Yes, folks in the Northern Hemisphere! It is the longest amount of daylight for us today, as we’re graced with the Sun’s presence longer than any other day this year. The good news for readers in the Southern Hemisphere is that you’ll get more daylight tomorrow and each day after for the next six months.
On this day last year, I was in Iceland enjoying the days around the longest day without any night to speak of; at that time of the year, the Sun doesn’t go far enough below the horizon to let the night darken. It was a magical time!
Sunny Day!
This shot is from up in the hills in Northern Iceland, where I wanted to capture the houses in the valley against the cloud cover below the mountain top level. The Sun rounded out the tableau rather nicely!
Technical Details
This image was captured with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III and an EF 24-105mm f/4L lens. Exposure settings were at 1/1000 second at f/14 and 200 ISO.
The theme for the WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge is Earth, asking us to share our vision of this magnificent planet, on which we reside. On this Mother’s Day, I want to give a nod to the Earth’s raw power…
Steam Releases
The releasing steam is an indication of the power that resides within this planet of ours, as untold heat is bottled up in the layers that make up the Earth. Not only is there plenty of heat, but it also creates beauty, as seen in the following image.
Geothermal Pool
This geothermal pool in the Myvatn area of Iceland, looks like a tropical lagoon in its serene beauty and color; do not be fooled, as there are spots in this pool that can be scalding hot (one of the signs warning to not bathe here is just off to the right).
Let’s appreciate our Mother Earth on this day and every one, and treat her with the respect she deserves, so we have a great place for a long time!
Technical Details
This shot was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III using an EF 17-40mm f/4 lens.
Hope you enjoy this post inspired by the Daily Post WPC – Earth
As landscape photography is one of my main areas of interest, I am am truly excited about this week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape. Each day this week, I will share some of my favorite landscape shots.
Iceland Vista
After leaving Ólafsfjörður, I followed the road along the northern coast of Iceland, which is an amazingly scenic ride with many places to stop and soak in the beauty of the landscape, such as at this location.
As you can imagine, what caught my eye was the line of the road leading toward the cloud cover hanging over the fjord in the distance. The light was not ideal, but at some point, I will improve the quality of this image.
In the mean time, I hope you like it.
Technical Details
This image was shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III with an EF 24-105 f/4L lens (circular polarizer attached). This image was shot at 1/100 second at f/16 at 400 ISO.
As landscape photography is one of my main areas of interest, I am am truly excited about this week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape. Each day this week, I will share some of my favorite landscape shots.
View across Eyjafjörður
This shot was taken in the town of Ólafsfjörður looking out over the dock that reaches out into the Eyjafjörður. This little town sits nestled into the hills that rise from the fjord.
The town grew up around the herring industry that was in much bloom in the 1940s and 1950s, but the herring are gone now.
Ólafsfjörður was connected with a road for the first time in 1940, when the horse riding trail through Lágheiði was improved enabling cars to get over the heath. Before, ships, seaplanes, and horses provided the transport.
Hope you like it.
Technical Details
This image was shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III with an EF 24-105 f/4L lens (circular polarizer attached). This image was shot at 1/125 second at f/11 at 320 ISO.
As landscape photography is one of my main areas of interest, I am am truly excited about this week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape. Each day this week, I will share some of my favorite landscape shots.
Goðafoss Waterfall
One of the beautiful aspects of Iceland are its waterfalls. As I stayed in the northern part of Iceland, near Akureyri, I found my way to the lovely waterfall of Goðafoss.
This waterfall is accessed rather easily from the main road and main access to the view is set up on the west bank of the falls. After a bit of exploring, I found a path to a nice low vantage point, which allowed me to set up for this shot.
Hope you like it.
Technical Details
This image was shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III with an EF 24-105 f/4L lens (circular polarizer attached). This image was shot at 1/15 second at f/16 at 200 ISO.
As landscape photography is one of my main areas of interest, I am am truly excited about this week’s Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape. Each day this week, I will share some of my favorite landscape shots.
Looking across Siglufjörður
Iceland is a truly beautiful country and just a dream for landscape photography, such as this shot that I captured last year of the view across the Siglufjörður on the north coast of Iceland.
The road in this area follows the coast line, which means it traces the fjords that are prevalent here. Each of these fjords has its own character, with some of the smaller ones without settlement and the larger ones with small towns and villages. The fjord often provides a natural harbor and shelter from the Atlantic storms.
