Not all days at Jökulsárlón are made equal, which is why I always try to spend at least 2-3 days there, giving me more opportunity of some decent weather and light. Day 3 of my trip was one of the those disappointing, miserable Icelandic days that you just have to deal with. They do, at least, give me a chance for a lie-in, which is very important to me on these trips, as I suffer from going-to-bed-late-syndrome!
I woke up at about 10am, having been vaguely awake for a couple of hours listening to the slamming of the doors in the guesthouse (its only real downside, at least). Eventually I got myself up and out and was on the east beach at Jökulsárlón by 11.15am. The weather was grim: grey, cold, damp, with little contrast in the sky apart from a slightly bright patch over the horizon. There was less ice on the beach than the previous night, which made it easier to capture and find potential compositions (I hate cutting off icebergs in the middle, so having them set alone on the sand is ideal!). I noticed some black bergs in the surf, one that looked like an animal.
One benefit of this weather is that I pretty much had the place to myself, which always makes it more enjoyable for me. I wandered further along the beach to see what else I could find.
After about an hour I put the macro lens on as I noticed some wonderful formations inside an iceberg - might as well use it, given that I was lugging it around (and it isn't light!). Macro photography is pretty hard work in these conditions, especially given that my eyesight has deteriorated in the past few years. Looking through the viewfinder is not very practical when you're trying to focus on some tiny ice patterns inside an iceberg, so I have the live view on, but then have to wear my reading glasses. Trying to get the tripod into a position to enable me to get close enough to the ice surface is also challenging - fortunately the old Manfrotto has double-jointed legs so I can get it practically flat to the ground. And then there's the aperture settings... it's so difficult with the MP-65mm lens to get anything in focus inside an iceberg, so even with a really high depth of field it's still impossible to capture the ice formations properly. I need to work on focus stacking, but moving the lens a mm to get a different piece in focus is extremely hard when you're working with something inside the ice. I managed to capture a few little bits and pieces that I rather liked. It really is a completely different world in there.
When my back was too sore I gave up and drove back to the guesthouse for lunch. I was feeling rather unmotivated, and sat in my room going through photos from the previous day. I always feel a bit guilty when it's light and not raining and I'm not out taking photos on these trips, but I cannot do it every single moment. I have to give myself a rest. And besides, reviewing photos from the previous day is always useful to identify any issues I might have with the camera, such as an errant hair on the lens, or new dust spots that need cleaning. It also helps me identify what stuff I like, so I can concentrate on that more. And the batteries need charging, food needs eating, and water (and tea!) needs drinking.
I didn't head back out until about 3.30pm, and pulled off the road shortly afterwards when I saw a large herd of reindeer. I parked the car and walked down a track towards them - wanting to get my steps in for the day! As I approached they moved away, as expected. I wish I'd had a longer lens, but at least I captured them in their natural landscape. From time to time they'd stop moving, look over at me, heads in the air as if they were sniffing me, although I was quite far away.
I wandered back up to the car and arrived at the east beach at 4.15pm, which was pretty deserted again. I started with more macro shots, having an idea from the review of the morning's shots of what I wanted to capture (little round and oval balls within the ice primarily). The weather was still dreary, so wide shots were of limited interest. I didn't find much inside the icebergs that grabbed me after all, so switched lens and wandered up the beach for more inspiration. The light was terrible and I felt very uninspired, despite some interestingly-shaped bergs.
As it began to get darker some slightly more interesting clouds developed above me, and I concentrated on a few icebergs to try to get some more abstract shots.
I headed back towards the car at about 6.45pm and noticed a few more nice bergs near the sandbank, so hung around a bit longer. Another photographer kept getting into my shots and then started shining a red light on some icebergs, so I got a little annoyed but just moved on. I found a nice bunch of icebergs together that looked a bit like a fish skeleton to me from a certain angle. Eventually the light was too low and so I drove back to Reynivellir.
When I arrived back I noticed a large tour party staying in the guesthouse (and some cabins nearby) and they were cooking up a big meal. I noticed that the Australian girl I'd sat next to on the plane on the way over was part of the group, so we chatted for a bit - a nice coincidence to be staying at the same place at the same time. I headed up to my room to do the usual routine of battery charging, downloading and then reviewing photos, but soon the girl knocked on my door and asked me to join them downstairs for dinner. I was having quite a bit of luck on this front! In all of my trips to Iceland I've never been offered dinner by fellow guests before, but now it had happened for the second night in a row. It was really nice - as I sat with the large group and we all chatted about travel experiences and about Iceland. I helped with the washing up and stayed around talking for a bit longer before heading up to my room to finish reviewing the photos from the day.
The forecast for the following day was mixed, so I decided that I had to force myself to get out to the beach for sunrise, so set the alarm clock for an early start. It had been a rather disappointing day photographically, with dull light, and desperately wanted a better day with some decent clouds and contrast, so fingers were crossed for better conditions.
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Day 2: Driving from Reynisfjara to Jökulsárlón
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Day 4: A Good Day at Jökulsárlón
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