land of awe

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 4 photos

After a grueling winter full of snow storms and brutal cold, dusting off recently stored winter gear and heading to Iceland in the middle of June wasn't most peoples' idea of a good summer time. However, always on a lookout for a new adventure, we headed out of Reykjavik in our tiny rental, snacks in hand, praying that the rain wouldn't follow us around. Initially, all was quite uneventful, as we attempted to manage our excitement. We knew Iceland was full of hidden treasures and thrived on keeping an eye out for them. Looking out at seemingly predictable landscapes, a distant gleam would catch our eye, and curiosity winning out over reason, we would drive off of the (sometimes) paved main road to check out what would turn out to be a beautiful waterfall or a hidden village with grass-covered houses. That is Iceland – unpredictable. A land of contrasts and surprises. It makes you take a step back, and always keeps you on your toes – you never know what may happen when driving past an Icelandic volcano that last erupted in 1999, with its next scientifically predicted outburst at right about...now. The solitude and smallness that you feel when standing on the side of a road in the middle of an immense valley with nothing but a farmhouse in view miles away, is hardly describable in words, so I tried to capture its raw beauty in pictures.
I spend every chance I get going to new places, camera glued to palm, trying to capture every moment on film. Nothing would compare to the chance of going to Bhutan, a country at the top of my wish-list, whilst learning and observing first-hand from Jason Edwards, someone fortunate enough to be doing my dream job.