Iceland • Heike Ollertz, Edgar Herbst

A steady, cool, and pure wind sweeps through the gently swaying grass, letting the refreshing, clear air brush against a face that gazes out over the infinitely wide sea with an expression of serenity. Nothing obstructs the view of these untouched, empty stone landscapes, the vast, cooled lava fields stretching far across the island, nor does anything mar the sight of the sparse, moss-covered mountain ranges. Perhaps the fog, but even that, like the weather itself, is fleeting. Once you immerse yourself in this world, where every human inhabitant will always remain merely a guest—once you’ve felt that sense of nothingness that draws you in like vertigo at the edge of an abyss—you can never escape the all-encompassing, flawless beauty of Iceland.

There are countless photo books that attempt to portray Iceland—some more successfully than others. Some focus on the touristic highlights, which I truly appreciate, since the large and famous waterfalls, glacial tongues, the glacial lagoon Jökulsárlón, and the numerous national parks are simply worth seeing. The photo book Lost in Iceland by Sigurgeir Sigurjónsson is one such highly recommended work.

However, Heike Ollertz and Edgar Herbst chose a completely different approach to capture Iceland in their book, simply and without pathos titled Island (Iceland in English). From two different perspectives, the photographers examine this small island, lying lost at the edge of Europe, right in the middle of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Heike Ollertz photographed with an analog Alpa 12 in 6 x 9 cm format, spending three and a half months exploring the island, traveling over 9,000 kilometers—“fjord up, fjord down,” as she mentions in an interview. Born in Duisburg, she studied under master teachers at the Berlin University of the Arts, worked as a freelance photographer in Berlin and Hamburg, and has been a lecturer at BTK Campus Hamburg since 2014. In this photo book, she presents outstanding landscape photographs, capturing the island’s pristine essence with images that only occasionally touch upon its major landmarks. At the same time, she also depicts traces of human life—aluminum plants in dense snow, weather stations, and solitary houses in a landscape defined by darkness and harsh weather. It’s particularly striking that many of her photos were taken in winter, a season with far fewer images than summer, offering new impressions even of well-known places.

Edgar Herbst also worked with analog photography, focusing on the people who inhabit this remote place in the Atlantic. He portrays the essence and unique presence of Icelanders within the context of the omnipresent nature that continually demands attention in its unsubtle way. Shooting in black and white, he highlights the distinct personalities of his subjects—some perfectly fitting this solitude, others appearing grotesque, surreal, modern, and yet very normal. Born in 1961 in Bad Lauterberg, Herbst spent many years as a society photographer for major German newspapers.

That this photo book is something special becomes apparent immediately through its design and tactile quality. As expected from the mare publishing house, it is excellently produced with an elegant linen cover. The photographs themselves are not captioned; instead, there is a directory with texts at the end of the book.

The photo book succeeds in its goal of presenting nature and the Icelanders as a unity—showing how this expressive landscape shapes people, leaves its traces on them, and, in turn, is marked, teased, and claimed by them with wary reverence. Especially Heike Ollertz’s photographs are remarkably powerful. Some of my favorites are her images from the Westman Islands. One example is a photograph of a dog cemetery on Heimaey Island—you can almost feel the calm, the sea, and the wind.

Another photo that particularly appeals to me shows a stretch of coastline near Reykjavík with a view of the sea, where the Arctic atmosphere is almost tangible—a mood that is something very special, one that always grips me, precisely because it is not meant for humans.

Edgar Herbst’s images don’t quite resonate with me in the same way that landscape photography does. That’s understandable, as I myself am devoted to photographing landscapes and have found a special expression in the solitude of the far north. People don’t quite fit into that for me. Nevertheless, there are impressive portraits that linger in memory even if you’ve never met the subjects. For example, he portrays a worker aboard a freighter in Ísafjörður. There are also several photos of people from Ísafjörður, which I find fascinating. Anyone who has ever been to this remote town knows how absurd it seems to a city dweller that people actually live their lives in such a desolate place.

But these characters often fulfill certain clichés—and sometimes they don’t. When you see photos of a heavy metal concert in this quiet, isolated place, it’s all the more surprising. The photo book shows many Icelanders celebrating and partying, giving the impression that the island’s inhabitants truly enjoy letting loose (which perhaps only confirms the theory that people everywhere, throughout time, have always enjoyed a good drink—and that this unites us all).

Conclusion: I can recommend this photo book to anyone who, beyond Iceland’s famous natural spectacles, wants to grasp a fragile sense of the island’s raw, desolate beauty and the character of its inhabitants. The photographs reveal more than what’s apparent at first glance. Much of it resonated deeply with me—some didn’t, which I realized while viewing. That, however, stems from my own love of this landscape. Personally, I would have wished for at least twice as many photos by Heike Ollertz in the book. This is not to diminish Edgar Herbst’s contribution—it’s simply a matter of personal preference. This book is definitely one of the most beautiful photo books about Iceland and will always remain so, because Iceland is as timeless as its people often seem.

Note: The book is no longer available directly from the publisher, but can still be found at many online retailers. Images reproduced with kind permission of Mare Verlag.

Book Information: Iceland • Heike Ollertz and Edgar Herbst • mare Verlag • 144 pages • ISBN 9783866480230