Tag: travel

Strokkur Geysir

Today we visit the Strokkur geyser. Observe the blue bubble indicating impending eruptions and catch the right moment!

I’m confident that many of you are by now expecting that we travel to Iceland for Tuesdays. I’m planning to keep this theme going for a good while until you either have seen enough Iceland photos or I run out of them. The latter is just an excuse to go back for more photography! This week we’re visiting one of the iconic geysers of Iceland: Strokkur.

Here’s an eruption sequence for you to enjoy…

During the August 2022 trip, we got to spend about an hour at Strokkur, which gave me enough time to get a sense of its rhythm. The eruptions occur about every 8-10 minutes, but not every eruption reaches the same height.

I figured out that the important aspect is to keep an eye on the blue bubble. You can almost feel the geyser breathe through the expansion and contraction of the bubble. After several smaller eruptions, I had a sense that this might be the one!

I was definitely not disappointed. As a matter of fact the height was even more than I anticipated! This sequence of 7 images was shot over about 2 seconds. It may have been a gray, rainy day, but the spectacle was worth it nonetheless!

Blue Diamond on the Beach

Diamond Beach in Iceland offers endless photographic opportunities. In this post we enjoy the intense blue hues of glacier ice.

It’s time for another post to cover more of Diamond Beach in Iceland. It’s been a while since I published on this topic (Diamond in the Rough). This is just one of those locations, where I could photograph for days and never be done! Diamond Beach is a paradise for photographers who enjoy discovering shapes in nature with a leaning towards Black&White.

Here’s the image that I decided to take a closer look at…

Blue Diamond

This chunk of glacier ice was pretty close to the waterline and likely to be picked up by the incoming tide. What caught my eye was its color. Glacier ice has an intense blue color due to its density with very few air bubbles. As a result, longer wavelengths of light are absorbed and shorter ones are reflected.

Just a chip of the old glacier, it will travel until it is dissipated into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Wonderful Barn

The Wonderful Barn, built in 1743, can be found in Leixlip, Ireland. Its purpose remains mysterious, making it even more of an attraction.

In one’s travels, we sometimes come across a building or structure that makes you wonder about its purpose. Today is definitely one of those. During our trip to Ireland in 2019, my wife and I stayed outside Dublin in the town of Leixlip. In this town, the first of Arthur Guinness’s breweries was started in 1756.

This is the structure that we came across during one of our walks…

The Wonderful Barn

This barn was built in 1743 and it is not entirely certain what its purpose was. Whether this was built by the Conolly family as a folly, a dovecote or a granary, each theory holds some merit. As this was built shortly after the famine of 1740-41, the granary theory might be the most plausible.

No matter its purpose, just seeing this interesting building makes us wonder. At least we know, it’s not built by ancient aliens… If you come through Leixlip, look up the Wonderful Barn!

Wednesday Window – pt 12

We explore an aspect of Iceland’s renowned Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Centre in Reykjavik; a truly inspiring visual gem!

In this episode we’re going back to Iceland and a specific building in Reykjavik that is a photographer’s dream. The Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Centre is an amazing and award-winning structure by the city’s waterfront. The shapes that are created through this amazing glass-clad environment are eye-catching both from the outside and the interior.

Today, we take a look from the exterior…

Harpa Windows

A myriad of windows adorn the facade, which becomes even more interesting at night, as colors play across them (might be a future post). Just imagine the approach that was taken to construct such an outer shell. From any angle, there are visual stimuli that interest many photographers and will keep us coming back to experience the views under different light and weather conditions.

This is my mid-week contribution to the Monday Window thread, a creation of Ludwig Keck. To read more about Ludwig, check this page.

Seljalandsfoss Summer Beauty

Let’s take a look ahead toward warmer days with Seljalandsfoss in August.

I think that many of us in the northern hemisphere are looking forward to the somewhat milder days of spring and summer that lie ahead. At this point, winter feels like it has outstayed its welcome! Therefore, after several days of posts that featured snow, I’m switching to a warmer sight.

Imagine a warm, albeit breezy, August afternoon…

Seljalandsfoss Summer Spray

Seljalandsfoss is certainly one of the popular waterfall stops on any Iceland trip. It is located conveniently just off Route 1 (the ring road) and has plenty of parking for visitors. As a result, it is nearly impossible to photograph the waterfall without being overrun by visitors. Even in this shot, there are two people visible; unlike Waldo they are not clad in white with red stripes.

