Two aspects of the magnificent Skogafoss waterfall, each majestic in its own essence.
Prior to my February journey to Iceland I had visited the land of Fire & Ice during the Summer. The transformation of the landscape between Summer and Winter is truly breathtaking!
Here is an example of the Skogafoss waterfall, as I experienced it in August of 2022:
Skogafoss with Double Rainbow
The moss on the rocks is a warm green from being in an ideal growing environment combination of moisture and almost never-ending light. The waterfall is providing a great volume of water, as there is plenty of melt from Eyjafallajokull and Myrdalsjokull, the two glaciers that feed the Skoga river.
Winter’s metamorphosis of Skogafoss creates a completely difference sense of place and emotion:
Icy Skogafoss in February
Much of the waterfall’s volume is reduced, as the glaciers are stocking up on snow and ice to take on the return of warmer days; the ice formations are now an integral part of Skogafoss, having captured a goodly portion of the water as it tried to pass by. Nevertheless, Skogafoss’ tell-tale spray persists during this chilling days, although the Sun’s light does not impinge on it at an angle to produce a glorious rainbow.
Both times of year produce a spectacular landscape, each of which draw me in to come back more often and experience the breadth of Iceland’s offerings.
The Aurora Borealis in Iceland was magnificent, as captured in this video!
First of all, greetings to everyone! It’s been too long since my last post for all the wrong reasons.
Great news is my recent return to Iceland for the third time. This was the first foray into the land of Fire and Ice during the Winter season, as I wanted to see even more of the Ice part of this beautiful country. During ten days in February, my traveling companion, George Fellner, and I spent some quality time photographing the amazing landscapes in their Winter glory.
Here’s my first item to share from this epic journey (it’s almost 4 minutes long, and I hope you enjoy all of it along with the soundtrack):
Aurora in Vik, Iceland
This was the first time in my life that I experienced the Aurora Borealis in person, and it was absolutely magical, breathtaking and astounding!
We had scoped out a location ahead of time, which would provide a bit of foreground in the form of the hills that you see in these images; the location is about 20 minutes from the town of Vik, and definitely not the most popular place, as we had it to ourselves. A number of other locations had large groups of people gathered, as we could even hear them in the quiet of the night.
After setting up around 9 pm, I spent some time ensuring that all the camera settings were within a range that would work, dialing in the exposure on my remote trigger. Just after 10 pm, the first glimpses of the aurora started showing in the sky, much to our excitement! For the next hour we were treated to this magnificent celestial display.
For the photography nerds, these images were capture on the Canon EOS R5 using the 15-35mm f2.8L RF lens. I kept my aperture wide open at f2.8 and set ISO to 800. During the shoot I made some adjustments to exposure lengths depending on strength of the aurora; exposure was typically around 20 seconds.
Happy Friday to everyone! For this week’s installment, I opted for one of the images from my recent trip to Valley of Fire state park in Nevada…
Mosquito Arch
Even though I was predominantly shooting with my main camera on a tripod, I like using my iPhone to get a sense of the composition that I want, particularly to determine the height from which I want to capture the scene; it’s a lot easier to go low with your iPhone than adjust a tripod 5 times.
As the sun was getting very low behind us, the light became really saturated, so I actually reduced the overall saturation quite a bit in this shot.
We made it to the middle of the week! In celebration, I thought it would be nice to have something wonderful to share…
The Wonderful Barn
This corkscrew-shaped building is commonly referred to as The Wonderful Barn and sits on the edge of the Castletown House Estate; the barn is in the town of Leixlip. The barn was built in 1743 and has a bit of mystery associated with it, as its purpose is in debate.
One theory is that it was used as a dovecote where doves were kept, which were considered a delicacy during Georgian times.
Another hints that the structure was used for sport shooting or as a gamekeepers tower
A third theory states that this barn was used as a granary, which is supported by the fact that there is a hole in the center of each floor.
Of course, it could simply have been built as a folly, which was not unusual during those times.
What theory do you have for this interesting building?
