day 1
I took a flight from San Francisco to Keflavik via WOW airlines. Took the FlyBus to KEF Lights Hotel. This was the only hotel I stayed in Iceland to feature in-room hot water for tea. So yes, take your fancier than average tea bags to Iceland with you. And maybe some Run Gum, if you're really desperate to maintain your caffeine addiction. You don't really need to take the fancy loose leaf tea if you need to try to make weight (20 kg = 44 pounds for check-in luggage on WOW airlines). Check in, brew some tea, call AT&T to see what's up with your access to local cellular networks and a shower.Now we live on a common planet. We have clouds everywhere. Take a fancy phone photo of the glorious Reykjavik cloud porn outside your hotel window.
ohmagawd! the glorious cloud porn!
The electricity in Iceland isn't like the electricity in North America or Hong Kong. It's "European." Which means you ought to buy one of these converters and then plug in your North American power strips into the converter to charge your camera batteries, cell phone, and lap-top.
day 2
Geysir
Geysir is the original geyser, the geyser that all geysers are named after. They have more than one geyser there. I didn't get a really good photo of any of them.
My best photos at Geysir were of the quirky soft focus landscape kind of the hot runoff from the geysir.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss is a really really big waterfall.
This is on the way to the Kerlingarfjoll hotel.
Kerlingarfjoll Hotel and camp ground
At the end of day 2, we arrive at Kerlingarfjoll.There is a hotel and these quaint little triangular cabins,
a nice restaurant,
and a campground.
They don't have WiFi there, so don't even ask if they have WiFi there. They don't. They don't have WiFi.
This is how you get from Reykjavik to Kerlingarfjoll.
day 3
Up early in the morning to get to the Kerlingarfjoll Mountains for sunrise. This was probably the coldest day while I was there. About 40 degrees Fahrenheit, maybe 20 mile-an-hour winds on the ridge, and a bit of sprinkles, which you can see evidence of from this sign describing the troll-women who live there.The story of the troll woman
"Folk tales depict the Kerlingarfjoll Mountains as a refuge for outlaws and trolls. The world "kerling" means an 'old hag.' This the name of the 30 meter high stone pillar in the west part of the mountain range. Legend has it that this old hag was a troll woman and possibly the daughter of the fire giant Surtur from the Norse mythology. One day she did not make it home before sunrise, and was therefore turned to stone."
None of our photo-adventuring party turned into stone upon sunrise. We are not trolls.
It was a little cloudy and hazy that morning, but some of the haze is from geothermal steam.
This is map of the mountains. A few of us noted that many of the tourist maps in Iceland do not have "you are here" marked on them. Which does seem a bit odd. Is there something about Iceland that is immune to the "you are here" theorem. Or perhaps Icelandic mapmakers are unaware of the Bernach fixed point theorem.
Gygjarfoss
Later in the day on our way to the Highland Center Hrauneyjar, we came across Gygjarfoss.
Hajlparfoss
On the way to Hajlparfoss, there was the most glorious shooting straight-into-the-sun cloud porn, but we didn't quite make it in time to the parking lot before it partially dissipated.It ended up being super sunny and contrasty there.
They got basalt in Iceland,
and some sort of power station in the distance.
Haifoss
Next foss is Haifoss.
I think it's called Haifoss because is really hai. I didn't dare get close enough to the edge to look for the bottom of the foss.
Somewhere between the Haifoss parking lot and Highland Center Hrauneyjar, I lost track of baby goat.
here's the story about baby goat.I sneaked him onto the airplane. I got him past immigration and customs undetected. I bring him out for a photo shoot at Haifoss. He loves it! Look at the joy on his face. He loves Iceland so much he decides to just run off without telling me or saying goodbye.
If you're in Iceland, and you see my baby goat, tell him I miss him and wish him all the luck.
And yeah, Haifoss is on one of those roads that "requires" a "4x4" to get to. On a nice day, during summer, when we arrived, I can imagine that I would be able to drive my 4-door Honda Civic there without too much trouble.
When we reach the Highland Center Hrauneyjar,
I see a notice about Hekla. Not Hekla the black kitten on Keeping up with the Kattarshians, but Hekla the volcano.
Hekla (the volcano) did not misbehave while we were in Iceland.
day 4
Sigoldugljufer Canyon
At least that's what I think it's called. There's this canyon we went to shoot sunrise and sunset, and the GPS result on the SL suggests that it's called Sigoldugljufer.The light was a little difficult at sunrise
and at some point I just left the SL on it's tripod
and found the light somewhere else with the Q.
Sunset at the canyon though was really quite nice tho
Brahlyur, Frostastaðavatn, and Mad Max F208 road.
We stopped along the way to Landmannalaugar. First stop was this crater lake which the GPS data on the SL raw files suggests it is called Brahlyur.
Also, there was the most glorious cloud porn,
At one point I became fascinated by this one chopped off rugged mountain in the distance
And there we a few of us that imagined the vehicles using the road between us and the mountains and the cloud porn to be in some sort of action movie.
Like maybe something out of Mad Max?
Or that classic MTV music video by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers of my youth (except that Tom is driving on asphalt roads with lanes marked on them).
