The huge chunks of ice forming icebergs are endlessly fascinating in their varied forms. A perforated one creating an ice arch is that bit more eye-catching and we had a close encounter with one at Booth Island. When presented with an interesting subject it is important to approach it in a variety of ways as the first view is not always the best. Time spent working a subject is well worth it to maximise the opportunity and is a useful photographic exercise even when faced with a small and seemingly uninteresting subject. Our first view was from the deck of our ship and despite favouring the bow for the low viewing angle it gave I was still some metres above the water making it difficult to include any interesting foreground. I chose to eliminate most of the sea and keep the iceberg at a simple junction of thirds and use the clouds to contain the top of the image.

As we headed further into the bay we passed some other smaller icebergs and I managed to use them as foreground to create an image with more depth.

We were lucky to approach more closely by Zodiac while keeping at a safe distance in case of a collapse. The water level viewing angle gives a much more intimate view and allows the inclusion of some foreground elements to the composition. Watching the ice fragments in the foreground while the Zodiac manoeuvred resulted in a composition with them situated to create some leading lines toward the arch. An image taken fractionally before or after would have lost this arrangement.

Moving closer I explored the details and textures more and was lucky to catch a gull flying under the arch. It spent a bit of time circling and it was a matter of waiting for it to head to the right place and then capture it with a decent wing position.

The final image was taken as we headed back past the ship toward our landing on Booth Island and I was again able to use a smaller pieces of ice as a foreground element by waiting for the right moment. It can be distracting when faced with a dramatic subject as it draws all the attention but by consciously concentrating on foreground and background elements in the composition you can design more interesting images.

More images of this particular iceberg are in my previous post on a Sense of Scale.

All images with Nikon D810 and 24-120mm f4 VR lens