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David Astley | all galleries >> Galleries >> Greenland > Knud Rasmussen 01
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26 June 2007 David Astley

Knud Rasmussen 01

Greenland

How do you photograph a 2 km wide glacier snout when there are no boats for miles around and nothing to provide scale? Pretty difficult! All I can tell you to help try and convey the overwhelming experience of seeing a glacier terminal close up, is to point out that the peak on the left is 1,400 metres high (about 4,600 ft), and if there were any boats in front of the glacier you wouldn’t be able to see them in this picture because they would be too small. I calculated from the dimensions of this photograph that as the glacier is 2,000 metres wide (if my map is correct) then the height of the glacier above the water level is about 50 metres (over 150 feet). This photograph was taken about 2 km from the glacier, from the middle of the Sermiligao fjord, as we were speeding towards it in our seal hunting boat – but even then I had to use my wide angle lens to get it all in. The clear air in Greenland makes everything look much closer than it is, and the magnificent scale of the scenery makes everything look smaller than it is.

Nikon D200 , AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4 G ED
f/6.3, 1/400, 12mm, CPL full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Mattias Backström10-Jan-2008 10:35
Wow! Without the explanation, I'd never have guessed it was that huge. Impressive!
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