Iceland Feb 2015 - Day 1: A Meander Around the Golden Circle

I knew before I set off for my eighth trip to Iceland that my plans were going to be messed up. My obsession with the Icelandic weather-forecast meant that I was aware of a couple of nasty storms due to hit on the very day that I was supposed to be doing a mammoth drive from Keflavik to Jökulsárlón. And it was Friday the 13th, so I didn't want to take any chances. So before I left I made a few rearrangements, opting instead to stay a short distance from Reykjavik, in the town of Hella, instead of risking being blown off the road along the south coast. Sadly it meant I'd lose out on visiting an ice cave, but better safe than sorry.

Otherwise my trip started off well. My flight was on time, with no cancellations and consequent horrendous hangovers to deal with like last year. On arrival I stayed at the hotel just across from the terminal building at the airport, which was perfect after landing just before midnight.

I picked up my rental Suzuki Grand Vitara the following morning and had an easy day ahead of me - meandering through the "golden circle" area, before heading down to Hella. The weather this side of the storms was lovely and I headed east as the sun rose above the stark black volcanic landscape that covers the Reykjanes Peninsula. I didn't stop until I reached a Bonus supermarket on the other side of Reykjavik, where I stocked up on packed lunch food and ingredients for 4 or 5 nights of self-catering (tuna pasta - the easiest by far). I also bought some nuts, dried fruit and chocolate-covered licorice sweets to scoff as I drove along!

My first proper stop was up on the hill overlooking the lake at Þingvellir. The roads were a bit snowy, but not too bad, and my snow tyres meant that the drive uphill was an easy, quick one. The sun was hazy, hidden behind high clouds, but the light was still beautiful, and the lake below was serene. Others stopped in the same pull-out to admire the view. It was extremely cold, so no-one stayed out for very long.



I continued down towards the centre of Þingvellir, past the four cabins, one of which I'd booked to stay in on my penultimate night. I turned into the road towards the church and had a little drive around. I could see the magnificent and mostly frozen Oxarafoss peaking out along the rift, but decided I'd visit it on my return visit. I stopped to take a couple of shots of the church and then headed back to the main road, passing some people wearing dry-suits plodding down the road towards a spot where they were about to dive in extremely clear (not to mention icy) water.

The road across to Laugarvatn was snow-covered in patches and a little slippery. As I went around a roundabout when I reached the town the car skidded slightly, which was a little hairy. A little light blinked on the dashboard telling me that I was skidding, which seemed a bit unnecessary as it was quite obvious that I was! I continued onwards, slowly, towards Geysir, not having much faith in the winter tyres after all. I'd originally planned on looking for an off-the-beaten-track waterfall called Bruarfoss, but the road to reach it was very snowy, so again I thought I'd leave it until my return when the snow might have melted. Instead I drove straight to Geysir, stopping only to photograph some beautiful horses standing around in the snow. 

I carried on to Geysir, parked at the bustling visitor centre and then watched the Strokkur geyser erupt over and over. I thought back with fondness to my first trip there in October 2002 when a Kiwi friend and I had visited; the 5 or 6 of us in that minibus were the only visitors there to the desolate geyser in the cold drizzle! It is a little busier these days... (to be fair, it was a Friday, Valentine's Day, and half term to boot, so not really surprising that it was that busy).

I still remembered the way the water in the hole moved up and down and everyone thought that the eruption was imminent, but it would just tantalisingly swish back and bubble and steam for a little while longer. Evenutally, though, the water welled up an incredible blue colour and then exploded high into the air, before resuming its bubbling and swishing. It was mesmerising waiting for it to erupt (not to mention tiring on the arms holding the camera up in a portrait position just in case it erupted at any moment)!

As well as obsessing over the main Strokkur geyser, I also wandered a little further up the hill where there are some beautiful geothermal pools, one of which was a bright blue colour, reminding me of Yellowstone.

My fingers and toes eventually got too cold, so I headed to the visitor centre for a quick coffee, before setting off on the road down towards Hella. I passed through the town of Flúðir, where I remembered from a previous trip seeing something strange, but couldn't remember what it was. As I drove through the town it became obvious - there was an Ethiopian restaurant there, which seemed incongruous in a town in the middle of nowhere with a population of 394.

The drive back towards Hella was pleasant as the roads weren't too snowy and some light cloud prevented the sun from blinding me as I drove (not something I normally complain about in Iceland!). I arrived at the Nonni Guesthouse a little before sunset, and headed straight out again, driving a little further east, hoping to find a good spot to watch the last of the light. I drove on through Hvolsvöllur, and eventually turned down a little road to the south, where I watched a few dark horses mill around. In the distance I could see the storm that I was avoiding, and blowing snow began creeping closer to me.

