Five-Years Ago (01-August-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 3: Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

The group did a high-speed RIB Safari boat tour to the islands around Vestmannaeyjar. We needed to get into arctic survival suits, and had  shoulder harness belts holding us in our seats. I strapped a camera to my chest with a fisheye lens and set it to automatically take images every few seconds. At times the boat was traveling at 40 knots with lots of heavy bouncing. We went all the way out to Surtsey island that I remember reading about as a kid rising from the sea as a volcano. At one point we saw a whale, so slowed down and stopped to take pictures. While stopped the boat rocked a lot, causing one or two passengers to lose their breakfast.

WARNING – THE TIME-LAPSE VIDEO MAY CAUSE MOTION SICKNESS

One-Year Ago (01-August-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 3: Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

The group did a high-speed RIB Safari boat tour to the islands around Vestmannaeyjar. We needed to get into arctic survival suits, and had  shoulder harness belts holding us in our seats. I strapped a camera to my chest with a fisheye lens and set it to automatically take images every few seconds. At times the boat was traveling at 40 knots with lots of heavy bouncing. We went all the way out to Surtsey island that I remember reading about as a kid rising from the sea as a volcano. At one point we saw a whale, so slowed down and stopped to take pictures. While stopped the boat rocked a lot, causing one or two passengers to lose their breakfast. This is a rough cut before adding titles, stills, a GPS map, and music. Beware if you are prone to motion sickness. Images captured with a Nikon D800 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.

WARNING – THE TIME-LAPSE VIDEO MAY CAUSE MOTION SICKNESS

One-Year Ago (01-August-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 3: Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

Suðurey Island, Part of the Vestmannaeyjar Islands in South Iceland from a www.RibSafari.IS Rubber Boat. We were told that the rope ladder going up the cliff was the “Stairway to Heaven”. Actually it is the way to the seabird hunting lodge on top of the island. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 250, 16 mm, f/13, 1/125 sec).

Suðurey Island, Part of the Vestmannaeyjar Islands in South Iceland from a Zodiac. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 250, 16 mm, f/13, 1/125 sec). Nikonians Academy Photo Adventure. (David J Mathre)
Suðurey Island, Part of the Vestmannaeyjar Islands in South Iceland from a Zodiac. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 250, 16 mm, f/13, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Suðurey Island, Part of the Vestmannaeyjar Islands in South Iceland from a Zodiac. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 250, 16 mm, f/13, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Crop showing the rope ladder. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 250, 16 mm, f/13, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)