under the ice cap.
Eventually the heat of the steam causes the entire ice cap to rise up, and the melted water rushes out destroying everything in its path.

The 1996 jökulhlaup caused by an eruption of Grímsvötn released water at a rate of 50,000 cubic meters/second.

[Image: JokulhlaupST.jpg]
Leica M9 / Leica 28mm Elmarit-M ASPH, ISO 160, F13, 1/180 sec


Apocalyptic Floods

Scientists believe that 8-10,000 years ago, a single catastrophic jökulhlaup carved this gorge through which the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river flows.
The gorge runs from Vatnajökull all the way to the Greenland Sea.

This waterfall, Selfoss, is just a couple of hundred meters upstream of Dettifoss, the most powerful waterfall in Europe (flow approx 193 cubic meters/second).

Powerful as Dettifoss and Selfoss are, they are faint echoes of the jökulhlaup that created them.

[Image: 45_SelfossST.jpg]
Leica M9 / 50mm Leica Summicron-M, ISO 160, F8, 1/180 sec


The Danger Zone

One of Iceland's most dangerous volcanoes is Katla (4 eruptions since 1947). When Katla erupts, the resulting jökulhlaup starts here - at Emstrur.
The Emstrur huts, where we stayed, are located at the mouth of an amazing gorge carved through the volcanic rock by jökulhlaups.

When volcanic activity is detected at Katla, the wardens begin shooting off flares and sounding alarms (sirens and flash-bangs).
When you hear those alarms, you get to high ground as fast as you can - no delay.

[Image: Emstrur%201ST.jpg]
Leica M9 / 50mm Leica Summicron-M, ISO 160, F6.7, 1/250 sec


The Emstrur Gorge

Carved by centuries of jökulhlaups, the Emstrur Gorge is an amazing place. To get an idea of the scale of this gorge, look for the SUV parked on the top left rim.

[Image: Emstrur%202ST.jpg]
Leica M9 / Leica 28mm Elmarit-M ASPH, ISO 160, F8, 1/60 sec
Reply
#2

Am guessing then that a "jokul-.." is a sort of tsunami event Rob?
A stupendous place..and I reckon you've chosen well the "small" features to give a sense not only of the physical and geographical scale but also the emotional impact: the ant-like transience of the human against the gigantic and chaotic, as it were. No mean feat, I would add.
I'm interested also in the pp or conversions you have chosen here: obviously a wide dynamic range available via the combination of optics and sensor. Are these "lo-contrast" conversions, Rob, or is there a layering-in of something else that equalises the shadows/highlights? I ask this as just occasionally the painterly almost gives way to the unnatural in some of the above shots.
I must temper this, as my spirit of one of enquiry and not criticism: the compositions, subjects, choice of lens..and I think aperture as well, are jolly decent( and I confess identical to my imagined approach too!)
As ever, thanks for going to the trouble of presenting the images and text in a very engaging way(gimme more, I'd personally add Smile )

All my stuff is here: www.doverow.com
(Just click on the TOP RIGHT buttons to take you to my Image Galleries or Music Rooms!)
My band TRASHVILLE, in which I'm lead guitarist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6mU6qaNx08
Reply
#3

Thank you Zig. The analogy of a jökulhlaup to a tsunami is a good one, even though the causes are very different (beyond both being seismic based events).

The Icelandic word jökull that is the root of jökulhlaup means "glacier" or "broken ice". A lot of place names in Iceland have this word buried somewhere in them (i.e. Vatnajökull, Eyjafjallajökull, Jökulsárlón). I would be lying big time if I told you that I could even begin to speak Icelandic, but as close as I can make out, jökulhlaup is pronounced a bit like this: yokutlop

Zig: you may not believe this, but these photos are pretty much straight from the camera. I have done some minor exposure tweaks, crops, and straightening, but this is how it looks there - no real pp or stylistic enhancement at all in these shots. Pretty much - what you ses is what you get. One of the most amazing things about Icelandic landscapes is the palette of colors - they look absolutely unreal - much like a "paint by numbers" kit, or something painted by an artist with limited training and technique. If I could shoot in Iceland all the time, I could stop post processing altogether.