Nevertheless it is a magnificent sight to behold and wonderful site to visit. At some time in the future, I am planning on photographing Seljalandsfoss just before sunset. A truly special photograph can be captured from behind the waterfall…

Snaefellsnes Sunset

Photography in Iceland during winter offers advantages. One of these is that dramatic sunsets and sunrises are more easily available.

A possible advantage of photography in Iceland during winter is that you don’t have to stay up late to catch a sunset. Similarly, there was no need to get up early for a spectacular sunrise! Shooting days in February are a lot shorter than those in July or August! With the Sun a bit lower in the sky, the hours in the day are all amazing.

Here’s a shot that I captured as sunset was getting closer…

Snaefellsnes Sunset

We had been doing some photography around the black church in Budir, and it didn’t quite satisfy my inner eye. There were definitely some good shots among those, but nothing that pulled together the sense of drama that I wanted. So I went exploring across the snowfield to the west of the church.

This is one of the landscapes that I found. The light raking across the snow-covered field and already long shadows piqued my interest. This image stimulates not only the visual cortex, but also works its magic on my limbic system. There’s something with a bit of mystery here. That includes the footprints in the snow…

Nubble Light in Snow

Come join us on Cape Neddick to admire Nubble Light in the snow. A beautiful, albeit chilly day along the Maine coast.

A rather fresh image for today! Yesterday, my wife and I took a drive up to Maine to do some shopping for our upcoming trip. We both had the day off, so it was nice to get away and not have either weekend or summer crowds. On the way back, I suggested we stop by York Beach, as I wanted to see how the snow looked.

As it was a gorgeous day, I found this…

Nubble Light in Snow

With this beautiful, although chilly day, the blues looked stunning with the relatively calm sea surrounding the lighthouse.

And yes, my wife was much more successful in her shopping than I was!

iPhone Friday

A chilly morning in Iceland just over a year ago made the perfect time to photograph Kirkjufell mountain at sunrise.

From last week’s warmth of Mumbai, India, we go to a chilly February morning in Iceland. This was just over a year ago, as my partner in crime, George Fellner, and I went to photograph the sun rising on Kirkjufell mountain. We scoped out the location on the previous day, so we had a good idea where we wanted to be. As Kirkjufell mountain is highly photogenic, there were several other photographers in situ.

Despite the competition, we found a pretty good vantage point…

Kirkjufell on Ice

We spent a good hour photographing majestic Kirkjufell in various stages of being illuminated. During this time, the ice flow provided a wonderfully muted reflection. That certainly increased the appeal of this vista for me. I love reflections, especially when they are a bit more subtle, such as in this image.

It was a good photo harvest during a chilly morning!

Thursday Throwback – 12

Aa memorable vacation in Italy with a wonderful time in Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome.

My wife and I have taken some awesome vacations, including a wonderful trip to Italy! This was in 2017, so this episode is not a very far throwback, although…

The content in this image goes back much further in time…

Amore e Psiche

For the first part of our trip, we stayed in Ostia Antica, the original port town of Rome. We figured correctly that staying outside of Rome was a much better driving option than in the eternal city.

A key bonus was the excavations of ancient Ostia Antica (Parco Acheologico di Ostia Antica). This is an amazing site that provides hours of wandering back in time. Walking through each neighborhood of the old harbor city, one gets a real sense of what life was like. The photo is of statue in the House of Cupid and Psyche, a loving embrace across the ages.

And, yes, we also visited Rome, taking the train from Ostia Antica, which made for a wonderful way to get into the city.

iPhone Friday

Walking through Mumbai, catch a torn poster on a textured wall that evokes Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.

From last week’s walk through Reykjavik we go to yet another magnificent city: Mumbai. In January of 2020, I went on a trip to India for work, visiting our teams in Pune in the state of Maharashtra. At the end of the week of work in Pune, I had booked a personal week in Mumbai. The country and culture of India have always attracted me, so this opportunity was just perfect!

Exploring this city was amazing, filled with interesting sights…

Paper Scream

Walking around, I always look for anything that strikes my senses. The remains of this large poster on a textured wall really stood out. It gives me a sense of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch with a distinctly different cultural flavor. The missing parts of the poster and the visible tears talk of the agony experienced.

Needless to say, I was fully intrigued and still enjoy this moment!