Reykjanes Boat (colopr)

Following the better (drier) weather, we first went to the West Fjords area. That evening, we went to Gjogur at Reykjanes. This was taken around 11pm in mid-July.

Reykjanes Boat (b&w)

I did some long exposures to try to capture the eerie lack of sense of time. It was cloudy enough that there really wasn't a sunset or sunrise. In theory, sunset and sunrise were only about 3 hours apart. All we had was twilight for at least 6 hours.

Mt Kambur

Another view of Mt Kambur from Gjogur in the West Fjords

Herring Oil Tank (dry)

Our next stop was in Djupivik, in the West Fjords. The forecast was for poor weather, so being inside held the greatest promise for photography.

Herring Oil Tank, wet

To get inside these tanks, one had to crawl in through a square hole in the side. Daniel, our tour leader, told us about a previous trip where a photographer crawled in, but couldn't get out on his own. Without the aid of herring oil, Daniel was able to extract him to go on and photograph other sites.

Herring Oil Tank Calligraphy

The outside of the herring oil tanks had really wonderful detail. I thought this part looked like calligraphy.

Fitzcarraldo

This rusted hull of a ship reminded me of Verner Herzog's film "Fitzcarraldo" and Les Blank's "Burden of Dreams".

Ship Rust

Some detail from the rusted ship hull.

Basalt Cathedral

As we arrived at the most powerful waterfall in Europe, Aldeyjarfoss, the sun was just hitting the top of the basalt cliffs, making them light up wonderfully golden.

Aldeyjarfoss in slow motion

I took a long exposure using my infrared filter to get some interesting cloud movement at Aldeyjarfoss.It meant that I couldn't capture the standing wave that the waterfall produces, but, well, you can't have everything.

Lupines forever!

This was a tiny bunch of lupines just off of the parking area at Aldeyjarfoss. The nootka lupine was introduced to Iceland in 1945 to control soil erosion and add nitrogen to the soil. It has naturalized to such an extent that it is now considered an invasive species. There are acres and acres of it. While it's very colorful, it creates a canopy over the native shrubs, lichens & mosses, and decreases diversity. In some ares, it seems to decline after 15-20 years and the native plants can grow in the enriched soil.

Selfoss (b&w)

On to Selfoss and Dettifoss, 2 very impressive waterfalls in Iceland's north. I had previously photographed detail of water rushing over the edge. This time, the water in the river was so high (being in July instead of October), I couldn't get within 20 feet or more of the drop.

Rush Hour at Dettifoss (b&w)

A detail shot of Dettifoss.

Hot Rise

Outside of Myvatn there is a geothermal area called Namafjall. As usual, we were there in the pre-dawn hours. We got back to our camp on the shores of Lake Myvatn around 5:30am to catch a few hours sleep before awakening to the black clouds of midge hatches. The lake is known for its birds, which come to feast on the multitudes of midges. While we undoubtedly inhaled and/or swallowed some, I'm afraid we were not nearly as appreciative as the birds were! Unlike at another geothermal area, nobody dropped their camera and/or tripod into a fumarole here.

Holuhraun Lava Field

2 weeks after my previous trip to Iceland's Highlands in 2014, Bárðarbunga erupted for 6 months. This 3-year-old lava field was created from that event as the lava flowed north.

From Mountain to Rocks, to Sand

The mountains slowly turn to fine black sand.

Wind Patterns

Delicately carving the mountains and volcanoes into sand, the wind leaves its signature.

Into the Badlands

We drove south from Mt Askja across new and old lava fields, forming moraines, and boulderfields on the Gaesavatnaleid road for 8 hours to Hrauneyjar. Iceland felt huge!

Water Trails

Red Waterfall or Raudufosser in the Fjallabak. After sitting while Daniel drove us almost 2600 km, I was desperate for exercise, so instead of just shooting this waterfall from the base, I headed up a steep slope to position myself across from the fall about mid-way up.

Rhyolite Rainbow

The classic view of Landmannalauger. Tour busses, trucks, SUVs and cars are constantly coming and going from this trailhead. It marks the northern end of the Laugavegur hiking trail that ends in Þórsmörk, 35 miles away.

Green and Black Zen

Wandering around in the Fjallabak region in light rain and mist. These are water filled volcanic craters.

Empty Reflections

Our last sunrise. This was at Veidovotn, a popular fishing area.

Final Sunrise

The sun finally broke out on our last, bleary-eyed sunrise of the trip. It was suggested that we not tell our trip mates who opted to sleep in that morning!