Array Photo Journal and Gallery Show

Floral Fixation - Submerge | 2018

Volume 02 | Floral Fixation - Submerge

Array is an annually published book of local photographers that is designed and curated by Rachel Lopez-Bagan and Alex Lopez-Bagan, the designers behind the creative agency, Play Grnd Design.

For each issue, contributors are given a singular concept from the two juxtaposing themes for that volume. The result is a creative mix of interpretations of the same theme expressed through an array of lens paired in a photo book. Array gives a platform to artists to showcase individual visions and approaches to photography.

I contributed to the theme Submerge with photos from a trip to Iceland viewed through this focused lens. My piece was titled, Submerge in Momentary Stillness.

photo credit: Khalid Farquharson

Submerge in Momentary Stillness

Change is inevitable. Nature is in constant flux, and yet, within this flux, there is calm and peace. For me, being submerged in nature is where I find peace. However, trying to capture this sense of serenity is challenging — how do you photograph the essence of stillness in a dynamic landscape?

This Icelandic trip was about submerging myself in nature. Iceland’s weather can change drastically within a matter of minutes. Whether it’s being battered by the wind to unrelenting rain to the overwhelming relief of the sun’s warmth, Iceland’s landscape responds to this dynamic weather. Thinking about the concept of submerge, by definition, means to obscure or cover. The weather’s changing form obscures and reveals different elements of this unique and fickle landscape. Change is illustrated in the tidal change revealing how water batters the coastline, the glacial erosion cutting through and creating the Fjadrargljufur canyon, and the melting of ice caps creating the beautiful Jokulsarlon Lagoon. Yet, with this beauty comes the realization these different scenes are finite; that these shapes — this landscape — is everchanging.

To submerge oneself in nature is to take pause in an inherently lively landscape. By taking pause, one can be exposed to these infinite changes in a finite form before nature reclaims it.

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