Drew Doggett photographs the mythical white horses of Iceland

© Drew Doggett

Drew Doggett stood in near-freezing water and extreme cold air temperatures to capture this photograph (right) of an Icelandic horse. “Adrenaline pumps to the point of not knowing that the temperature is affecting you to the degree that it is,” he says. “As soon as I stopped moving, I felt numbness in my feet and hands that lasted hours.”

The frigid temps were a worthwhile price to pay for telling the intertwined stories of the Icelandic landscape and its beautiful horses, says Doggett. His series on the subject is “In the Realm of Legends."

This frost-white horse is descended from the original Viking horses brought to Iceland.  “These animals have grown accustomed to the awesome yet daunting natural features of the land like waterfalls, black sand beaches, and ever-changing, temperamental weather,” he says. “I wanted to show the horse’s deep relationship with a territory others might find extreme. The lone horse pictured is almost intimidatingly unafraid. He pays no attention to the millions of gallons of rushing water pounding into the pool within yards of where he stands.”

CAMERA AND LENS: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon EF 24-70mm 2.8L lens

EXPOSURE: 1/640 second at f/3.5, ISO 1000

Amanda Arnold is associate editor of Professional Photographer.