Modern Photos

Holding Steady Against the Fury: Dettifoss, Redefined

In July 2022, I stood at the edge of Dettifoss, Iceland’s most powerful waterfall — not in golden light, but in the middle of a storm. Dense fog, wind-driven mist, and howling gusts made it impossible to set up a tripod. The air was a blur of water and chaos. Most would have packed away their gear. I didn’t.

Instead, I trusted my Nikon Z7’s in-body image stabilization and my Laowa 12mm Zero-D lens to capture the moment — handheld. At 1/4 of a second shutter speed, I braced myself against the rocks, timed my breath, and pressed the shutter. The result? A sharply detailed frame that conveyed the sheer energy and mood of Dettifoss in its rawest form.

Older DSLRs or early mirrorless cameras couldn’t have handled this. Without stabilization, weather sealing, and the precision of a modern sensor, this shot would’ve been lost to motion blur or water damage. But thanks to Z7’s stabilization tech and the edge-to-edge clarity of the Laowa, I walked away with a photograph that captured power in motion — despite the storm trying to stop it.