Before the storm reached me I headed back to Hella and took a last few shots down by the river in the last light of the blue hour. I tried out a local restaurant and ate an expensive pasta dish, alone, and ended the day with a Skype chat with hubby and a lovely Borg IPA back in my room, and the alarm set for a reasonable hour, given that sunrise was a very sociable 9.19am.

Click here for Day 2 - A Drizzly Drive to Jökulsárlón

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!

Easy & Effective Way to Clean Your Sensor!

(Disclaimer - this is not professional or sponsored advice, just a product I've found effective - clean your sensor at your own risk!)

I'm not usually wowed by a product enough to write a blog about it, but I've just used something amazing, which I wish I'd discovered earlier. I have no link to the company or supplier, by the way, I just think this is a great product that every photographer with a DSLR will love (not to be used on Sony sensors though, so not quite everyone)!

I first started cleaning my own camera sensor a few years ago, using pre-made wands wrapped with Pec Pads, with a few drops of Eclipse fluid to do the cleaning. These things were pretty expensive (at least £1 a swab), I ended up needing to use a few, and even then there was always noticeable dust spots at the edges. The plastic wand inside the folded Pec Pad wasn't quite big enough to keep the swab taut, so some dust always escaped the cleaning. I never managed to get all the dust spots, and usually gave up in frustration and removed remaining spots in post-processing. Eclipse fluid is also banned on planes, so if you're going abroad this is easy (and legal) to take with you!

I was running out of sensor swabs recently and started Googling to see where to get replacements (supply and price always seems a bit haphazard). I came across a new product - well, new to me anyway - called the Eyelead Sensor Cleaning Kit, made by a German company that makes all sorts of camera-cleaning products (and sells internationally). I've also seen it called the Eyelead Sensor Dust Sticking Bar Kit. It is a simple piece of kit, a long plastic stick with a cube of solid blue gel at the end of it. The head is protected by a tiny easy-to-open plastic box. Also supplied are 10 pieces of sticky paper. It's not cheap either - I got mine for £31, but having used it now, I know that it'll last quite a while, and it is so much more effective than using the swabs. EDIT Jan 2018 - I bought an additional packet on the cleaning papers on Amazon - prolongs the life of the kit a bit!

It is very easy to use, although it did take me a few goes before I got my sensor clean as I was a little hesitant. Now I know what I'm doing, I can clean it at the first attempt. Make sure you do this is a clean room that hasn't got visible dust in the air!

 
1. The first step is to make sure the gel cube is clean by pressing it against a clean piece of the sticky paper, remembering to press the edges and corners against the paper too.

2. The next step is to put the camera into "clean manually" mode (that's what it's called on the Canon cameras, anyway). You'll need a full battery, and once you click "OK" the mirror opens up to show the sensor. Take off the lens and you're ready to go. You might want to try a lens blower first to remove any easily dislodged dust or hairs.

3. Using it is simple - just press the little blue cube onto the sensor, a little bit at a time, working your way across and then down and back, making sure you've covered the whole area. I then go around the edges again, making sure I'm getting the gel right at the sides. The corners are easier to get to with a full-frame, larger sensor (I haven't included any photos of me doing this stage, as I don't want to open the mirror again unnecessarily while I faff around trying to get a shot with my other camera!).

4. When you think you're done, turn off the camera and put the lens back on. Then press the dirty gel cube onto a clean piece of the paper (you can reuse the same piece if there's not much dust, as the paper is stickier than the cube). If the sensor was particularly dirty you'll notice quite a lot of dirt coming off (as you can see in the photo on the right below). Once done, replace the plastic protective top over the cube, cover the sticky paper up with its cover (so you can use the clean bits the next time) and put the stick and paper back into the nice little tin for the next time.

5. Before and after I clean my sensor I always take test shots - beforehand to see exactly where the dust is and how bad it is, and afterwards to ensure I've got it all. The settings I use are as follows: ISO 100, aperture mode and as high an f-stop number as the lens has (eg. f/22 on my 24-70mm), and then take an out-of-focus shot of a uniform white wall or ceiling (or the sky). Download and play around with the exposure and contrast to show off any dirt.

6. Also check that your lenses are clean! What might look like dust on a sensor could also be on the lens, either the front or back glass elements. A simple blast of the blower should get rid of most dust. If you're not sure, take a couple of different shots with different lenses and before and after cleaning them too.

EDIT Jan 2018
7. I've always struggled to work out exactly where a dust spot on a photo is on the sensor. I spent far too long trying to dab away at a corner a few months ago, only to realise that I'd misunderstood from someone else's blog where the dust was. Basically it's flipped horizontally. So, if you're looking at the photo and there's a dust spot in the top right hand corner then on the sensor as you look at it from the front of the camera as you're cleaning it, it will be in the bottom right hand corner.

