Iceland Sept 2016 - IR was fun
On a whim I took my IR converted Panasonic Lumix G7 to Iceland. Knowing fully well that a lack of deciduous trees could yield not so great IR images but wanted to try it out anyway. Here are a few from various locations. All images were processed using Capture One 9.2 and then converted to Monochrome using Silver Efex Pro.
Iceland - Sept 17 - 25, 2016
Plans for the 2016 September Iceland photo tour and workshop have been finalized. Exceptional fall colors and if luck prevails, the Aurora Borealis will make this trip exceptional.From the western peninsulas of Snæfellsnes and Reykjanes to the exquisite south coast including the exquisite black sand beaches and icebergs in Jökulsárlón and surrounding areas this trip is designed for all levels of photographers. This trip is limited to a maximum 10 participants.All Iceland photo tours and workshops for the past 4 years were fully subscribed within a few days so please register as soon as possible.CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS
Iceland - August 2015 Day 1
It was unfortunate that we had very poor internet service this trip to Iceland hence no posts. This was a small group photo tour to the Snaefelsness Peninsula and the Highlands. The trip was 11 days with 10 of them rainy and very windy - this is Iceland after all. We arrived at a decent hour in Keflavik and on to the car rental. The morning was spent organizing cell phone SIM cards, drinks and snacks. We had breakfast at a quaint little breakfast pleace in Reykjavik. Walked about town and then drove on to a fishing village Hellnar and checked in to the hotel.A brief trip along the Southern coast before dinner and bed. Note that this and most if the images in subsequent posts lack great skies.
Processing with Capture One
For the past few weeks I have been processing my raw files using Capture One Pro rather than Adobe Camera Raw. I am finding the RAW processing engine in Capture One to be exceptional. Mark you, I have not upgraded to Version 8 and am still using Version 7.2.3In brief I love the way the the software handles skin-tones. The amount of detail it can draw out of dull highlights and shadows is great. The HDR sliders make it possible to bring out natural looking HDR tonal ranges from a single RAW file - exceptional.Now I just need to get more familiar with all the features and then upgrade to Version 8.Here is an example of an image processed using Capture One Pro. The image was captured in Iceland during my workshop this past September. Please do click on the image to see a larger version.
The Vast Icelandic Landscape
I posted this composite on facebook yesterday more as a "tiny" jab at a photography friend. However, today I felt it worthy of a post on my blog.
Rhythm in Ice
Vatnajökull (Glacier of Rivers), is the largest glacier in Iceland in the background with Jökulsárlón (Glacial River Lagoon) in the foreground with icebergs.
Gullfoss - Iceland
I can never get tired of looking at images from Iceland. This is an extract of Gullfoss (Golden Waterfall), one of the most popular waterfalls in Iceland and a key stop on the the Golden Circle. It is a multi tiered waterfall on the river Hvítá. The first is a wide but shallow three step fall and then it drops in two tall stages. The first is about 36 feet and the second about 70 feet. This image is a small extract of the final drop. Canon 5D Mk II, 70-200 f2.8 at 200 mm, f/10, 0.8 seconds, ISO 250.
Cloud Formations
I have a passion for unique and captivating cloud formations and felt rewarded on March 27th 2014. We were on our way back from a trip around the Golden Circle in Iceland. Driving to Reykjavik it was foggy with low visibility but the fog really looked like low clouds. About a half hour to the hotel we saw some openings with some blue barely showing through an exquisite wind swept cloud formation. This image was converted to monochrome using Nik Silverefex Pro. I feel that simplifying a scene in B&W can not only enhance the image but also the story.
We spent a while photographing the swirls across the wide snow covered landscape and headed west toward the hotel. The sun set as a fiery ball but mostly obscured by clouds. Soon after there was a semblance of an afterglow that we did stop and capture. I feel the juxtaposition of the warm and cool tones make this image. The lower portion of the scene was intentionally cropped to eliminate a few man made structures that I found obtrusive.
Eldborg - A Time-lapse
This is a video of a time-lapse sequence captured on March 28, 2014 in Iceland. [video type="youtube" id="i5vXFrlGW08" width="600"]Default Message[/video]
Iceland 1 - Day 4 March 18, 2014
After a fairly late night with the Aurora displays we checked out of our hotel and started our drive to Hali. We had great plans to photograph the falls, farms and other interesting vista. It was raining and snowing as we left Reykjavik and slowly but surely started getting worse as we moved South.Our first stop was Seljalandfoss. Seljalandsfoss is a very popular tourist attractions and also one of the most photographed in Iceland. These falls are located between Seljalandsmúli and Hamragarðar. When driving on route 1 you need to turn at Seljalandsmúli on a side road. The falls are about 3/4 of a mile with ample parking.
