MAGIC of ICELAND
Diamond ice chards from calving icebergs on black sand beach at Jokulsarlon in south Iceland. (Chuck Haney photo)
Snow capped mountain above the North Atlantic shoreline on the Snaefellsnes peninsula in western Iceland. (Chuck Haney photo)
Aurora borealis reflects below Kirkjufell aka Church Mountain on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in western Iceland (Chuck Haney photo)
Whitefish photographer Chuck Haney is stretching his artistic focus.
After decades in the business, he has made a career out of capturing iconic images of Glacier National Park’s landscapes and his photo of a snow-covered Central Avenue looking north to Big Mountain has become almost iconic.
Now, Haney has turned his lens to Iceland. He has photographed the country solo and with his students as instructor for a photography workshop.
“Iceland looks amazing,” he said. “Iceland is a unique place — there’s no other place like it on the planet.”
His pictures paint the scene for a blue landscape along the smooth waves of the sea set in contrast by the sharp edges of bolder-size ice on the sand.
Haney likens the views to the otherworldliness of “Lord of the Rings,” the fantasy book and film series.
“It’s magical,” he said. “There’s snow covered peaks that jut into the ocean. It’s very dramatic.”
For him capturing the magic, meant finding ways to photograph the ice of the country. Whether it was crawling under a glacier to capture bubbles stuck in the ice or dodging sea waves to capture shots of ice chucks that deposit themselves in the black sand along the coast.
“The coolest thing was the ice,” he said. “The ice chucks look like diamonds littered on the black sand. I wish I had more time to photograph that.”
Culturally, he says, Iceland is a melting pot of Europe and North America. He spent time in the country’s capital, Reykjavic, capturing the night lights of the city and in the countryside taking photos of the country’s Icelandic horses.
Haney will talk about and show photos from his trip and his other work during a presentation March 16 as a benefit for the North Valley Food Bank.
To his credit, Haney has more than 200 cover photos and has published 13 books. He has traveled extensively across America in pursuit of intriguing images. Each summer and fall he teaches a handful of photography workshops.
He recently also completed two new books, which release this spring under Farcountry Press. “Portrait of San Francisco” showcases the California city through its iconic landmarks and cityscapes. “Badlands Impressions” is a refresher of a previous book and offers striking photos that capture the rugged terrain of the Badlands landscapes across multiple states.
While the Badlands book involved photographing the familiar natural landscapes Haney has built his career upon, working to capture San Fransisco was a new challenge that he calls a “shot in the arm” to his art.
Haney says there is about a 30 minute period of time at dawn and dusk when the city and ambient lights mix perfectly and so his goal was to be in the right place to take images of the cityscapes.
“It’s all about the light,” he said. “Nature has its own type of architecture, but it’s a lot different genre.”
Chuck Haney will present his work “The Winter Magic of Iceland” Thursday, March 16 at the O’Shaughnessy Center downtown at 6:30 p.m. Admission is by donation to the North Valley Food Bank. A raffle of his signed books, prints and calendars will also be held.