Geothermal Blues

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted September 22, 2013614 views5 comments

An incredible sunset at the Bjarnarflag Geothermal Power Plant in the Mývatn area of northeastern Iceland.

This pool collects the water runoff from the geothermal power plant. The water is created when super heated steam condenses from water vapor into liquid water after passing through the steam turbines. The beautiful blue colors are a result of the sediment suspended in the water which absorbs most wavelengths of light except for the blues/cyans which are reflected back into our eyes.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm
4 sec at f/16, ISO 50

Thanks for any comments or suggestions you have. Please check out the larger version.

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Karsten Wrobel on September 23, 2013 at 4:44 PM

gorgeous colours, Scott... I really like the white rising steam against the pink sky and your inclusion of the fg rocks...
isn't this place right next to that natural swimming pool? for a moment I thought your photo was of the swimming pool, but the lake is obviously so much bigger

Registered on November 1, 2008, 117 Posts, 851 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Fricke on September 24, 2013 at 3:39 PM

Nice! Great color and composition. I like you included the foreground rocks in the LRC, it helps keep your eye moving around the image. I'm jealous, when I was there it was heavy fog and you could only see about 20 feet.

Karsten, I think you are correct, the "swimming pool" is just on the other side of the road if I remember correctly.

Registered on January 19, 2007, 133 Posts, 1448 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on September 24, 2013 at 11:19 PM

Thanks Karsten and Scott. This pool is near the Mývatn Nature Baths. It's located right next to the main road (north side of the road), just before you arrive in Mývatn.
Scott- It's a bummer the fog was in when you visited this area. It's a beautiful place. I definitely know what you mean about the fog. We ran into really thick fog over near Godafoss and Aldeyjarfoss one evening. Driving was quite an adventure, since I could only see a few feet in front of the hood!

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on September 26, 2013 at 10:40 PM

I think your comp -- including the fg rocks -- is a great way to display the amazing colors here.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on September 28, 2013 at 9:09 PM

Smoking! Lovely colour palette.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments