Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.09.2014, Side 38
38 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 14 — 2014PHOTOGRAPHY
Your passion is aerial photo-
graphy. What drew you to it?
In 2003, when I was researching for a
trip to Denali, the highest mountain in
North America, I learned about American
climber and aerial photographer Bradford
Washburn. He used a large-format film
camera, shot through the open door of an
airplane. Seeing his images inspired me a
lot and I knew I wanted to try the same. In
2009, I was hired by the Norwegian Polar
Institute to work in Svalbard. I shot my first
aerial frame there in a helicopter. Later on,
I wanted to go back to Iceland and shoot
some aerial photography because I had
already done so much from the ground. In
2010, I went for my first photography flight
in Iceland. After those first few frames I
shot I knew there was no going back. It
was a life-changing experience.
The allure of the highlands
What was your vision for your
project of the Icelandic highlands?
How did you accomplish your
vision? What were some of the
challenges you encountered on
this project?
My vision for this project was to make
abstract landscape images. I take the
images straight down because without
the orientation of the horizon, the viewer
kind of loses the perspective of the frame,
which creates that abstract feeling.
I mainly use an Ultralight or
Microlight aircraft. It’s like a hang glider,
but you have a pilot, a big motor and
an open cockpit. It can fly much slower
and lower than a larger aircraft like a
Cessna. I need the slower speed and
better accessibility from both sides to
carefully frame my shots straight down.
But it doesn’t handle turbulence as well
as a Cessna. For
example, a week after
the Eyjafjallajökull
eruption, we flew
down into the crater.
The turbulence was
so intense I thought
it might be my last
flight! It was quite an
adventure.
It’s key to know
where to go and how
to plan the day. I have
a pilot in Iceland
that I work with
very closely and we
plan out everything
beforehand. The early
morning light and late
afternoon light is the
best in the mountains
where there’s deep
contrast and shadows.
In the afternoon, I often
shoot rivers. The sun is
more directly above and the colour of the
rivers is spectacular. I talk to the pilot via
an intercom on the helmet, and I’m giving
him directions all the time. Go slower,
faster, down, up! It’s a very fine-tuned
collaboration. We can spend eight hours
in the air. It’s very hard work and it’s all
part of the challenge.
Your printing processes are very
meticulous and the results are
exceptional. Would you briefly
describe the process of making
the prints for this exhibition?
I’m showing large—format inkjet prints
in this exhibition. They’re printed on very
heavy fine art, museum—quality paper.
I always do a lot of
test prints before I
edition a print. An
edition means there
are a limited number
of prints per image. I
let the test print stay
in my living room for a
few days or weeks to
see if the composition
is right and that there
is nothing in the image
that disturbs me. If all
is good then the print
is ready to be made
into a limited edition.
Printing is the final step
of the photography
process, and for me,
it’s the most important
moment.
What excites and
inspires you creat-
ively? For example,
is it chasing that
perfect light, the thrill of exploring
new places or the satisfaction of
see-ing your final printed works
hanging on the wall?
Seeing the huge art canvas that is
the Earth from above, and being able to
capture just a small part of it. I consider
myself a reproduction artist; the original
artist is the Earth. Experiencing the
masterpiece has been life-changing.
Of course, after being so focused on
the flight, coming home from a trip and
going through the images is always very
surprising and gratifying. As I go through
the images, the experiences of the day
come back to me. I’m compelled to try
to express this in words, and one of my
favorite quotes is, “The only artist is nature
herself, the rest of us are only trying to
copy her brush strokes.” Seeing my work
living on a wall in other people’s homes is
also very gratifying. That’s the main goal.
Exploring the craft
You’ve been working as a pro-
fessional photographer for six
years. If you were starting again
today, knowing what you know
now with six years of experience,
what advice would you give
yourself? What, if anything, would
you do differently?
I’d study the old masters of photography
instead of following the latest digital
trends. I would have kept shooting film
and developing my own images. The cell
phones and digital cameras today with
built-in programs are great, and we all use
them, but often the craft of photography
can be lost in this technology. For me,
it’s important to know the details. I enjoy
mastering the fundamentals. Using film
forces one to understand the basics of
photography.
Today, in addition to taking digital
images, I use an 8” x 10” film camera more
and more in my projects. It’s a vintage
camera format used back in late 1800s.
It often takes almost an hour to make a
single image. It’s a very slow process. You
have to really think about the composition.
It’s a great way to understand photography
and how to read the light. You often skip
that step in digital.
The printing of the final image
is extremely important to me, and it’s
something I’ve always done myself
when possible. It’s not enough to just
take images and see them on a digital
display. That’s only half of the journey of
the image. One has to be printmaker too.
The art of printmaking is as important as
being a photographer. Sadly, that part is
often forgotten.
The best advice I could give myself
would probably be to focus on developing
projects instead of just going out to hunt
for a nice frame.
Do you have any new projects or
travels planned in the near future?
What’s on your photography bu-
cket list?
It’s a long list! I’m always pushing my
limits. I had to challenge my artist vision,
and instead of going into the future, I went
back to the beginning of photography—
both in terms of camera format and
printing. Today, I’m using a large-format
8” x 10” film camera that produces a
super-high-quality negative and makes
it possible to enlarge the images without
loss of detail. On the printing side, I’m
working with the Photogravure technique,
which is one of the oldest methods to get
a photograph onto paper. The photograph
is etched onto a copper plate, which I
then carefully ink up with oil-based inks,
and use a large press to transfer the
image from the copper plate onto paper.
The final product is amazing. In the near
future, I’d like to try my hand at other
historic techniques such as platinum and
carbon printing.
Elvar Örn is a professional photographer and filmmaker with a passion for aerial photography.
He’s traveled the world, from the deserts of Namibia, to icy Antarctica, and the highlands of
Iceland. He’s explored a wide range of techniques in the art of photography, and he’s delved
deeply into high-quality, archival printing processes. In collaboration with Gallerí List, select
works of his aerial photography from the Icelandic highlands will be on display at Sólon Bistro
starting September 15. I chatted with Elvar about his upcoming exhibition and his craft of
printmaking more generally.
Photos
Elvar Örn
Words
Matthew Eisman
Come Fly
With Me
INTER
VIEW
“My vision for this
project was to make
abstract landscape im-
ages. I take the images
straight down because
without the orienta-
tion of the horizon, the
viewer kind of loses
the perspective of the
frame, which creates
that abstract feeling.”
Aerial photographer Elvar Örn
on his project Over Iceland
Sólon Bistro www.elvarorn.comOpens on September 15. Artist talk will
be on September 17 at 18:00
Elvar Örn Kjartansson’s Exhibition
P R E V I E W
ART