5th Place Cold Water

Morten Beier

"Golfing on Ice"

Morten a gift certificate with Bluewater Travel!

The story:  Every now and then I get the opportunity to go to Greenland and enjoy the beautiful country on the surface and underwater. On the trip where this picture was taken I had arranged a trip for three women wanting to explore Greenland underwater. The picture is taken in July when there is sunlight 24 hours per day. 

When diving in Greenland the icebergs are one of the highlights, other being wreck diving under the ice, a cornucopia of marine life and the feeling of complete freedom. It is very unlikely that other divers have been at the same dive site before. 

To minimize the risk we pick small icebergs, only few meters above the surface, but that still leaves another 20-30 meters of wall to dive! the color of the ice changes with the content of compressed air. When the small air bubbles escapes the ice, as a result of melting, it gives a constant sizzling noise, that you can hear throughout the dive. 

A few times I have heard big cracks while diving an iceberg. Since the water transmits sounds so well, the crack gives a great physical impact - you can really feel it in your whole body! Luckily I have only experienced cracks inside the iceberg, but we always go full speed away from iceberg on the back, looking up, when it happens. 

This particular picture was taken on a calm Summer day, with one of the brave women posing in the sunlight. After the dive we found an “infinity pool” on top of another small iceberg, and we had a nice time relaxing in the warm sunlight. True adventure from Greenland :) 

Location:  Disco Bay, west coast of Greenland

Equipment used:  Nikon D300, Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye f/2.8, Hugyfot housing

Settings:  No flash, 1/2500 @ f/10 

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