Iceland Nov 2015 - Day 7: Back to Jökulsárlón in the Rain

Day 7 started much as the previous day - waking up to depressingly grey skies and rain. I was annoyed - I wanted to enjoy the area and explore a bit more, but instead the rain was here to thwart my plans. I popped out when I got up to take a few shots and there were actually clear skies above me, but a huge bank of fog clung to the mountains to the west. I checked the forecast and it had deteriorated to rain and wind all day, instead of brightening up later on. I had to check out by lunchtime, but only had to drive as far as Höfn to stay the night, where I was trying out a new guesthouse (Apotek). I had hoped to go to Hvalnes for sunrise/morning and then Stokksnes for the afternoon/sunset, but neither seemed particularly appealing.

I had a leisurely breakfast, in no hurry to head out, and eventually packed up and paid the nice farmer before heading west towards the tunnel. As I approached the tunnel I stopped to capture the road winding up the hill, disappearing into fog.

As usual I hoped that the weather would miraculously be better on the other side of the tunnel, but again I was disappointed - more rain and fog. I pulled over at a picnic area to photograph some moody clouds on the horizon and fog clinging to the hills above; I still didn't know where I was heading.

My options included heading to Höfn to explore the town (I could always hang out in a bar all day!), or heading further west, back to Jökulsárlón. I remember once saying to someone that at least in Iceland there was stuff to photograph when the weather was bad, but now I realised that I only really meant capturing the icebergs on the beach; not much else. So onwards I went - 130km out of my way, in order to return to my beloved Jökulsárlón. I stopped a couple of times along the way - near the graffiti house and at my favourite tree. Unlike the previous day, there was at least some contrast in the clouds - I could actually see some of the landscape.

I reached Jökulsárlón and it looked pretty grim - the rain had not abated at all. Along the last straight stretch the rain had belted towards me and I knew it wasn't going to be nice. I was already kitted up in my waterproofs, with lots of warm layers underneath, so didn't waste much time before heading out onto the beach. Sometimes when I get there I momentarily forget what I see in the place, and this was one of those occasions. The sky was grey, the black sand looked ugly, littered with footprints, and the shoreline was full of uneven chunks of ice. It certainly wasn't the beautiful serene scene I'd left a couple of days earlier. I got to work, regardless, remembering that the camera still manages to capture some beauty, particularly once a couple of filters are added to create the smooth water from the waves returning to the sea.

I wandered a little further along the beach in search of a few more spaced-out icebergs. Finally I found a few that were well-spaced and the waves just kept on coming over them, creating the trails that I love as they receded. I found a couple of larger, more turquoise bergs sitting in the surf, but the force of the waves moved them around from time to time.

I didn't really realise just how wet I was getting, and indeed how wet my beloved 5Diii was getting; I was so well covered in waterproofs I kind of neglected the camera... I only gave up and headed back to the car because the drizzle was getting onto the lens or filter faster than I could wipe it off. Each filter I tried ended up with a rainy/sea-watery smear across it. I got back into the car in my wet over-trousers, hanging the waterproof jacket over the seat behind me to dry. I lay the camera on the passenger's seat, wiped off the rain from the body and the lens, but clearly there was something wrong - as I noticed that I wasn't able to turn the camera off. I took the battery out and dried it off and tried again a few times, but the only way I could turn it off was to actually remove the battery. I felt a little worried. 

I popped across to have a quick look at the lagoon - the mountains not visible behind, but a few chunks of blue ice in the distance, took a few photos through the car window, and then headed back east towards Höfn. Although I like that drive, I was a bit over the whole day by now - and having to drive 80 miles was just painful.

I didn't stop again, but drove past Hali, the lovely tree, and onwards into Höfn and to my guesthouse (Apotek). There was no-one there, but there was a telephone number and a phone at reception to call. A few minutes later a woman came and checked me in and showed me to my (beautiful!) room, and told me to help myself to breakfast in the morning. The room was exquisite! The place was brand new, and the room was more like a boutique hotel than a good value guesthouse. The camera still wasn't right - not turning off, and now with signs of condensation formed in droplets on the panel at the top. I took a few test shots and found that there were also spots on the back screen. I thought I'd destroyed my camera. A lot of Googling ensued, and the conclusion was that I was extremely stupid to take Canon's description of "weatherproof" with any faith. Perhaps these things are okay in a little drizzle, but it had been raining quite hard and I was out there some time. The best course of action was to place the camera in a bag of rice. Obviously it was too late for the shop by now, so I'd have to wait until the following day. The spare camera was then dug out from the bottom of the bag for the next day.

