The arch from the western bay

From the western side of the headland the arch shows in full profile: a black promontory with a hole punched through it, big enough that a small boat has sailed through, and the swell running underneath. This is the frame that names the place — Dyrhólaey, the hill-island with a door-hole.

Getting it right is a matter of position rather than effort. From the upper level, the stances are on the cliff edge above the western bay; from the lower spur, the arch reads smaller but the angle is safer and needs no climb. A longer lens keeps the arch large and the horizon simple. Late light from the west puts the sun behind the opening on a clear evening.

Both the cliff and the bay below are hazardous: the edges are undercut and the beach below Dyrhólaey and neighbouring Kirkjufjara has a history of sneaker waves — the kind that run far up the sand without warning and pull back hard. Photographs of the arch belong on the cliff, at a distance, and shoreline frames belong high on the beach at Reynisfjara instead.