Ingólfur Arnarson first stepped on Icelandic soil around 874, or so this is how the story goes. According to the Landnáma (The Icelandic Book of Settlements), Arnarson and his family were the first Norse people to settle the subarctic island, and claim Reykjavik to be their home. However, prior to reaching the infamous capital city to the west, Arnarson spent his inaugural winter in Ingólfshöfðil along the cape where he beached his seafaring vessel. Named for the nordic explorer who founded Iceland, Ingólfshöfðil is now a privately owned and managed nature preserve.

Two Steps up One Step Back
Nikon D810 + Nikon 16-35mm f/4VR

Isolated by kilometers of black sand and unpredictable rivers, the journey from Iceland’s loop road to the coast is how I’d imagine a trip across the Martian landscape. Hobbling along as if on the Mars rover, a tractor-pulled cart dragged us through sand and sea in search of gems that inhabit the cliffs. Rising 76 meters above the ocean, we climbed the steep and sandy terrain descending one foot for every three feet of progress.

Flight to the Colony / Atlantic Puffin
Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4.0VR

With the exception of its colorful lighthouse, the windswept plateau is void of human constructs and consists of grassy fields and jagged cliffs that drop off into the ocean. The main attraction of the cape is a colony of puffins nesting at cliff’s edge where they have access to nutrient rich waters. While seemingly idyllic to the peninsular’s inhabitants, the neighborhood is not without its dangers, for nesting within the grasses are predatory skuas. Here the drama of predator and prey can be witnessed as skuas rob puffin nests and even capture unsuspecting adult birds.

Skuas eat Lundi
Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4.0VR

Have we reached a point in wildlife photography where it can't get any better? With the ever crashing prices of high quality digital gear, the pursuit of wildlife imagery has become "every man's (or woman's)" game. In 1994 I spent $2000 for a previously owned Carl Zeiss 300mm f/4.0 lens because I desperately wanted to photograph the wildlife of Costa Rica, Minnesota and the West Coast. A fortune to me at the time, the choice to buy the lens translated into real sacrifices. Rather than splurge on a nice car, an apartment in a trendy neighborhood or pay off my debts, I chose to embellish my photographic and travel desires.

Atlantic Puffin in Flight - Iceland
Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4.0

In stark contrast to when I began taking my photography seriously, today I could spend the same $2000 and purchase an amazing 150-600mm lens and prosumer DSLR camera with a wide-angle to mid-range zoom lens. What's more, rather than risking the unknown of the used market, all of my gear would be new and under a manufacturer's warranty. The obstacle that was once the price of quality gear, is not an impediment to making quality images today.

Atlantic Puffin - Iceland
Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4.0

In 1995 I took my first of ten trips to Costa Rica. As a formally trained ecologist and evolutionary biologist, a trip to the tropics was high on my "future travels list." Even by the mid-90's Costa Rica was less exotic than other destinations, but it remained a relatively low-touristed hot-spot for photography. With one bag packed with thirty rolls of film and the other with quick drying clothes, I can still recall that primitive outdoor airport the greeted us in San Jose. A trip that might cost $1500 per person today was about double the expense in 1995. So, much like the democratization of gear, travel to lesser-visited wildlife destinations have become easier to find and increasingly affordable.

Atlantic Puffin Looking Back - Iceland
Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6

And what of the art in image making. Quite honestly, the photographs I see today during a random Google Search, on forums and on blogs match or surpass what was once the "gold standard for nature photography,..." National Geographic. Digital image making rewards those willing to engage in trial and error and inquiry-based learning. It has never been easier to take a picture, review the product and modify the process on the spot. No more waiting for film to be developed by a lab, the digital artist is free to experiment, invent and grow faster than I ever could when analog (aka film) was king.

Atlantic Puffin with Meal for Chicks - Iceland
Nikon D7100 + Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6

So, can it get any better? Well at this point, I am not sure that the answer is yes. Every day people are producing photographs of hummingbirds where every feather can be visualized with light refracting through prismatic barbs, while others capture lions (or insert the predator of your choice) leaping, biting or chasing their quarry in a display that was once only producible by the "professional" nature photographer. While I am beginning to doubt that images of the future can get better, I do believe they will be different. Every photographer sees and interprets their world through their eyes. While many try to emulate the "masters," it is still the individual image maker who decides to snap and share or withhold a given picture. Even if nothing new can be made, anyone who holds a camera and treasures the image making process has the capacity to see "it" and photograph "it" before "it" or they are gone. So, it is likely that my initial query is not the question that needs be asked, rather than "Can it..., maybe I'm wondering... "Does it matter if it can't get any better?"

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