Well, this is beautiful.
This video, featuring ice diver Johanna Norblad, is an intimate look into an extreme environment. It was shot in the Finnish winter, in -14 degree weather, by British film maker Ian Derry – under conditions so cold, in fact, that the cameras kept freezing up during shooting.
Johanna holds the world record for a 50-metre swim under ice. A normal person would be terrified by this idea – what if you get lost, and can’t find the tiny opening in the cold pane of death separating you from the world above? She doesn’t seem bothered though, and the film is shot so beautifully, with stark, clean lines and graceful movements, that you feel more soothed than claustrophobic by the end.
Watch it here (do yourself a favour, and watch it in HD).
Johanna from Ian Derry on Vimeo.
This article, What it’s like to dive under solid ice, was originally posted on the Getaway Blog by Kati Auld.