GUIDEBOOK
James Rushforth
Photographing Iceland ( volumes 1 and 2 ) fotovue
Photographing Iceland was a five-year labour of love for James Rushforth . Here Egill Bjarnason explains what the book means to him from the foreword of volume one …
With Photographing Iceland , James Rushforth has put together a striking visual account of one of the wildest landscapes on earth . Drawing on decades of experience photographing remote sites , James set himself a new challenge here in a land marked by extremes .
I grew up in Selfoss , Iceland , bicycling around the countryside and working on sailboats for months at a time . So I know all too well how unpredictable and unforgiving the landscape can be . Violent storms blow up out of nowhere , while the lunar highlands can leave you hopelessly lost . I certainly learned that the hard way a few times – breathless and frozen on the side of some remote road .
And so I know , too , the incredible labour that went into creating this book . Behind every photograph is a stunning amount of patience . A single photo might require driving along narrow �jords in dif�icult winter conditions , before ascending hillsides in the dark with 5kg of camera equipment . Waiting for hours for the right light , or for severe weather to pass . Fixing �lats with frozen �ingers . Belaying deep into unexplored ice caves . Spending days without seeing another person .
While at a glance , the subjects of the photographs may seem to be solid , reliable markers – a mountain , a hilltop , an expanse of stone – what ’ s really captured here is the constant change of the Icelandic world . The slow drift of a glacier ’ s face . The languorous movements of the northern lights . The shifting course of a braided river channel , or spattering hot mud pots , or the drifting steam of a geyser . These are photos of ephemera . And as invasive species encroach on existing fauna , and glaciers melt more rapidly , this book is testimony to the need to conserve one of the largest wilderness areas in Europe .
Folded into this book , too , is an act of deep generosity . James extends a true invitation , sharing the best routes and viewpoints ; advising the reader on the best light and weather , and giving careful guidance so that others can discover these sights while remaining respectful of the natural and fragile landscape .
That ’ s the real strength of the eye at work , here . Not simply the ability to notice our subglacial meltwater channels or descend into treacherous rifts : the way the collection makes way for you , the reader , to follow in his footsteps , and see for yourself our home of glinting ice and shadow .
Aurora borealis over Hellnar Church
10 outdoor focus / winter 2022