Óshyrna in Bolungarvík

The imposing Óshyrna towers 656 meters above sea level, its steep slopes adorned with awesome rock formations. It guards the mouth of Bolungarvík and forms the outermost part of Óshlíð hillside. Over the centuries, it has stood as one of the best known landmarks for sailors to navigate by. In Óshyrna there is a coastal monolith called Þuríður, named after the female settler Þuríður Sundafyllir who came to Iceland in 940 and settled Vatnsnes in Syðridalur, inland from Bolungarvík. Þuríður and her companions colonised all of Bolungarvík and nearby Skálavík.

The restricted yet impactful colours create a definite mood and draw the viewer's attention straight to the main subject. The first snow to fall in the mountains hints at the colder season to come, awakening expectations and kindling excitement about all the adventures we can enjoy in the winter kingdom of the Westfjords.

Óshyrna is symbolic of the majestic and at times menacing western mountainscape, reminding us to tread carefully despite its allure. The weather is dramatic, the summit is shrouded in clouds and a mysterious fog winds and wraps its way around the jagged rocks. It is the oftentimes forbidding and harsh nature that underpins our perception of the unique beauty of the Westfjords, its features and possibilities.

This piece is developed with a coarse grainy texture that mimics old film cameras in an effort to evoke the timelessness of the mountain itself. The photograph could just as well date from the beginning of the last century, or even older.

Photographer:

Hermann Þór Snorrason, born 1973 in the town of Ísafjörður