STORY BEHIND THE STILL
Fabio Antenore reveals the concept behind his amazingly atmospheric glacier cave image, and the challenges he overcame in capturing it
PHOTOGRAPHER: Fabio Antenore WEBSITE: fabioantenore.ch
LOCATION: Vatnajökull glacier, iceland
TYPE OF COMMISSION: Commercial SHOT DETAILS: nikon d850 with Sigma Art 14mm f1.8 lens, 1/8s-8min at iSo 320-640
ABOUT THE SHOT: There are certain locations at which it seems it would be impossible to shoot a bad image. However, as incredible as these places are, it requires the photographer’s creativity to produce unique images, with lasting impact. Here Fabio Antenore wanted to take a more creative shot of a well-photographed location.
“I took the image in Iceland in the Vatnajökull glacier. My goal was to take a shot in a glacier cave that didn’t look the same as the normal ones [taken by other photographers],” says Fabio. By incorporating the figure in the shot, the frame is given a sense of scale, while creating a contrast of atmosphere. “My thought process when setting up the shot was that it just has to look beautiful!” Fabio recounts. “It combined the beauty of nature with the symbol of human beauty, a bride.”
By using his wide-angle lens, Fabio made the most of the environment and the unique lighting that the ice produced. It was the lighting that presented Fabio with his greatest obstacle, however. “The biggest challenge was the dynamic range and the darkness of the surroundings, in combination with the light from the hole in the cave. The shortest exposure was around 1/8s and the longest, 8min. I used luminosity masks at the post-processing stage to combine these.”
To achieve the images he envisions, Fabio is not afraid to use extensive image editing. “I did a lot processing. To shoot in a cave like this you have to take more than just one exposure – it was an extra exposure for the bride, combined with multiple shots for the rest of the image, to manage the huge range of tones.”