Volcanic Origins

Volcanic Origins A fine art exhibition by noah bryant

Noah Bryant

Join fine art photographer Noah Bryant for a show featuring his recent work from his travels to two very different islands. Alike only in their beauty and their volcanic beginnings, the island of Kauai and the country of Iceland were born from the ocean and became some of the most stunning scenery on earth. Bryant has the special ability to capture this beauty and deliver incredibly detailed, large-scale masterpieces that will captivate art lovers and inspire them to fall in love with these awe-inspiring islands.

Reception: Friday, August 19, 2016 from 6 to 9 p.m at the KANON Art Gallery - 766 Santa Fe Dr, Denver, Colorado 80204

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Can't make the reception? Stop by the opening on Friday August 5 but come early - it's expected to packed. You can also visit the gallery any time during the month of August to see Noah's work. Some of the photos below will be included in the show.

Waimea Canyon, Kauai

Waimea Canyon is considered to some to be the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The canyon, 3,000 feet deep in places stretches for more than 10 miles along the western portion of the island. Like all canyons, erosion plays a major role in creating the massive cliffs but Waimea Canyon was also formed during the cataclysmic collapse of the large volcano responsible for creating the island in the first place. It took me days to get this photograph. Being adjacent to one of the wettest places on earth means there are clouds and rain almost all the time. After 10 trips up to the canyon was able to capture this photograph. It's my favorite because there's blue sky in it. This is the only photo I got of the canyon where you could see blue sky.

Dyrhólaey, Iceland

Sunset from the Dyrhólaey lighthouse. Situated along the southernmost shore of Iceland this small mountain which is volcanic in origin. This is the view to the west, looking north you will see the glacier Mýrdalsjökull, to the east are the volcanic sea stacks Reynisdrangar and to the south is a large arch formation sticking out of the ocean.

Poipu, Kauai

The word Poipu is Hawaiian for crashing waves

Near Poipu, Kauai

Icelandic Waterfalls

There are a lot of pages on the internet that rank the most amazing waterfalls in the world and I've yet to find one that doesn't have at least two Icelandic waterfalls in the top five. Fed by runoff from several glaciers in the highlands of Iceland the many rivers cascade over the rough volcanic basalt to create thousands of waterfalls that are truly inspiring.

The enormous Dynjandi waterfall (below, top-right) in Iceland's Westfjords feeds into this smaller cascade.

Sunrise and Sunset

The western coast of Kauai

South, Iceland

The Night Sky

The Milky Way rises over the Pacific Ocean from the southern shore of Kauai. The bright star on the right side of the milky way is actually the planet Saturn.

Late in the Icelandic Summer it finally starts getting dark enough at night to catch the northern lights dance away in the sky.

Another spectacular night of the northern lights.

Stones stacked along the beach in Kauai

Vík í Mýrdal, Iceland

On November 21, 1973 around midday US Navy Super DC-3 #17171 took off from the Hofn Hornafjördur Airport in southeastern Iceland and headed west. Along way, the airframe itself got very cold in the brisk November air and as small droplets of moisture rising from surface made contact they froze. As ice continued to build up on the wings and engines the plane's performance began to deteriorate to the point that the pilot was faced with a very difficult choice - turn back and try to make it back to the airport, or find a flat place somewhere in this rocky, rugged country to conduct an emergency off-airport landing. The pilot chose the black sand beach west of Vík í Mýrdal to attempt a landing. It was the right choice and all crew members survived.

These rock formations are in the south of Iceland near Dyrhólaey which is a place like no other I have ever seen. Oftentimes, while exploring this country, I found myself imagining I was on another planet. Much of this country would seem at home in a fantasy novel or a science fiction film's eerie planet in a distant galaxy (in fact, Iceland has been used in films to depict other planets and NASA has used Iceland to prepare the astronauts who landed on the moon as well as missions to Mars). Part of the reason the southern part of Iceland is so incredible is due to geology. Iceland is a dream come true for photographers and geologists alike. The entire Dyrhólaey area is a very old and heavily eroded volcano. Combine that with a very much active volcano to the north north as well as a nearby glacier and you have terrain the likes of which few people on earth have experienced.

The Small Details

I was driving around in the fjords of Iceland when I spotted something off the road I wanted to photograph. It was a small stream flowing through a field of moss (I'll post that photo soon). I slid down an embankment to the stream and set up my tripod. As I was waiting for the photo to expose, I looked down and saw this. A tiny red leaf about the size of a pencil eraser in a spider web covered in mist. It took me about 30 minutes to take this photo and involved me having to create a tripod out of rocks to get my camera low enough and at the right angle.

Gold Dust Day Gecko in Hawaii

A small leaf that has fallen on a fern in a Hawaiian rainforest

Misty Skies

Exploring the mountains of Kauai, weather reports are useless. It can go from beautiful royal blue skies to this within a couple minutes. I love the opportunities the constantly changing light gives you. Here, despite clouds and fog, a single beam of sunlight shines through to illuminate this one small section of the mountain.

A pasture in western Iceland

Northwestern Iceland

Surrealistic Views

South, Iceland

Thank you

Thank you for taking a moment to view my work. If you like what you see I'd love for you to come by the gallery to see them in person. - Noah

Created By

Noah Bryant

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