I surmise that last week’s homage to a country on many of our minds in Travel Tuesday – Ep. 7 was rather challenging; this capture was from my trip to Ukraine in 2018 to the wonderful people and city of Kharkiv. The building is the Annunciation Cathedral (in Ukrainian: Свято-Благовіщенський кафедральний собор), which I found to be a stunning edifice.
This week, we’re going back to 2015 and a location that might be easier for many of you to figure out…
Water Everywhere
One of my favorite locations and waterfalls, so I expect that some of you may know where this is…
Sand and minerals turned to butterfly wings; now that’s geology!
During the week of January 30, 2023, I had the pleasure of spending 4 days in a stunning state park in Nevada: Valley of Fire. This first of Nevada’s state parks lies in the Mojave Desert and is known for its red Aztec sandstone formations that appear on fire when lit up by the sun.
My visit was part of a photo tour organized by Joseph Rosbach Photography and was a wonderful experience, as Joe really knows the park and area. Joe organized our day to be in the park by sunrise to catch locations that set up great for that time of day and spend 3-4 hours shooting until the light was not ideal. A break and time for some quick editing tips and lessons (I learned some cool techniques), and then back to the park by 2:30-3pm to shoot until after sunset.
The park has many features and lots of color in the rock, so as I start my editing, I’ll kick off with one of my favorites so far…
Rainbow Vista Butterfly Wing
The rock formations in the Rainbow Vista area of the park present a stunning array of colors, as seen in the image above. As the dunes turned to sandstone during the Early Jurassic period, various minerals were captured in the sand lending vibrant colors. The continued erosion and geological forces created exposures that are dramatic in their appearance and form.
As there is still a lot of editing to do, keep an eye open for future posts, featuring a variety of colors, arches and stunning landscape features, even including bacon strips!
For quite a while, I have heard the NPR commercial for Planet Money that mentions “Learn how Justin Bieber saved the Icelandic economy” and had no idea what they were talking about, as I’m not a Belieber.
During my photo tour of Iceland I got the answer to this mystery, as our fearless leader, Loren Fisher, mentioned that several of our locations were in a Justin Bieber video. Here’s one of them…
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon
This is a view looking from Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon, which is a stunning area to visit, as you can see; in the above image, we’re looking back in a southerly direction toward the Ring Road looking down the Fjaðrár river. The name of this canyon is probably one of the more difficult Icelandic words to pronounce; it is a combination of two words: Fjaðrár, the name of the river, and gljúfur, which just means canyon.
This canyon is gorgeous and fun to explore, as it’s only about 2 kilometers long; just leave your fear of heights in the car, as it does have a depth of 100 meters (300 ft), which can be intimidating when viewed from the edges (as I experience a certain amount of vertigo at heights, I tend to be aware of this).
Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon II
One of the things that really stood out for me are the soft grasses and mosses on the outcroppings into the canyon. They look rather inviting to lie down and take a nice nap (on a drier day), while listening to the wind and the water playing their tunes.
As the weather was a bit fierce, we didn’t spend a lot of time here. It does make me want to come back at some point to hike the canyon from the lower vantage point of the river’s edge. Be mindful that this does require an occasional bit of wading through the Fjaðrár, which will mean very cold water!
Here’s the Justin Bieber video with all the great Icelandic sights: “I’ll Show You”.
I can honestly say that it was fun to see the video and recognize numerous locations that we’d visited; also, I definitely didn’t pull some of the stunts that Bieber did, as they look genuinely risky without a crew to catch you!
A note about the photos; they were taken with a Canon EOS R5 and a Canon RF 24-105mm f4/L IS USM lens. As this was a rather overcast day, I had inserted a Kolari Vision Iridium color enhancing rear filter; I discovered these filters shortly before going on the Iceland trip and really like them, as they allow one to swap lenses and keep the same filter.
A while back, I presented you with a teaser with some images of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, which provides an incredible variety for photography, ranging from stunning landscapes to history and wildlife.
Today, I’ll highlight one of the early encounters on our trip: Búðakirkja in the town of Búðir.