The Seljalandsá river drops about 200 feet off the cliff edge forming Seljalandsfoss (foss means waterfall). In addition to Seljalandsfoss, there a few additional streams that drop similar heights to the west of the main falls. A path provides access behind the waterfall that gives photographers and tourists many unique views.Small breaks in the rain allowed for some brief shooting.Next stop was Skógarfoss. This is one of Iceland’s larger waterfalls 70 feet wide and 200 feet high. Skógarfoss is a fall along the river Skógará.The wind and the way the fall droops there is always high volume of spray. In sunlight, that we unfortunately lacked, the spray results in a a single or double rainbow. According to Icelandic folklore there are treasures and gold buried under the waterfall.The rain and snow is getting worse and photography is near impossible. Some of the group would not be denied the opportunity so they braved the elements and got some record shots.We leave the foss in driving sleet, snow and high winds. We stop at one more waterfall called Falls at Forsa.Now the snow is more like a blizzard, visibility is down to a 50 feet or so. We drive using the yellow road markers to guide us. Eventually arrive in the town of Vik. This is the southern most tip of Iceland. Lunch and then on to Klaustur where we normally fill up as there are no gas stations in Hali. The conditions are getting worse and the wind is just brutal. We drive on to the next small town of Skaftafel. The wind spend signs show 88 MPH steady winds and the gusts are over 100 MPH. If you are on FaceBook check out a short video of this experience on E.J. Peiker's timeline. We drive a few miles and are turned back by the police - the road is impassable. Fortunately Skftafell has a small hotel and they have 5 rooms available, we are 15 in all so it is hole up time. We had dinner at this hotel and managed to get some sleep. Wakeup call was for 5:45 and departure 6:30.In the most part this day was a wash-out.
Iceland 1 - Day 3 (March 17, 2014)
It is day 3 of this trip and we head out to the region known as Snæfellsnes Peninsula. This is a rugged region of Icelandic west coast that juts out into the Atlantic between Faxaflói bay and Breiðafjörður. The two coasts north and south separate by a range of mountains that run along the peninsula and culminate ending up at Snæfellsjökull, a large volcano and glacier at the land’s westernmost point. This is the largest volcano on this peninsula. This is the mountain that was featured in the Jules Verne book “Journey to the Center of the Earth"
Travel to this region is shortest when you take the 6 kilometer long tunnel that traverses under the ocean. Once through the tunnel, on the way Snæfellsnes to our first stop was the unique single crater volcano named Eldborg (The Fire Castle) is actually it is a caldera rather than a volcanic crater.
Next, we ant to the town of BÚÐIR. This is a former fishing village in the Búðavík bay. The settlement was abandoned in the early nineteenth century and today has just a hotel and a church. The church is a black church surrounded by a lava field. It has three white-framed windows and was constructed in 1703. The church has a surrounding wall made of lava and topped with turf.
Our next location was an costal area Arnastapi at the foot of Stapafell. It is a small fishing village and harbor. The rocks and cliff sides are rookeries. This time of year the primary nesting sea birds were Fulmars with a few Kittiwakes. Arctic terns also nest here and are known to dive-bomb when threatened.
There are lots of photo opportunities in this area and one has to be very careful of massive rogue waves. The waves are very unpredictable and if you are on a beach or near the ocean you must be extra cautious.A quick snack and then on to another hunt for the Aurora. There were faint signs while we were driving so we stopped and set up. This was truly rewarding.
Iceland 1 - Day 2 (March 16, 2014)
Iceland continues to be cloudy, stormy and very windy. We planned of doing the Golden Circle route despite adverse weather conditions. On the way to Þingvellir we stopped at Mosfellsheiði (Mosfellsheidi in English).
Þingvellir (Thingvellir in English) which is the is the National Park where the Althing, open-air parliament that represented all of Iceland, was convened in 930 and continued remained active until 1798. It became a national park in 1928 and has a special tectonic and volcanic environment as a rift valley. It is in this area that you can see the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates particularly in the faults which traverse park. The largest of the fault cracks is the Almannagjá. 
Þingvellir is on the northern shore of Þingvallavatn, that is the largest natural lake in Iceland.
As we walked along the fault cracks we noticed bus loads of tourists arriving so decided we would go ahead to the largest waterfall Gullfoss and beat the crowds that were bound to visit the famous Gyser before going to Gullfoss.For a change Gullfoss was not as windy so the group was able to get some excellent images from the various vantage points.
Next stop was for lunch at the Geyser. Here again the crowds were impossible - it was school vacation week in England and hence the crowds.After lunch we headed out to photograph the Geyser. A few quick eruptions and then we are in the middle of one of the fastest developing snowstorms. No one outside was spared. A few (sensible) members of the group decided to stay back in the restaurant - smart move. By the time one could walk from the gyser to the concession store photographers, cameras and tripods all became one big white snow covered mass.Heading back around the Golden Circle we stopped and photographed a small church in Faxi called Haukadals Kirkja (Kirkja means Church - interesting that the Hindi word for church is Girja and sounds similar to Kirkja).
