Mastodawn

KerLeone Mar 14

I took this picture late summer in 2007 near Hveragerði, Iceland. I hadn’t been taking artistic pictures for long. 18 years later this still seems to be my magnum opus. The light was just right. Everything was just right. The sunlight striking the bright field backlit the horses. Crepuscular rays toppling over gently rolling hills in the background. It’s going to be hard for me to top this one, but not impossible!

Every time I look at this picture I’m immediately snapped back to that moment. I hear the birds, the gentle breeze that can be seen animating the horse’s manes, I’m standing there in my 20’s appreciating it, holding the camera but almost forgetting to take the picture. 😅

I hope you can appreciate the moment as well!

#photography #horses #Iceland #Nature

My uncle, when he was in his 70s, took a trip to Iceland just to be able to ride the ponies.

@donray It’s awesome that he followed his dream! I’ve only ridden them twice in my life despite living here my entire life. I guess I prefer looking at them. :)

He really liked horses of all kinds. But he said the Icelandic ponies were a special breed.

@donray They're rather small compared to other horses I've seen (seeing other horses I actually a bit freaky for me because they look gigantic!). They have a special type of walking called Tölt which is kind of a hybrid between jogging and running. A compromise between speed and smooth ride I'm told and is especially effective traversing Iceland's rough wilderness. Apparently they just know how to do this from birth. No foreign breeds of horses are allowed in Iceland to protect the species from mixing and once and Icelandic horse leaves the island, it's a one-way-ticket as they may never return. Many farms still use them to gather the sheep from the highlands before winter hits but they're also bred as a hobby or for exhibits and such.

Very interesting. I’m glad they’re protected.

You should take some more photos!

@donray Thanks! I intend to carry on (but I often go dormant photographically in the winter).

天涯海角 Mar 14

Incredible!

@wanderlustfuldays Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

thepoliticalcat Mar 14

@Alliat It is stunningly beautiful. Thank you.

@thepoliticalcat Thank you!

thepoliticalcat Mar 14

@Alliat I feel privileged to have witnessed that.

Dienstag 🌻ANTIFASCHISMUS 👍🏼Mar 14

@Alliat
Thanks, very much, one can almost feel the wind and the clean fresh air.
The perfect picture, full of motion!

@Dienstag Thanks! I'm glad you can feel it too!

Kevin Davy Mar 14

@Alliat
It is a beauty 😊

@pathfinder Thank you!

@Alliat That's awesomely evocative 😎

@davep Thanks! I'm glad to be able to share the feeling and not just the photo. :)

Verđandi K Soldusty Mar 14

@Alliat
That is a stunning photo. & I saw the alt text yes, they are called the Islandic Horse due to their importance in helping humans get setup on Iceland. So horse is probably the correct categorisation 😀.
Thanks for sharing the photo 🥰.

@Soldusty Thanks for clearing that up. I wasn't sure of the distinction and thought it was just the size. Tourists often refer to them as ponies while we always call them horses... Now that I think of it, I don't think we even have a word in Icelandic for "pony". Maybe "Smáhestur"? But that's just the words small and horse smooshed together. 😅

Verđandi K Soldusty Mar 14

@Alliat
Well, that certainly accurate 😄 & thanks for introducing me to an Icelandic word 😃.

@Soldusty Oh! I just realised your user name is half Icelandic! So perhaps you already knew that! Was I mansplaining? 😅

Verđandi K Soldusty Mar 14

@Alliat
Not at all.
My username is inspired by the Norse myth of the Norns. If you ignore the letter K & translate it to English (my native language) it says Becoming Stardust.
A bit cheesy but 🤷😄.

@Alliat I love this

@MJmusicinears Thank you! I’m happy it brought you joy! :)

Eric the half-a-bee Mar 16

Thanks for the wonderful photograph. I’ve stuck it in my folder of projects to completely fail at painting in watercolour!
🤣🤣👍

@Ericthebeeover2 Thanks! Maybe it will be your magnum opus as well? :)

Eric the half-a-bee 6d ago

There’s always hope… 😊🤣🤣👍