The Ivalo River Delta

The title of this film refers to the landscape where it was shot – an open marshland in northernmost Finland. This terrain, which is covered in thick snow during the winter months, provided a surface for filming changes in nocturnal light that are in response to the movement and position of the moon, and the sporadic displays of the polar lights. Such a project inadvertently raises the problem of landscape film as a genre in its own right (1). However, the film also has elements of astronomical and atmospheric photography. In particular, some experiments using film cameras placed on rotating celestial mounts lead to the unpredicted outcome of both the earth and the sky staying in focus with prolonged exposure for each frame.