Gone to See Iceland in the Winter Photography Tour. Day 1: Reykjavik & Northern Lights.
When we went out it didn’t look too promising – cold, cloudy, windy, and some snow. Helga, from Tours by Locals found a spot about 10 km south of Keflavik International Airport where when the clouds cleared long enough to see this sequence. Eighty images taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 24 mm, f/1.4, 1 sec) One image taken every 5 sec. The 8 second video is shown at 10 fps. It was cold and the display didn’t last that long. I can see that the weather changes quickly in Iceland, and hope for more chances over the next week. The Icelandic Met Office is a good resource for both the weather and northern lights forecasts in Iceland.
Reykjavik Northern Lights. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 24 mm, f/1.4, 1 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gone to See Iceland in the Winter. Day 1: Reykjavik.
Sun Voyager (Sólfar). Winter in Reykjavik. From Wikipedia “Sun Voyager is a dreamboat, an ode to the sun. Intrinsically, it contains within itself the promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom.” Last summer when I visited Reykjavik there were many people surrounding the sculpture, and even more taking pictures. This morning it was snowing and cloudy. The sun started to come out and I found myself alone at the site. Within 5 minutes many more came and I was no longer alone. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 mirrorless camera and 12 mm f/2.8 Zeiss lens (ISO 200, 12 mm, f/2.8, 1/3500 sec).
Sun Voyager (Sólfar). Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 mirrorless camera and 12 mm f/2.8 Zeiss lens (ISO 200, 12 mm, f/2.8, 1/3500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Image of me in Colorado taken by Jason Odell with an IR converted Nikon 1 V1 camera
Let’s see if I can get back to posting something new to my “Image of the Day Photoblog” each and everyday. Last year I traveled a bit (or should I say a lot), and as a result fell back to just having my Google+ posts reposted on the Photoblog. I began the year in January with a quick road trip to Florida to visit family and then some time at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. At the end of January, I flew to Bergen, Norway and then embarked on a voyage on the Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp from Bergen to Kirkenes and then back to Bergen. On the return voyage I stopped in Tromsø for a week to meet up with some friends to experience and photograph the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). In April, I went back to Florida to join my parents for an extended Semester at Sea Spring Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. We flew from Tampa to Barcelona (via Gatwick in England). Over the next 52 days we visited 19 countries (Spain, Monaco, Italy, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, England, Norway, Latvia, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany). I must have been getting bored, so at the end of July into August decided to spend 10 days in Iceland to attend a Photo Safari with Mike Hagen and Tim Vollmer. In September, I started my annual “Gone to See America” 27 day road trip. This year I started on a northern route (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan). I spent some time in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, then continued west (Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado). While in Colorado, I spent in and around Buena Vista for a Colorado Photo Safari with Jason Odell. We were supposed to have spent the time in Rocky Mountain National Park, but had to change the location due to the severe flooding along the Front Range in Colorado. I then continued west and south (Utah and Arizona) to join up for a week with the Nikonians ANPAT-13 (Annual Nikonians Photo Adventure Trip) in Arizona. Due to the Government shutdown, we were not able to visit many of the planned locations in the National Parks or National Forests. On the day I departed the Nikonians group, I was fortunate to travel through Grand Canyon National Park. The park was re-opened that day after the Governor of Arizona agreed to pay for basic operations until the Government shutdown was resolved. I then spent a couple of days in New Mexico, but unfortunately White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks were still closed. Guadalupe Mountain and Big Bend National Parks in Texas were also closed, so decided to hightail it back home (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey). Since returning home, I have been spending a lot of time going through my images, and upgrading the computer server and storage space for the images. In early December, I spent four days in Philadelphia attending workshops with Steve Simon (Nikon D4, D800, and the Passionate Photographer). In all I took nearly 300K images during the year, which is double the number I took in 2012. New photography equipment for 2013 included a Nikon Df camera body, a 58 mm f/1.4G lens, a 70-200 mm f/4 VR lens and two lenses for the Nikon 1 bodies – a 18.5 mm f/1.8 and 32 mm f/1.2 lens.
I really wanted to sign up for the Semester at Sea Spring 2014 round the world voyage but the stars were not aligned and I didn’t get my act together in time. The round the world Semester at Sea voyage will have to wait until 2016, since I have already committed to another trip to Patagonia with Thom Hogan in the spring of 2015. Other trips for 2014 include a Birding Photo Safari in Texas with Jason Odell and the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque with Winston Hall. I’ve not decided yet on either the Semester at Sea Spring 2014 Enrichment voyage (includes Iceland) and/or the Semester at Sea Summer 2014 voyage (Europe).
Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 7: Cape Ingolfshofdi (ingólfshöfði) Along the South East Coast.
Orange Lighthouse, Photographers, and Puffins on the Cliff at Cape Ingolfshofdi (Ingólfshöfði) in Iceland. A private nature preserve on an isolated headland on the coast half way between Skaftafell in Vatnajokull National Park and Jökulsárlón ice lagoon in Iceland. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 250, 80 mm, f/4.5, 1/1000 sec).
Lighthouse, Photographers, and Puffins on the Cliff at Cape Ingolfshofdi (Ingólfshöfði). Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 250, 80 mm, f/4.5, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 7: Eldhraun Lava Field.
When I first set this image of the day photo blog up, I was committed to post an image from this day (not necessarily this year) every day. And sometimes commentary of what I was doing and reviews of photo gear, image processing software, and computer gear. I fell way behind during the Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage (~52 Days – Spain, Monaco, Italy, Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, England, Norway, Latvia, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Germany) with very limited internet access. Once back home I needed to digest the ~70K images I took. When working through these images I noticed that Mike Hagen had an opening for an Iceland Photo Adventure end of July/beginning of August. I contacted Mike to see if I could sign up at the last-minute. Mike was actually in Africa on a different Photo Adventure. His wife got back to me and I signed up. Iceland has always been on my list of places I wanted to visit. Iceland is an image rich environment!!! In the 10 days including travel I took ~35K images. Reykjavik, Geysers, Puffins, Glaciers….)
As far as milestones, I have been retired for just over 1 year – and have visited more than 20 countries, and taken over 200K images. Also, as of yesterday it has also been just over a year since I last shaved. Do I let the beard grow for another year?
Troll Sunning Itself Under A Dandelion On the Lichen and Moss Covered Eldhraun Lava Field in Southern Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
