Travel

ICELAND’S BEAUTIFUL PATTERNS

Dramatic black and blue icebergs float in Iceland sea. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Photo by Sol Muñoz & Sebastian Ormachea. “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Wild patterns are beautiful, in large part because of their irregularity and elements of surprise. In a way, wild visual patterns are oxymoronic, since the definition of “pattern” is typically a series of regular repeated predictable marks.

Some patterns, for example those found in ice, in glaciers and in the icebergs that calf from them, might seem visually chaotic and non-repeating, but they have underlying mathematical structure.

“Iceland Colours and Patterns,” a series by photographers Sol Muñoz & Sebastian Ormachea, shows off the beautiful shapes, textures, and inherent patterns of in the country’s landscapes and seascapes -- in its ice, sands, seas and even wildlife.

Chaos theory predicts that while the laws of physics are definite and absolute, patterns in nature never exactly repeat because even extremely small differences in materials and conditions can lead to very different outcomes. Many natural patterns are shaped by this apparent randomness. This is what we see in ice flows here.

Jagged blue and black iceberg. From Iceland Colours and Patterns.

Cracks in ice form to relieve stress.The pattern of cracks is directly related to the degree of elasticity, or lack thereof, in the ice.

Muñoz & Ormachea, a recently married couple from La Paz, Bolivia, first traveled to Iceland during the summer of 2017. They had set out on a romantic adventure and soon became enamored with the country’s dramatic landscapes.

an-shaped blue iceberg floats on sea with four black ducks. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

“There are only 3 to 4 hours of night so we didn’t see a sunset or sunrise, we focused our photography in patterns, colours, and textures. The overcast made the colours of iceberg the most magnificent thing we have ever seen,” Ormachea tells us.

Uniquely shaped iceberg with blue ice. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Ormachea studied photography at the University of Palermo. He studied graphic design at Bolivian Catholic University, with undergraduate studies at University of New Mexico. He specializes in working with large format cameras.

Beautiful iceberg with black and blue ice. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

See more beautiful Iceland images, including beautiful autumn leaf-peeping, Iceland’s dark black beaches, Iceland’s waterfalls and iceflows, and gorgeous basalt caves.

Pockmarked iceberg floats on turquoise ocean. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.” Iceland.

From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.” Iceland.

Bird perched on tip of iceberg. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Hole in ice on black beach reveals ocean. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.” Iceland.

Flock of birds rest on iceberg. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Black iceberg floats on turquoise ocean. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Beautiful sculpted iceberg floats on turquoise ocean. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

People look tiny, standing in distance, as viewed through gap in iceberg. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Read more about Beautiful Patterns all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

Blue ice formation on black beach. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

Want more stories like this? Sign up for our weekly BN Newsletter, Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Join our BeautifulNow Community and connect with the most beautiful things happening in the world right now!

Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Contest. We run new creative contest every week!

Aqua ice formation on black beach. From “Iceland Colours and Patterns.”

All images are by Sol Muñoz & Sebastian Ormachea.