photo: Mikael Buck
Sony’s updated camera sensor technology has been used to capture unprecedented images of Iceland’s ice caves. This photo series reveals the fine details of the ice caves in Vatnajökull, Iceland. The Vatnajökull glacier shifts and changes each year, exposing complex cave systems for only a few weeks. Flowing waterfalls and icy tunnels were also photographed.
Photographer Mikael Buck and local guides Einar Runar Sigurdsson and Helen Maria explored the ice caves with Sony digital cameras, including the high-resolution α7R II, which features a back-illuminated full-frame sensor. They also brought the RX10 II and RX100 IV.
These compact models feature a stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor, making them highly suitable for low-light conditions. The photographs were produced without any external aids, using only the natural light inside the ice caves.
Low-light photography capabilities make it possible to capture beautiful images like these
The photo series brings the caves to life, revealing the curves of the formations, the structure of the icicles and the marble-like texture of the cave walls. It captures the waterways flowing through the frozen caves, as well as the waterfalls that transform the cave’s blue walls. Buck also photographed an experienced local climber scaling the icy walls to demonstrate the cave’s immense size.
Helen Maria of Local Guide—Iceland’s oldest mountain guiding company—said: “I have been exploring these ice caves with Local Guide for years. Being able to spend time in these caves is a true privilege. Knowing that they are such a fleeting phenomenon makes it even more special. The opportunity to capture this natural environment in greater detail thanks to Sony’s sensor technology is a wonderful experience.”
Yann Salmon Legagneur, Head of Product Marketing for Digital Imaging at Sony Europe, added: “A few years ago, these photographs would not have been possible without hauling a large kit, lights and other equipment onto the glacier, which would only have weighed the photographer down. The sensors in Sony’s α7 and RX cameras mean that a photographer needs only a camera with a small form factor. Low-light photography capabilities make it possible to capture beautiful images like these.”
