Mystical Iceland - Alessandra Meniconzi
in Photography , Thursday, November 29, 2007
This review is very, very overdue, but maybe with Christmas coming up, it isn't so badly timed. I have written about Alessandra Meniconzi before, and reviewed her first book, The Silk Road. This, her second major publication, is also the fruit of several years of hard work (maybe not quite so hard, or quite so many, as for The Silk Road, but probably considerably wetter!). This time Alessandra turns her focus on Iceland, which is pretty much guaranteed to get my attention.
"Mystisches Island", to give it its German title, is a collection of photographs spanning pretty much all of Iceland, both from the ground and the air, often battling against Iceland's worst weather, and indeed taking advantage of it.
Iceland is becoming a more and more popular subject for photographers, including a growing number of very talented native Icelanders. So what can another book bring to the market ? Well, in this case, a lot. Iceland is, often, spectacular, and any competent photographer should be able to bring home a few attention grabbing images. But that isn't what we have here. Somehow these photographs convey a strong sense of place, of fascination, and involvement. They don't feel like they were taken with an audience in mind, but more like from a strong, personal passion for the place, the people, and its stories. They are photographs that demanded to be made, publication or no publication. Although these photographs are principally landscapes, there is often a strong sense of narrative within them. I could not say if it is conscious or not, but a handful of the photos also seem to pay tribute to some of Iceland's leading photographers, including Sigurgeir Sigurjónsson and Ragnar Axelsson.
I guess in some ways this book appeals to me because I know a lot of these places, and have tried, not very successfully, to take some of these photographs myself. It is a bit weird when another photographer manages to take pretty much the same photo as me, only considerably better.
It is difficult to pick out a favourite from the book's 120 or so photos, but this one has a particular appeal to me...
photo © Alessandra Meniconzi
..the space, the emptiness, the timelessness, the colour - and of course the sheep - these are all elements that make Iceland what it is.
And this leads me to my one criticism of the book: the title. To me, "Mystical Iceland" sounds a bit "new age", and undersells the book. Maybe "Elemental Iceland" would be more appropriate. That's what it feels like to me.
"Mystisches Iceland" is very highly recommended (could you guess?), and is published with German text by Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg, ISBN 978-3-7822-0951-9. I believe an English version is in planning, but I haven't seen it yet. Alessandra has also published a 2008 calendar featuring her Icelandic photography (ISBN-10: 3765446734, ISBN-13: 978-3765446733), but this too is unfortunately elusive.
This trip was really supposed to be about relaxation, after a very grueling 9 months or so of work, but nevertheless I packed a lightweight camera kit - Olympus E400 and a couple of lenses. So lightweight that I forgot the battery charger. This was possibly a blessing in disguise, as it made me very selective, but even so, I managed to get nearly 300 frames out of a partially discharged battery. Actually I came close to running out of CF cards! However, this did mean I had to forgo long exposures and infra red shots.
There are two sides to Sardinia, the coast and the inland regions. Both in turn are vary varied, within the limits obviously of a Mediterranean climate. The east coast north of Tortoli is perhaps one of the best areas for landscape photography, as most of it is given over as a national park. There are high mountains, densely forested, and some truly stupendous coastline, with dramatic sheer cliffs sheltering isolated beaches with crystal clear waters. Many of these can only be reached by sea, but the most famous, Cala Goloritze, can these days only be reached by foot, about a 1 hour trek from the nearest road.
Wildlife is also plentiful, especially birds. There are various salt marshes scattered around, in particular in the south, and these provided a seasonal home to masses of flamingoes. There are also rare eagles and buzzards, in particular in the wilder areas. The east coast features the spectacular - and isolated - sand dunes of Piscinas, and further up dramatic coastlines near Bosa. Throughout Sardinia you can find weird and wonderful naturally sculptures, where the wind and water has eroded the granite into shapes Gaudi would be proud of.
To cap it all, all over the island are remarkably preserved remains of the mysterious neolithic culture which predated the various Mediterranean cultures. The village of Tiscali, built inside a partly collapsed hollow in the summit of a mountain, is particularly though provoking - and a nightmare trek to reach.
Of course in high summer, most of the coastal areas are over-run, and best avoided unless you're an Italian speaking lemming. But otherwise... if you get a chance, don't miss it.
I also find that LR by default gives a slightly warm rendition, and an ever so slightly plasticky feel. I can't quite put my finger on it, and it may be pure prejudice. However, it may simply somehow reflect a consensus taste on what constitutes a good rendition. Certainly it seems to be in tune with the style trends seen in sites such as Flickr, where a photo really needs to grab attention to stand out.
The current issue of the Leica magazine, LFI (I can't afford the cameras, so I settle for the magazine), compares LR with CaptureOne (which I've hardly touched for a year), specifically for Leica M8 DNG files. They note that C1 does extract a touch more detail, and gives a more "film-like" rendition, but finally, the differences are hardly noticeable in print.
I have the same conclusion with RD. By default, it gives both my E400 and E1 photos a sightly cooler rendition, which is highly subjective, but which I prefer. It also has a vast array of controls, and leaves you to get on with, which in some cases can be very rewarding. However, it does remain fiddly, even on a big screen, and the lack of any organised community support (a user forum) is a serious drawback, even though direct user support is excellent.
There are still things about LR that drive me nuts, especially is modality and its way too complex method of handling metadata and keywords - have they never seen iView ? And RD has the edge in conversion to black and white. But LR is incredibly convenient, fun to use, and has excellent community support. So until I'm back trying to extract the last 1% of quality from a file, it looks like I've settled on Lightroom. And Satan went to the local ice rink on a flying pig.
It must be difficult for editors of these magazines to find new angles and new stories. Photography can get repetitive at times ... just take a look at any issue of Outdoor Photography (which I subscribe to). I actually like landscape photography, but in {insert deity here}'s name, how many wide angle, low viewpoint, long exposure, sunset views of incoming tides over rocky beaches do we need ? An infinite number it seems.
DSLR Magazine seems, on the sample I've seen so far, to be trying a bit harder to avoid the clichés, and is also avoid the trap of getting stuck at beginner level, like Practical Photography. I've decided it is worth the (quite expensive) international subscription, to see how it turns out.
DSLR magazine also runs a