It was now extremely windy, and forecast to be that way all night. I did pop out - by car - to the restaurant up the road where I'd eaten twice before. I ate a bowl of warming langoustine soup, washed down by another of the delicious Borg beers, before heading home to the safety of my lovely room for the night.

Click here for Day 6 blog - A Rainy Day in Stafafell
Click here for Day 8 blog - From Höfn to Vík

Two Shots a Day - Back in Iceland!

I'm back in Iceland, yet again, for another photography trip along the southern coast. Instead of posting a first and last photo from each day (as I did on my last trip in February), I'm going to post a couple that I particularly like each day instead. That way they're not all of pre-dawn for the first shot and the blue hour/northern lights for the last shot!

Day 1 - From Keflavik to Vik

Today I took a lovely drive from the airport via my friend's house in Alftavatn for coffee, then on to Nesjavellir and the wonderful Ion hotel, then along the shores of Þingvallavatn, before heading back down towards Selfoss. I then headed east, stopping at a few spots, before deciding on the promontory at Dyrholaey as my place to photograph the sunset. Quite a stunning evening it was too.

Trees reflected along the southern shore of Þingvallavatn

The stack on Reynisfjara beach seen from Dyrholaey, with the earth's shadow providing the colour

Day 2 - From Vik to Jökulsárlón

I left Vik in drizzly weather with limited visibility; it was easy drive, though, across the black sandur (sandy plains), with little wind and almost no other traffic on the road. I stopped briefly to capture Foss á Siðu, and Lómagnúpur, before continuing on to my beloved Jökulsárlón. I went to the east beach, which was packed with thousands of icebergs, and the tide was receding and only crashing over a few at the shore line. There was a constant drizzle coming in from the south-west. The sun began trying to come out, but the best light was in the same direction as the wind and drizzle, so I eventually gave up and headed across the road and the bridge to the west side of the lagoon. For a while the light was stunning, with the peaks appearing from the fog, but soon the wind picked up and it became extremely gusty and unpleasant, so I called it a day. Here's a couple of shots from the day.

Small pebbles and sand collect in pockets of the icebergs on Jökulsárlón beach 

The peaks behind Jökulsárlón Lagoon peak from behind fog

Day 3 - Jökulsárlón

Had a lovely day in Jökulsárlón, with a few hours on the beach first thing (and some lovely light and clouds), followed by a quick pitstop at the lagoon, home for a few hours while the weather was rubbish, and then back out for "sunset", although the weather was still mostly rubbish. Now desperately waiting for the storms to clear and a promised aurora borealis storm to appear!

The sun peaks above the clouds on the horizon over Jökulsárlón beach

A couple of tiny icebergs on Jökulsárlón beach at dusk - rather weird clouds around

Day 4 - Jökulsárlón

Another day at Jökulsárlón - didn't even bother checking out the lagoon (apart from a little post-sunset recce to see where might be a good aurora spot). So here are my two shots from today - both from the beach, and both with similar weather and cloud conditions!

Dawn on Jökulsárlón beach - there was some great colour in the skies, 

One of the few sunsets I've actually seen at Jökulsárlón - usually it's jut too cloudy!

Day 5 - Driving to Stafafell
I haven't gone very far today, only 90km, leaving Hali and returning to the yellow cottage at Stafafell. I drove to Jökulsárlón for sunrise (another nice one - I was being luckier than usual), back to Hali to check out, then eastwards, stopping at a couple of usual spots. For sunset I headed to Stokksnes, but the skies were dull and the light uninspiring.

A rather lovely morning at Jökulsárlón

For a country with no trees, occasionally there are some! This little patch is found between Hali and Hofn.