Next stop was a coral of Icelandic horses on Route 35 before heading to another waterfall.
This is Faxafoss which is not very high but has some lovely form.
With the weather continuing to be problematic we heads towards a potential Aurora location. As the sun was going down we stopped overlooking a valley with a lovely little church. This is the church at Lake Ulfljotsvatn that is south of the Thingvellir national part called Ulfljotsvatn Kirkja. The original church or churches were was established 1200. The current church was built in 1914 and will be 100 years old this year. The lake is frozen but it is deceptive. It is believed that centuries ago the priest and people traveling to attend mass drowned on their way trying to cross the lake as a shortcut to church.
- The church at Lake Ulfljotsvatn
The Aurora is always a waiting game so we waited and waited. All there was to photograph was the full moon.One can only have so much patience and with no signs of the skies clearing we returned to the hotel.
Iceland 3, Horses
Icelandic horses, are about the size of a pony as we know it are about 50 to 56 inches (13 to 14 hands in horse terms) and weigh between 750 and 850 lbs. They are known as Icelandic Horses probably because Islandica has no word for PONY. These horses have 6 gaits but are known as 5 gaited horses because the Icelandic breed registries consider the canter and gallop one gait. The laws of the land do not permit any import of horses and if an Icelandic horse is exported out of the country, that horse may never return.Here are some images from the trip:
Note: There are over 100 names for the colors of horses in Icelandica.
Iceland 2
Here are a few more images from the two Iceland PTAW's (Photo Tours and Workshops). We visited some wonderful geothermal areas in the Reykjanes peninsula as well as massive lava fiels and valleys. This section of Iceland is like a lunar landscape. The ocean's might and the winds are a real indication of why this region is abundantly populated with shipwrecks. There are more lighthouses in this region than there are villages. The famous Blue Lagoon and spa is situated here as are some massive geothermal power plants.
While visiting this lava field above we were pounded by a hail storm - that hurt.It is here that the North American and European tectonic plates in the Earth’s crust are as clear as can be. At Þingvellir: the plates diverge about 1 inch per year. However the gap is refilled as volcanoes have been erupting on a regular basis.
This overlook ridge is host to a magnificent waterfall. Getting to the base of this fall was most difficult as the path was sheet of ice. The second workshop group was unable to get here as it became far worse of a hike the following week.
The famous Blue Lagoon and the Power Plants are wonderful photo opportunities at night.
This coloration is a result of the sulphur in the air. In some cases the color becomes greenish as in the image below.
The next two images are from the geo thermal areas of the peninsula.
Glorious colors are abundant around the mud pots and hot springs.
Considering that more than 3/4 of Iceland is barren, the barren beauty is breathtaking.
More to come
Iceland - the Fire and Ice Photo Tour and Workshop
Got back after two glorious weeks in Iceland. The ever changing weather really kept me on my toes. Each day was a surprise - nothing like what was predicted the night before. It is fun to experience bone chilling gale force winds, hail that hits your face like BB pellets, rain that falls sideways, brilliant blue skies when it isn't overcast, the smell of sulphur, hot springs, and whole lot more.A few images of the Aurora Borealis will speak for themselves.The aurora on the first night was small but brilliant.
We chased the lights for quite a while the next evening and got a light level 1 Aurora
We had given up and were returning to the hotel. Just as we entered the outskirts of the city this spectacular display presented itself.
I will post more over the next few days.
Photographing the Aurora Borealis
I have added a new tip on my tips page on "Photographing the Aurora Borealis" Click here for a direct link
Iceland - Aurora Borealis and Winter Landscape Photo Tour & Workshop
After extensive research and planning the photo tour and workshop to capture the Aurora Borealis and the beautiful Icelandic landscapes is ready. The tour starts in Reykjavik on January 19 and concludes January 25, 2013. You do not want to miss this opportunity.I have teamed up with a world famous photographer Olgeir Andresson who has made photographing the Aurora his hallmark. He won the highest honor of photographer of the year in the Danish Zoom Magazine and his work has been shown in Times Square in New York sponsored by Kodak. You will not find a more experienced Northern Lights’ photographer.Iceland – The Land of Fire and Ice – is an experience for non-photographers and photographers alike. In addition to the Aurora, we will have opportunities to capture mighty glaciers, waterfalls and spouting geysers. Majestic mountains, magnificent coastlines and smoking volcanoes.We are now in the period known as 'Solar Max'. This means that sunspot activity which produces the aurora borealis is heightened, offering more chances to see the northern lights. Solar Max happens every 11 years in accordance with the solar cycle.More information is in the brochure and links to the registration forms are available from the workshop pageClick here for a PDF Brochure