Reykjavík Grapevine - jan. 2022, Side 26

The Geldingardalir eruption provid-
ed unique experiences for hikers and
tourists, but it also piqued the cre-
ativity of photographers who venru-
red out to capture the blazing hot mo-
ment in time. Luckily for those who
didn’t make it out to the eruption
in person—and those who did, but
want a better way to remember the
experience than their dodgy iPhone
pics—a handful of amazing photog-
raphy books have been published
with Geldingardalir as the star.
Our so-called fire photographers
range from the little-known snap-
pers to household names and dis-
tinguished geologists. Here are the
books we’re loving from them right
now.
Ari Trausti Gu!mundsson is a
household name in Iceland. Not
only is he one of the country’s
most distinguished geologists,
he’s also a former member of par-
liament and he ran for president a
few years ago, although, without
luck. He is also the brother of Erró,
one of the most renowned visual
artists Iceland has ever produced.
Ari Trausti has written dozens of
books, ranging from fiction to sci-
ence. In this book he combined his
geological talents with those of
one of Iceland’s best photogra-
phers, Ragnar Th. Ragnar received
international attention when he
captured the brutality of the erup-
tion in Eyjafjallajökull in 2011.
Ragnar and Ari Trausti are regu-
lar collaborators, having produced
four books connected to Icelandic
nature that spans from Vatna-
jökull glacier to the northern
lights. This latest publication is a
safe bet for those wanting beauti-
ful imagery of the volcano, a deep
history of the area and an under-
standing of the eruption.
British photographer Max Milli-
gan is perhaps not a household
name in Iceland—yet— but he’s a
regular visitor to Iceland, photo-
graphing everything from land-
scapes to the world’s first female
president, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir.
He published his book, ‘Birth of a
Volcano’, last year after making
the difficult hike to the eruption
with 11 kilos (24 lbs) of equipment
on his back every time. Max also
made it into Icelandic news when
he captured the eruption under
the northern lights—a very rare
shot, considering the months over
which the volcano erupted. Over
the past two decades, Max has
photographed Etna, Vesuvius and
Stromboli in Italy as well as Bro-
mo in Indonesia, making him
probably one of the most experi-
enced volcano photographers on
this list.
We can’t stress enough how much
we like Sigurgeir Sigurjónsson’s
photography. His unique eye for
Icelandic nature even teaches Ice-
landers a thing or two about the
beauty and complexity of the
country. He has published books
that are as important for the Ice-
landic souls as the old sagas (check
out ‘Lost in Iceland’ and ‘Small
World Iceland’, for example). But
this list is about fire, not ice. Sig-
urgeir’s book, ‘Volcano Island’, is
mainly focused on the incredible
eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and its
impact on the surrounding area.
It was a dramatic event, not only
in Iceland but for the world, when
this small volcanic island stopped
air traffic between North America
and Europe for almost a whole
week.
Belgian photographer Jeroen Van
Nieuwenhove is perhaps the least
known name on this list, but he
also offers an intriguing insight
into the volcano in his book, ‘New
Earth: A Photographic Journey of
the Geldingadalir Eruption’. He
shot the volcano from a more inti-
mate perspective over the course
of his 44 hikes spanning the life of
the eruption.
The book is Jeroen’s attempt to
share his own experiences with
the volcano with the reader, with
text written in the style of a per-
sonal diary from his many visits.
Check this one out for a more per-
sonal approach to a massive natu-
ral event.
Guess what? You can grab your
copy of these books on
shop.grapevine.is

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