Day 6 - Stafafell

Today has been wet and miserable, so hard pushed to even find 2 decent photos! I spent all morning processing some star trails I took the previous night, and eventually forced myself out in the rain at about 2pm to Hvalnes. I wanted to capture some interesting things on the beach, but it was so wet and all my photos were pretty much ruined by the reflection of my tripod in the hundreds of pebbles! I played around with the polarising filter, but it didn't help much. There were some nice little bits of seaweed, shells, and dead fish and crab bits though. Back at Stafafell I noticed some pretty rain-covered red berries. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little less wet and miserable.

Yes, you can see the pan head and tripod reflected in every damn wet black pebble!

Raindrops cling to little red berries on a tree in Stafafell

Day 7 - A Detour back to Jökulsárlón

The weather was ghastly again today - rainy, low cloud and mist, and windy to boot. I was supposed to be enjoying the region around Höfn - hoping to get some better shots from Stokksnes - but the weather was so bad I decided to make the 130km round trip to Jökulsárlón instead, as I know that even in rain it's wonderful. It pissed down the whole time I was there, but with the cover of the lens hood I managed to keep the lens and filters dry for long enough to get a few shots. I may have damaged the camera, though, as it doesn't now switch off (I need to take the battery out). Oops. Tomorrow is back that way again, but onwards to Vik. Gales are forecast here for the morning, which may scupper plans...

Not very pleasant driving conditions today - at least it wasn't pissing it down at that point!

Back to Jökulsárlón which still looks very lovely in the rain

Day 8 - A Windy Drive to Vik

Gales were forecast for part of the day, so I didn't head out to Stokksnes for sunrise (there wasn't one), but headed out a little later on. The sun was trying to come through, but not shining on the mighty Vesturhorn. I struggled to get any decent shots. By the time I left the sun was out, but I had to leave (needing to make a detour back to the Yellow Cottage, having found the key in my car...). I then drove straight to Vik, stopping only briefly to take the odd shot. The weather was windy, sometimes sunny, mainly rainy, and pretty unpleasant. I got to Vik just in time for sunset, but there wasn't much of one!

Looking east near Hali, with huge clouds above the mountain tops

A long exposure shot of the post-sunset skies above Vik.

Day 9 - Vik to Alftanes

My last day was another one for rainy driving. I awoke in Vik to a beautiful view of the crescent moon aligned with a couple of stars, but within minutes it was raining. I packed up and left, drove to Reynisfjara beach for sunrise (disappointing but some good moody clouds), before heading to the crashed DC3 (love that place - and a brief moment of awesome light to boot!), a quick stop at Skógafoss, onwards through more rain to Urriðafoss, before arriving at my friends' house on the Alftanes peninsula for tea time. Sigrún treated me to a fantastic dinner of home made sushi - a wonderful last meal on my trip.

Rain about to hit me on Reynisfjara beach at 'sunrise'

A moment of wonderful light, illuminating the distant Pétursey, at the DC3 crash site

Day 10 - Flying Home

Obviously the weather as I left Iceland this morning was amazing - a severe frost and clear skies allowing me a last glimpse of northern lights, and then a glorious view from the plane of the freshly-snow-covered hills and an intense sunrise glow. But hey, I'll be back again :)

Tripod packed away so this was taken with the camera sitting on the roof of the car - not ideal!

After days of mostly rain it was annoying to see a beautiful clear day in Iceland - just as I left :(

First & Last of the Day in Iceland

I arrived in Iceland late last night for the eighth time! Obviously I'm a bit obsessed with the place. I will eventually do a blog for each day with a selection of the photos I take, but I thought that while I'm away I'll just post the first and last photo I take each day. There's a good challenge to make sure I don't stuff them up.

Day 1
The first photo I took today was taken from a snowy parking area just before I reached Þingvellir (or Thingvellir, which is the nearest English equivalent). The last photo I took was taken along the Ytri-Rangá riverside in Hella, where I'm staying for the night (a last-minute rearrangement, as there were a couple of huge gales forecast near Vik and Skaftafell for today, so I postponed the drive to Jökulsárlón for a day).