Búðakirkja standing strong under a heavy sky
This is one of a set of so-called ‘black’ churches in Iceland, which stand apart from many other churches due to their exterior being covered with tar pitch, so that they could better withstand the elements.
Búðakirkja was built originally in 1703, when it was a small turf church with a cemetery to provide consecrated grounds; burials have taken place here since 1705. Due to the rough weather and economics, the church fell into disrepair and was abolished by royal letter in 1816 due to its poor condition.
In the mid-19th century, a local widow, Steinunn Sveinsdóttir, applied for permission from Church authorities to rebuild a church at Búðir. Her efforts led and paid for the building of the wooden church that we know today.
Búðakirkja with mountain range in the background
Construction of the church finished in 1848, and it was consecrated in 1851. Steinunn passed away in 1854 at the age of 77 years; she is buried in Búðir cemetery, where a gravestone still stands in her memory.
The church itself is rather small, as it measures approximately 9m x 5m, which is a single space; it seats about 50 people and is still available for ceremonies. Just be aware that there is no heating or running water in the church, so you may have to rough it a bit.
Búðakirkja holds one’s attention
Visiting this location definitely provided me with a sense of mystery and a deep appreciation for the people who made (and make) this area their home. It takes dedication, perseverance and faith to be successful in this rugged land.
More details about the church can be found at its website link.
Part 2 of a trek to Fagradalsfjall volcano and the experience of witnessing Earth’s tremendous power
In yesterday’s post (Visit to a Volcano – (part 1)), I documented the journey to the August eruption of Fagradalsfjall, which took us about 2-1/2 hours to reap the reward of the sound and fury of Mother Earth.
After overcoming the first sensations of the sound and vision produced by Nature at its finest, I found a spot from where I could set up my tripod and camera; with a Canon RF 100-500mm telephoto lens mounted, I wanted to get to the capturing of this amazing spectacle…
Volcanic Action #1
In the first couple of images, I attempted to get a sense of the scene in front of me. Under the spell of Nature’s prowess, these were feeble trials of basic photographic work.
Part of what I had to come to grips with was that I needed to connect with what was happening in front of me; having never experienced a volcanic eruption in person before, I was overwhelmed…
Volcanic Action #2
As I tightened my shot and reduced the field of view, I started the process of building a connection with Earth’s power. Heat was palpable and even the bright day could only diminish some of the glow of the lava flowing away from the cones.
As I slowly started to make a connection, there were aspects of the eruption that I could sense: rhythm, magnitude, under-worldly sounds…
Volcanic Action #3
Lines started forming in from of my lens, as the feel of the volcano’s machinations could be felt in every fiber of my body. Between the low register sounds emitted by build up and compression of air in the underground chambers, and the semi-explosive emissions of lava into the air, one cannot help but be inspired.
Slowly but surely, I attempted to build a series of images…
Volcanic Action #4
There is a sort of fiery dance, as the lava is thrown up into the air with the grace of a ballerina, where it solidifies into shards that glow in their descent. It reminds me of a hot spring, where the mud releases streams of water into the air, but significantly hotter!
The visions kept dancing…
Volcanic Action #5
The glow of the lava stream with the multitude of fiery shards in the air really gave me the sense of witnessing something beyond humanity’s capability to fully harness. The immense power coupled with such beauty left me staring in amazement.
And the best part is that this spectacle kept on performing in front of my eyes…
Volcanic Action #6
Capturing protuberances gave me a sense of what it might be to look at our Sun from a closer vantage point. We’re given a taste of our home star’s power on our own planet.
The unfortunate part is that our visit had to end, as we were on a timetable. I could have spent many more hours at this amazing site, and would have loved to capture this brilliance under darker conditions. However, I will cherish that time that I had at Fagradalsfjall volcano, knowing that I was lucky enough to experience something that lasted for only 19 days. Sometimes, it’s good to be lucky in getting to a place!
The 4.5 mile hike each way was well worth it, and I feel privileged to share this experience with you!
Dutch goes the Photo! 