The Last Light of the Year

Last New Year’s Eve we were driving through the snow in Iceland when we spotted a lone fir tree. Naturally we had to stop. As we got out of the car, my already cold feet immediately let me know how unhappy they were about being part of this detour. They wanted no further involvement and showed their rebellion by refusing to move from the snowy drift I’d planted them in. No wandering about to look for new angles to photograph the tree! No more crunching through deep snow! My feet were on strike.

So I stayed rooted to the spot, watching the pretty light and making use of all three cameras I had with me (four, counting my phone). The tree was so beautiful that the people in the next car to go past also pulled over to photograph the same scene. We ended up chatting with them about how it really was the platonic ideal of a Christmas tree. And for a moment, it felt like a small, shared winter wonderland and my feet forgot they were freezing. 

It also seemed a fitting moment to mark the turning of the year, a pause in the snow (involuntary, due to the feet situation) to take stock, look forward, and let the quiet beauty of the scene do the talking. January’s name, after all, comes from Janus, the Roman god who looks both to the past and the future, and is associated with change and transition.

With only three hours of daylight each day, every photographic opportunity in Iceland felt precious. No sooner had the sun risen than it was time for it to set again, creating vivid colours in the sky. In the middle of the day it was all go, with sunrise, noon and sunset happening at once. It was both the start of the day and the end. I took this picture in the middle of that brief window, the hinge point of the day that was itself the hinge of the year.

And now, a year later, I find myself looking back on that day while also making plans for the future, one step at a time. We are plotting new adventures, as always. I have bought some heated socks, for use on future trips to cold places. At Viewfinders, we are also making a small change to the website. From January, we will be posting twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy New Year!

kirstin