The light off the peak made for a bit of magic in this afternoon image.
Technical Details
This image was shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mk III with an EF 24-105 f/4L lens (circular polarizer attached). This was a series of images with the mean exposure value at 1/100 second at f/11 at 200 ISO; the 3 images were at 0 EV, -1 EV and +1 EV. Photomatix Pro was used to create the final image.
Back to Iceland to vist one of the really impressive areas with geothermal activity that gives you an idea of the power of the planet: Hverarönd.
Hverarönd Geothermal
When I walked toward this geothermal area in northern Iceland, the first thing that struck me is the smell of sulphurdioxide: rotten eggs! With the barren landscape, its steam vents, the hissing of the escaping steam and the bouquet, it gives one the sense of walking into a landscape that would have been fitting for Hieronymus Bosch.
Hverarönd: sulphur deposits
I could appreciate that people might have horrific fantasies of demons and trolls popping up from this landscape.
At the same time, one has to appreciate the beauty of this barren landscape, its colors and amazing contrasts.
Hverarönd: Warm running water
Take a tour up north, the next time you’re in Iceland and go explore Hverarönd and the Myvatn area, as the landscape lover in you will not be disappointed!
Technical Details
Each of these images was captured with my Canon EOS 5D Mk III using an EF 17-40mm f/4L lens with a circular polarizer (hence the saturated sky). Various exposure settings were used with an eye towards keeping adequate depth of field.
This week’s stop is in Iceland, where I made an all too short, 4-day stop last year on the way back from Europe. This country is full of photogenic spots, all deserving time to be explored and presented.
Herring Barrels
These images are from the Herring Era Museum in Siglufjörður, a small town on one of the numerous fjords on the Northern coast of Iceland. It is one of the many towns, villages and areas along the north and east coast of Iceland that were deeply affected by the arrival of the herring adventure around the beginning of the 20th century.
Pickling the herring catch
Nowhere did the herring adventure have such an impact as in Siglufjörður. Norwegian fishermen came sailing on their herring vessels during the summer of 1903, and thereby the Herring Adventure had started. Within forty years this once tiny little village had transformed into a thriving town of more than three thousand inhabitants.
Whalebone and museum view
For years the entire life of Siglufjörður centred on the herring catch and its processing – the town’s twenty-three salting stations and five reducing factories were a living reminder of that. Siglufjörður was also one of the most important ports in Iceland and on more than one occasion the herring exported from the town accounted for over 20% of the nation’s total exports.
As the herring adventure progressed, a goldrush-like atmosphere settled over the town, leading to Siglufjörður been dubbed the “Atlantic Klondike”. The town also became a magnet for herring speculators who came and went, some making a lot of money during the stay, and others not. With its booming industry, Siglufjörður also became a mecca for tens of thousands of workers and labourers seeking employment.
A bit of local feel
When bad weather and storms broke, the sheltered waters of the fjord became home to a massed fleet of hundreds of herring ships. Life on land was just as colourful, the streets of Siglufjörður so jammed with crowds and activities that they resembled the teeming avenues of major cities.
Marine resources are notoriously unstable, and herring is no exception. Following depressed catch figures in the years around 1950, herring stocks began to be fished as never before. This was due to a new and more efficient fishing technology developed by Icelandic pioneers. Other countries were quick in claiming these advances for themselves.
The years that followed continued to underscore the decline of catches and fortunes in Siglufjörður and its surrounding area, eventually turning it into the sleepy, beautiful town that it is today.
This week, we are travelling a bit to the north to touch the arctic circle. Last year, I had the pleasure to spend 4 days in Iceland, which were not nearly enough to take in its beauty, but gave me a taste for more.
Lake Mývatn
For 3 of the 4 days, I stayed in Akureyri, which is on the northern coast of Iceland; it is the second largest population center in Iceland with around 18,000 people. Through AirBnB, I had found a lovely farm where I had a room overlooking a fjord, and wonderful hosts.
I did my exploring in the area around Akureyri and found some amazing sights, such as the Mývatn area, where I found this rather surreal landscape. Lesser known than the Blue Lagoon in southern Iceland, Lake Mývatn is also the beneficiary of a geothermal plant. The light blue hue is due to the rich mineral content of the silica sediment that settles on the bottom; think lots of sulphur!
Dutch goes the Photo! 