While most landscape photographers can be found trawling forecasts and making sure they are prepared for the conditions they are about to take pictures of, Iceland has taught one of them to trust to fate and go out without expectations.
Erez Maron, writing for Digital Photography Review, tells the story of how in the middle of a harsh North Iceland winter, with a northern lights forecast of zero, he nevertheless decided to go out with his camera near Lake Mývatn—and ended up shooting the best aurora borealis shots he had ever taken.
Another time, he had been confined to a hotel near Vík í Mýrdal for 24 hours as the weather beat down and prevented going outdoors. The following day, with the weather scarcely any better, he went out anyway and was rewarded with a five-minute break in the hail storm during which he took one of this favorite shots; featuring the black sand beach covered in white icy hailstones.
The moral of the tale, he contends, is that the unknown surprises of not following the forecasts and of putting oneself in situations not meticulously prepared for beforehand can lead to the best photographs and the greatest joy of photography.