Here are my before and after shots (top and bottom), taken on my Canon 5D Mark III with a 24-70mm lens. The back of the lens was really dusty and produced the large soft splodges, whereas the dust on the sensor led to small darker dots, particularly visible along the right-hand edge. They might look small here, but there were loads, and very irritating to have to clone out in post-processing. As you can see, in the second image (after cleaning both lens with a blower and the sensor with the gel cube) there are almost no dust spots whatsoever. 

As I said, it took me a few goes to get the hang of it, finding the right amount of pressure needed and how to get the gel right to the edge, but once I mastered it it was easy; I did my Canon 60D in one go straight after this, removing stubborn dust spots that I'd never quite managed to get rid of with the fiddly Eclipse-moistened sensor swabs.

Before I did this I watched a couple of really useful videos of other people doing it, so much thanks to them!
Photography Life Video
F-Stoppers.com Video

I will continue to use Pec Pads with Eclipse for cleaning my lenses, but certainly won't be bother with the fiddly swabs again. And now I won't be so afraid to change lenses while away, as I'll be confident that I can clean any dust that creeps in away.

A Grey Afternoon at the Sky Garden

Three weeks ago I read on Twitter that a new, free attraction was opening in London - the Sky Garden at the top of the Walkie Talkie building (20 Fenchurch Street is its official name). I'm not a fan of the building at all - I think the design is ugly, and really doesn't fit the evolving London skyline, but I do like the views from high buildings, so was keen to visit to check out the view. I booked tickets to visit with my hubby today, a Sunday afternoon, an hour before sunset. Sadly the weather was grey and uninspiring.

In preparation for my visit I did a little research into what was allowed in terms of photography, and their rules stated that commercial photography was not allowed without permission, and neither was any "specialist" equipment, such as tripods. I emailed to see what I had to do to get a permit and got a reply ten days later telling me that it wasn't possible. I followed up to confirm whether I could pay for a permit, since it stated online that this was possible, but didn't get a response, so gave up on the idea of taking photos with a tripod. I also left my zoom lens at home, not wanting to risk them being a bit funny about it and not letting me in. Before I set off I also read some reviews of the Sky Garden - this one in the Guardian describing the building as "bloated, inelegant, thuggish" did not help my expectations...

On arrival our tickets and picture IDs were checked, bags put through security machines, and then we headed up in the lift to the 35th floor. We walked out into the large atrium, which has a bar/café in the middle, with chairs, tables and sofas dotted around towards the window to the south. The Shard dominates the skyline across the river to the south-east.

To the east and west sides of the building are staircases leading upwards, with shrubs and small trees on the banks beside them. In the middle of the building are two further floors containing restaurants, one of which faces out onto the Sky Garden bar/café area.

We walked around, starting on the west of the building. Through the windows that side St. Paul's Cathedral dominates the view, with a short stretch of the river also visible, and the bones of another skyscraper going up south of Blackfriars Bridge.

At the top of the stairs we reached another wide viewing area, looking north to Tower 42 (which I will always think of as the NatWest Tower), the Cheesegrater (122 Leadenhall Street) and the Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe). The Heron Tower is hidden behind the Cheesegrater. On this side it isn't possible to get close to the window, so definitely no chance of putting the camera against the glass and getting reflection-free shots, which was just about doable on the side windows.

The distant towers of Canary Wharf, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge can be seen to the east, although the full view is annoyingly obscured by the structure of the building. It would have been stunning to see the moat filled with red poppies a few months ago from there.

When we got back to the atrium we had a brief glance at the cocktail menu (reasonably-priced for a London skyscraper), sat down for a while at the window with coffees and had a look around at the other visitors. The crowd was predominantly young, as I guess that's the age-group that read about the "garden" on social media sites. A woman showed off her TK Maxx purchases to her friends at the table next to us. No-one took off their coats, as it was a bit chilly and felt as if we were outside, even though the terrace doors are closed until March. People snapped away on their smartphones.

We wandered around again, and I took a few more photos, but the combination of the concave shape of the windows, reflections from the lights, and the shape and position of the building all conspired to make getting any decent shots tricky. In spite of being so high up I felt very disappointed with the views. If the building had been built with its footprint shifted round 45 degrees, then the views would have been massively improved! The three skyscrapers to the north just looked dull from this angle. St. Paul's was swamped by building sites surrounding it, the London Eye was at the south-west corner and pretty much hidden behind the corner structure, and only a small part of the meandering Thames could be seen east or west. Even when the terrace opens in March, there is eye-level-height glass, so no way to get a glass-free photo without holding your SLR up high and dangling it over the edge. The tripod, it turned out, wouldn't have helped much!

Having worked on the highest floors of one of the towers in Canary Wharf I'm used to great views from a skyscraper, but for some reason the views from this one don't really work, not for me, anyway. The design is bulbous and quite frankly a little dull, and I think it's been built in totally the wrong spot.

Oh well, there is one positive thing about the view - at least this building isn't in it!