David Arnar Runolfsson: I was born and raised in Iceland, but moved to Bozeman, Montana, three years ago to pursue a degree in Photography at Montana State University. I chose Bozeman for its size, laid back lifestyle, outdoor opportunities and the amazing landscape all around. The photography program here was also just what I wanted, with emphasis on analog photography and historical/alternative photographic processes, in mix with modern digital photography.

Being raised in Iceland I have always been surrounded by incredible landscape – mountains, glaciers and the sea. The landscape of Iceland is barren and rugged, and you are immersed in it all the time. Montana, despite being one of the most rural states, still feels somewhat crowded to me. Like so many Icelandic photographers my subject matter is usually landscape or natural scenes, sometimes incorporating elements of human presence. I am very interested in how the passing of time and human presence affects landscape and the world around us. Being from a geologically young and active country such as Iceland I have always been very aware of how the earth is constantly evolving and being shaped by natural forces. In my most recent series, done as one of the senior thesis projects at MSU, I made images that represent how I imagine a few places could have evolved through time. Another recent project was a series on tracks in the snow. These were animal tracks, human tracks or ski tracks. The tracks all represent a past event and imply the presence of something that has passed through. This intrigues because it is the story of something, or someone that will be erased with the next snowfall or the coming of spring.

I am very interested in working with historical photographic processes. In this age of mass-produced digital photography there is something special about a photograph that has been handcrafted and might be one of a kind. Although digital photography has become incredibly advanced, it will always be somewhat different than the traditional processes. Therefore I think it’s important to keep them alive. During the past year most of my work has involved one or more historical processes such as Platinum printing, or gum bichromate. I am currently working on two projects. The first is a series of images from the forest, which has always interested me because there are no true forests in Iceland. The second I simply title “Home”, and it’s a series of photos from my home country that I feel capture the essence of what the country is to it’s inhabitants.

After I graduate from the School of Film & Photography at MSU I plan on heading back to Europe to continue my studies in photography on the graduate level, and in the end I will likely move back to Iceland. Being in Bozeman for the past few years has been a great adventure and provided me and my family with many great experiences and memories, including the birth of our second son. We will be sad to leave once we do, but will try to come and visit as often as we can.