Day 2

Fortunately the winds and rain weren't so bad that I was forced off the road, and I made it in one piece to Jökulsárlón. My first stop was at a very windy Seljalandfoss, where I took the photo from the car-park. The last photo of the day was taken on my beloved Jökulsárlón beach, in horrible drizzly conditions. It's forecast to rain heavily all night, so no more photos to be taken until morning.

Day 3

I wasn't thinking about the blog when I took either the first or the last photo today, so not very happy with them! The first was taken here at Hali, where the sky suddenly turned pink, in spite of a forecast of heavy rain until 10am. The last shot was taken overlooking Jökulsárlón beach at night. There was a forecast for a couple of hours of clear skies, but sadly these were to the south. To the north there was a lingering cloud over some very vague aurora. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Day 4

Another day at the magnificent Jökulsárlón. The forecast for the whole day was a mixture of sun and snow showers, and it was rather accurate. The first shot was taken from the car when I arrived for my morning shoot at the beach - the snow and wind were driving towards me. It soon improved! The last shot of the day was actually just now, of the northern lights. Proper ones, this time! I took a few at the lagoon, and then some more when I got back to Hali, as they were on fire!

Day 5

It was my last morning on Jökulsárlón beach (although I will be passing through it again, and may well stop!), so I headed there early to catch a bit of dawn light. The colour was tricky, and I didn't fall in love with any of the icebergs, so overall a disappointing shoot. This iceberg was an interesting one at least; animal-like shaped. The last photo of the day was taken near Hvalnes; the light had gone and I was too lazy to get the tripod out again, so yanked up the ISO and took it hand-held from the car! The night isn't over yet, but snow's forecast, so no chance of any northern lights being visible tonight.

Day 6

I woke up early, hoping to see northern lights, and there they were, dancing light green stripes visible out of the window of my cabin. My first photo today, therefore, is of the aurora. The skies soon clouded over, and the weather for the rest of the day ranged from very windy to wet and very windy. The last shot I took was on my second trip of the day to Hvalnes, where I spent ages watching huge waves crash against the black rocks. There wasn't much light but I wanted to capture some movement, so I had to bump up the ISO. As a result, the image is rather grainy, so I thought I'd give it a little B&W conversion.

Day 7

I stupidly wasn't organised to be anywhere for sunrise, so my first shot was taken of the next door cabin. The last shot was taken on Stokksnes beach, after the post-sunset glow had gone. It was a stunning last hour, but the best of the light had gone by the time I took this!

Day 8
My first shot of the day was of a reindeer, along the road between Höfn and Jökulsárlón, as I began my journey back west. There was full cloud cover, so no return trip to Stokksnes. I ended today's journey with a little shoot of the waves crashing at Vik beach, using the 100-400mm lens.

Day 9
My penultimate day in Iceland started early, with a trip to Reynisfjara beach for sunrise - the stack in the photo is the middle one in last night's shot, seen from the other side of the headland. The last shot was taken from just outside the cabin I'm staying in at Þingvellir. I'm staying in a beautiful cabin, waiting for a storm to hit which may mess up my travel plans for tomorrow... I drove past the cabins a few years ago and decided that one day I'd stay there.

Day 10
My last day has been a disappointing one - storms spoiling my fun! Oh well, at least I got to my final destination - Garður, 10km from the airport - in one piece. Or at all. Had I stayed in Vik last night I would've been stuck, as the road's been closed all day due to gales and blizzards. As it was, the wind was pretty strong at Þingvellir, up to 23m/s (51mph) in the morning, so I was stuck there for some time. My first photo was taken from the comfort of my cabin (there was no way I was going outside!). The winds eventually died down and I had a slightly hairy drive back to Reykjavik with snow blowing madly across the road. After a quick stop to see Solfar, the pond, and Perlan, I then stopped by to say hi to my friends Johannes & Sigrun (where I was fed delicious home-baked special Icelandic cakes!). Then it was on along more snowy, windy roads to Garður, where I took my last photo, hand-held as the wind was still crazy, with horribly high ISO.

So, that's all folks (until my day-by-day account with lots of day-time photos - coming soon!). I've enjoyed the challenge of trying to think about my first and last shots a bit more. Now looking forward to getting home, seeing the hubby and pooch, and poring over nearly 200GB of photos!