Shelter

I have spent this year the best vacation and "adventure" so far. Going trekking for a few days in the middle of Nowhere in one of the most magical countries in the World, Iceland, was pure bliss.

I went there with 2 of my friends for (originally) a 10 days hike. We ended up doing just 6 days.. Why rush when you can go slower and enjoy the scenery?

With our 30 Kg backpacks, we headed from Gullfoss towards the Glacier North-West.
While our first day was quite nice and sunny, it very fast became colder and windier with loads of rain.
On our path, we every day stopped by some shelters that are used by shepherds during wintertime. Most of these shelters had minimum accommodation, bunk beds, sometimes gas (for heating) and leftover food (often expired).

Each shelter we stopped was better equiped and cleaner thn the previous one.
After a long day under the rain and facing wind, we stopped at this shelter overlooking a large field of moss and surrounded by mountains. It was truly a beautiful scene.

We spent the night there and in the morning, tried to heat the place by using logs. unfortunately, the chimney was clogged, resulting in a lot of smoke inside the room!

But the Sun decided to shine at that moment and I jumped on the occasion to take the shot!

I shot this at 1/13 sec, f/8 and ISO 100. The photo was then processed in Photomatix, tonemapped and adjusted in Photoshop for contrast.

I wanted it to have an old abandoned and dirty look with the rays shining through the window as a sign of hope and renewal.

That day as indeed a very beautiful day!