Next stop, Frostastaðavatn, according to the GPS
I got some photos of strong diagonals while in Iceland. You might ask, "what makes it strong?" I answer, "It's mostly a strong diagonal because there is a diagonal."
The Mercedes Monster Truck.
Perhaps it's time to say a little something about how you go about traveling on roads that look like this in Iceland (a little bit before or a little bit after this photo was taken, a grader and a roller went by to maintain the gravel road).
Our local guide was Brynjar Agústsson. He's an accomplished photographer. He knows all the locations and light and everything. And he drives a Mercedes Monster Truck.
That's how you get around Iceland in style.
Landmannalaugar
Finally we reach Landmannalaugar to do a little hiking through the lava fields before getting back to the canyon for sunset.
Base camp.
More hot geothermal run off
And a quirky out of focus landscape shot with the SL and an m-mount 60mm-Hexanon.
This is how you get from there to there on day 4.
day 5
On our way back to Landmannalaugar, but before we get far we need to let the tire pressure out for the bumpy roads near a power station. This is how "European" electricity is transported.
walking through the lava fields at Landmannalaugar
Geothermal steam.
For me, this photo has a sort of Werner Herzog Nosferatu//Fitzcarraldo feel to it. But this is Iceland, not Transylvania/Amazon. So, there might be a troll behind that steamy ridge.
How to get there from here. All the right angles.
Two hikers.
Icelandic cotton
Icelandic horses.
Landmannalaugar at sunset
I imagine that the two figures in the lower center of the frame are having a semi-slapstick sort of argument of where to go after reaching base camp (lamb stew and coffee? or just straight to the hot springs?).
maybe like a couple of droids I know.
day 6
F208 to Hali Country Hotel
Today we make our way out of the highlands and to the south coast of Iceland.We crossed this small lake in the monster truck, in this photo it looks like it's about a quarter mile across, but maybe is was only a eighth mile?
and we found some sheep and some moss.
As we got closer to the coast, things got a little less barren and a lot greener.
It's possible that this is a practicable application of the Bernach fixed-point theorem (you are here!).
This is where we crossed a creek with a bridge with a weight limit on it.... our monster truck was just slim enough to cross? In any case, we made it across.
How to get from Highland Center Hrauneyjar to Farewell Hali Country Hotel.
Jökulsárlón
After checking in we made it out to Jökulsárlón, or Ice Lagoon for sunset.
At one point, I hoped to find Superman's Fortress of Solitude here. Perhaps someday I'll make it back to find it.
Aurora Borealis
Later, that night we made it back to the Ice Lagoon to shoot the aurora. I shot it with a 24-lux on the M-240. In retrospect it may have been better to shoot it with the 24-lux on the SL with an M-mount adapter to get the better high ISO performance and a bit better sensor in general. Also, I should have exposed for 6-8 seconds instead of the 2-4 seconds that I did. Perhaps next time, when/if there's a next time. I got a couple of decent shots.
day 7
Exploring all lagoons on the south coast.Jökulsárlón
This is the single lane bridge across the river flowing from Ice Lagoon to Ice Beach.
Fjallsárlón
Batman Lagoon
This is a rainbow on the way to the Batman Lagoon.
I believe this place is called Batman Lagoon, because part of one of the Batman movies was filmed there.
Driving Highway 1 along the south coast.
Even Monster Trucks gotta gas up. I take a photo of the gas pump (because that's the sort of thing I take photos of).
I get back onto the Monster Truck to watch the most extraordinary scene take place in the parking lot. Am I watching the outtakes of an Ulfur Ulfur video?
There's a huge German Shepard dog behind the wheel of a brown bus that is labeled "BANGBUS" on the front of it.
It seemed like a scene from an Ulfur Ulfur video. A German Shepard driving the brown bus pop-started the blue bus driven by the prettiest girl.
day 8
Up early in the morning
to get to the Ice Beach for sunrise.
The broken off bits of ice wash up on the black sand beach
and slowly melt in the sea water.
I want that hat
a few photos at Fjallsárlón before heading up the coast to Stoksness.
Hoffell Glacier.
next,
Stokksness at sunset
the strongest diagonal.
day 9
Farewell Hali Country Hotel
running up the south coast back to Reykjavik.
Ice Lagoon to Ice Beach
Bryinar's drone
Hofskirkja
=Dyrholavegur
and puffins
Seljalandsfoss
drone running
shooting a foss with an "iPhone"
the home stretch.
day 10
How to towel in Icelandic hotels
and at the airport waiting for the WOW flight back home.
What is missing from this account of an adventure in Iceland:
- how to book a hotel
- how to rent a car
- what insurance to get for your rented car.
- do I need a 4x4 or will a 2x4 do?
- how to drive on roads
- how to buy gas at a gas station.
Because I didn't do any of those things.
I did buy some dried fruit a couple of times with my credit card. You stick your credit card into the little machine with the chip in the machine. Then everything comes up in Icelandic on the machine, and you have a choice between a red button on the lower left, and a green button on the lower right. Press the green button.
A collection of all the Iceland photos may be found here.
Highlights are found here.
All the touristy fancy phone photos here.
Highlights are found here.
All the touristy fancy phone photos here.
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