Lögberg-Heimskringla - 27.08.2004, Síða 1

LOGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA
Logberg stofnuð 14. janúar 1888
Heimskringla stofhað 9. september 1886
Sameinuð 20. dgúst 1959
. Za*
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K3 -íísssSfj.
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Friday 27 August 2004 • Number 16 / Numer 16 • FÖstudagur 27. ágú^fc
Publication Mail Agreement No. 40012014, PAP # 8000
118th year/118. Árgangur
ISSN 0047-4967
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Destination: Ottawa
In addition to politics,
the capital of Canada is
home to many of Icelandic
descent / pages 5 - 11, 16
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Inspired by Snorri
Gerry Einarsson and the
Friends of Iceland draw
from the past and look to the
future / page 9
PHOTO: STEINÞÓR GUÐBJARTSSON
Getting more Icelandic
Strap yourself in for a
ride with Lou Howard — if
you can keep up / page 10
David Jón Fuller
WlNNIPEG, MB
John Welsh hopes his lat-
est work will encourage people
to see Iceland in an new light.
Welsh, a Philadelphia pho-
tographer, has made six trips to
Iceland over the last two years,
capturing the country’s land-
scape.
Welsh’s forte since
embarking on his career in
1987 was taking pictures of
people, first in fashion, then
photojournalism. “I never
became a hard-core joumalist,”
he says, “but I still think in
terms of telling a story.”
During a trip to Iceland, he
says on his website, “I knew I
had to return. The strange yet
incredible scenes I found in
Iceland’s empty spaces fed my
desire to explore.”
The result was 7,000 pho-
tographs, from which he has
drawn an exhibit, “Iceland:
Another Take,” and an upcom-
ing book by the same name.
The exhibit will appear at
Scandinavian Fest in Edison,
New Jersey on September 5,
and feature 25 photos.
He plans to publish the
book himself, aiming to
PHOTO: JOHN WELSH
Geitlandshraun, one of the photos in John Welsh’s “Iceland: Another Look.” Welsh spent a
total of three months in Iceland, spread over two years, for the project.
include 50 photos. “The
choice to self-publish was
made so I could keep the con-
tent true to my experiences,”
he says. “Most books on Ice-
land I have seen contain spec-
tacular scenes and are pho-
tographed very well. My expe-
riences are very different and I
think this is the strength of the
work.”
Welsh notes that his great-
est challenge during this proj-
ect was “probably what Ice-
land is famous for — the
unpredictable weather. I
learned not only to deal with it,
but to use it to my advantage
(even though it can be tough of
photographic equipment).”
That unpredictability
rewarded him with a few sur-
prises, such as the topmost
photo on this page. “[It] hap-
pened during a stormy day
when I was near Þingvallavatn,
though at the time the area was
new to me and I was unaware
the lake was nearby. After
about an hour or so of driving
along a twisted road, the road
suddenly straightend and the
lake appeared on the horizon.
Almost perfectly timed, the
storm halted and a single beam
of sunlight broke through the
clouds and illuminated one of
two islands in the lake. This
lasted long enough for me to
stop the car, load the camera
with a fresh roll of film and
fire off a few shots — probably
a minute or two at most. Then
the sky darkened, the light
faded and the rain started
again.”
Welsh plans to retum to
Iceland, perhaps this winter,
mainly to visit friends there.
As for a sequel to Iceland:
Another Look, he speculates:
“Hawaii. Why not take the
same shooting style and apply
it to a tropical island that’s also
volcanic? It may make a good
counterpart to the current
work.”
PHOTO: JOHN WELSH
In This Issue
Philadelphian takes
‘another look’ at Iceland
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