Speaking hardware for a moment, I have to admit to being amazed by the dynamic range that the Leica pulls out of its subjects. The photo of Selfoss included here would have been a mess of dark shadows and blown highlights with any of my previous digital cameras. The exposure was spot on for that one, but still...

Thanks for your comments - its nice to have an audience for these stories and photos.
Reply
#4

Fascinating and terrifying – I can't even begin to imagine the forces at work, or the reality of living in a place where the landscape can radically change in a short period of time. I've spent the better part of the past hour reading up on these events, both contemporary and prehistoric, and I have to say that none of the articles have anything approaching the quality of your images.

Iceland is somewhere I've been idly interested in visiting for a while, but your photos and stories are making it more and more likely that I'll make the trip.

matthewpiers.com • @matthewpiers | robertsonphoto.blogspot.com | @thewsreviews • thewsreviews.com
Reply
#5

matthew Wrote:Fascinating and terrifying – I can't even begin to imagine the forces at work, or the reality of living in a place where the landscape can radically change in a short period of time. I've spent the better part of the past hour reading up on these events, both contemporary and prehistoric, and I have to say that none of the articles have anything approaching the quality of your images.

Iceland is somewhere I've been idly interested in visiting for a while, but your photos and stories are making it more and more likely that I'll make the trip.
Thanks very much, Matt. Terrifying is the exact right way to describe this phenomena - there is no upside to it that I can see, like when a large river floods and replenishes the soil of the surrounding countryside. All you can do is hope to hell you aren't in the path.

As for making the trip, its definitely a photographer's paradise. Strongly recommended.
Reply
#6

The water in turmoil impresses me as much as the rest of the shots. I like the colour and sharpness.
Zig and Matthew have more vocabulary then me, so you will just have to read their script again. Smile

Lumix LX5.
Canon 350 D.+ 18-55 Kit lens + Tamron 70-300 macro. + Canon 50mm f1.8 + Manfrotto tripod, in bag.
Reply
#7

Good man that Toad. I've no doubt that the quality of the lenses and the excellence of their coatings combine to ameliorate "low-contrast resolution". Beats me how Leica and Zeiss can do this yet (in my limited etcWink Canon either cannot or choose not to(or I'm yet to work out how to).. I've no recent experience with Nikon, so can't comment on their present glassware. Anyway, a moot point, as the drawing quality of the above really does convey much more than "scenics": words like "terrifying" and "turmoil" are rarely associated with 900- or so pixel-images, particularly on ST perhaps, though Brother Adrian also oft takes a nice snap which pull details out like a wringer. I really do hope we're to see more Iceland(and Italy too Smile ) No pressure though!

All my stuff is here: www.doverow.com
(Just click on the TOP RIGHT buttons to take you to my Image Galleries or Music Rooms!)
My band TRASHVILLE, in which I'm lead guitarist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6mU6qaNx08
Reply
#8

Thanks NT - I appreciate the comment.
Reply
#9

Zig Wrote:I really do hope we're to see more Iceland(and Italy too Smile ) No pressure though!
No problem - I have quite a few stored up. Thanks a lot, Z.
Reply
#10

Gorgeous photos and a fascinating backstory Toad.
I haven't got anything to add that hasn't already been said, except "keep 'em coming". Big Grin

Adrian Broughton
My Website: www.BroughtonPhoto.com.au
My Blog: blog.BroughtonPhoto.com.au
You can also visit me on Facebook!
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." - Einstein.
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread / Author Replies Views Last Post
Last Post by Toad
Feb 22, 2012, 15:22
Last Post by Toad
Feb 22, 2012, 15:21

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)