Situated in the Skansinn area of the harbor of Vestmannaeyjabær, Iceland, is the Heimaey Stave church. It was gifted by Norway to Iceland in connection with the millennial anniversary of the conversion of Iceland to Christianity in the year 1000. This church is in fact a replica of the Haltdalen Stave Church in Norway. What makes the Heimaey Stave church so unique is the fact that it’s painted completely black, giving it a very gothic look. Photographer TJ Drysdale took the following image of the church at 2am and it looks awesomely idiosyncratic:
“All Black Church in Iceland” by TJ Drysdale (Via Reddit. Click image to see full size.)
Drysdale took the image on a Sony A99II with a 24-70mm lens. The limited yet brilliant color palette used in the image really makes it stand out, while making so pleasing to look at as well. The yellow grass on the lawn goes well with the subject’s hair color, and her dress appears to be an echo of the sky above.
“We chose a grey dress for the storyline because white symbolized ‘good’ to us and ‘black’ would symbolize something dark and sinister as well as blend in with the church.”
With grey, you can’t tell what the story is or what the motive is. Grey is a blend of black and white. Is she good? Is she sinister? Is she a little bit of both? This makes the story way more ambiguous and leaves it open for interpretation – all because of the color of the dress! The image has a wonderful balance in being beautiful, mystical, and haunting at the same time.
Kudos to the photographer for putting in such deep thought into taking this photo. What do you think the story behind this image might be?
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