Soul Seeking
Bruarfoss is not the largest or most majestic waterfall, and in a country chock full of majestic waterfalls, it might easily get overlooked. To me, though, it is the most beautiful of Iceland's waterfalls, both because of its spectacular turquoise waters, but also because of its unique shape, not a wall but a channel with depth and form. Kevin Benedict and I spent the better part of an afternoon wandering around Bruarfoss and snapping various angles.
The title is from a line in a poem about waterfalls by seventeenth century poet Henry Vaughan (www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45433/the-water-fall), the line goes "Thou art the channel my soul seeks". This line particularly resonated with my experience at Bruarfoss, and there is something about waterfalls in general that speaks directly to the soul. Though it seems a terribly corny thing to write, the whole time I was there, I felt a peace and satisfaction akin to a religious experience. It really did fulfill the soul in an indescribable way.
I'm not sure any of my photos truly do it justice, but after shooting for a while from the little wooden bridge that crosses over the falls, I descended down and crouched upon some rocks near the waters edge to get an angle looking more directly up the channel and these are the shots I liked the best, a little closer to the action.
Interesting aside, Bruarfoss is not the easiest place to find. There are various instructions to find the right road, but there's not a well defined parking place for access so one has to just roughly guess at the right place, park on the side of a dirt road and start walking. Not a long or difficult hike, although parts can be slippery with ice, and if you find the trail (discoverable in winter by the footprints) you'll find your way easily enough. BUT, be prepared for your GPS to act up as you get closer, causing great confusion. It's almost as if the photography gods are trying to protect the place through some magnetic bubble. Both my phone and Kevin's phone GPS literally went nuts as we were driving and getting close, randomly showing our location is being in different places. Eventually we gave up on the phones and relied on dead reckoning, and some rather vague roadside markers. Strange. I'm curious if anyone else has encountered that phenomenon.
Soul Seeking
Bruarfoss is not the largest or most majestic waterfall, and in a country chock full of majestic waterfalls, it might easily get overlooked. To me, though, it is the most beautiful of Iceland's waterfalls, both because of its spectacular turquoise waters, but also because of its unique shape, not a wall but a channel with depth and form. Kevin Benedict and I spent the better part of an afternoon wandering around Bruarfoss and snapping various angles.
The title is from a line in a poem about waterfalls by seventeenth century poet Henry Vaughan (www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45433/the-water-fall), the line goes "Thou art the channel my soul seeks". This line particularly resonated with my experience at Bruarfoss, and there is something about waterfalls in general that speaks directly to the soul. Though it seems a terribly corny thing to write, the whole time I was there, I felt a peace and satisfaction akin to a religious experience. It really did fulfill the soul in an indescribable way.
I'm not sure any of my photos truly do it justice, but after shooting for a while from the little wooden bridge that crosses over the falls, I descended down and crouched upon some rocks near the waters edge to get an angle looking more directly up the channel and these are the shots I liked the best, a little closer to the action.
Interesting aside, Bruarfoss is not the easiest place to find. There are various instructions to find the right road, but there's not a well defined parking place for access so one has to just roughly guess at the right place, park on the side of a dirt road and start walking. Not a long or difficult hike, although parts can be slippery with ice, and if you find the trail (discoverable in winter by the footprints) you'll find your way easily enough. BUT, be prepared for your GPS to act up as you get closer, causing great confusion. It's almost as if the photography gods are trying to protect the place through some magnetic bubble. Both my phone and Kevin's phone GPS literally went nuts as we were driving and getting close, randomly showing our location is being in different places. Eventually we gave up on the phones and relied on dead reckoning, and some rather vague roadside markers. Strange. I'm curious if anyone else has encountered that phenomenon.