
After a leisurely breakfast we hit the road for the long drive up to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, up on the Iceland’s North-West coast. Among a number of other attractions, this is home to the volcano Snæfellsjökull, famous as the point where Professor Otto Lidenbrock & co start their Journey to the Centre of the Earth.
First stop was the road to Dyrhólaey. On the drive in yesterday I had seen a great composition with the three Vik sea stacks framed on both sides by a combination of the mountains around Vik, and the edge of the island. It took a little finding, and my best shot was probably taken through the windscreen with the van momentarily stationary, but I not only found the composition, I was rewarded by a great sky including rolling clouds and breaking sunshine.
Next was the waterfall at Seljalandsfoss. I have seen this before, in Summer when it’s possible to walk behind the water. In winter that’s roped off for obvious safety reasons, but you can still get some great shots from the front, with the benefit in early Spring of much greater water flow. Images are all variations on a simple, obvious theme, but it’s worth the short stop to add one to your collection.
The drive into Reykjavik and out North was challenging due to the combination of frequent heavy rain showers, and occasionally settling snow. However we made it, including a lunch stop, to Borgarnes, beyond which the drive was again punctuated by snow showers, but also a couple of brief stops (brevity enforced by the inclement weather) to capture combinations of dramatic scenery and skies.
We finally arrived at Stykkishólmur. The Foss Hotel is modern and spacious, but doesn’t offer a laundry service so I had to resort to hand-washing a couple of items I needed to tide me through to the end of the trip. Unimpressed.
On a positive note the dinner was excellent, the lamb one of the best meals I have had in some time.
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On Sunday we moved on from Höfn back towards Vik. I was still feeling fragile, but after a better night’s sleep somewhat improved, and I knew the day would be mainly a fairly steady drive. We did make one photography Continue reading →
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 in
Iceland2024,
Travel
The following day we moved on from Jökulsárlón to near Höfn, a relatively short drive but we stopped on the way to photograph wonderful light over the hills a mile or two back from the coast, despite the fact that Continue reading →
Sunday, February 18, 2024 in
Iceland2024,
Travel
Day 3 started back at Jökulsárlón with another sunrise over the beach. Overnight some larger icebergs had reached the outlet and then beached, and the waves were somewhat higher than the previous day, providing for more dramatic images, but maybe Continue reading →
Saturday, February 17, 2024 in
Iceland2024,
Travel
The first full day of the tour started with breakfast, one advantage of being sufficiently far North is that sunrise is around 9, and sunset around 5. After breakfast we drove back to Jökulsárlón and went down onto the Diamond Continue reading →
Friday, February 16, 2024 in
Iceland2024,
Travel
New one for the dysfunctional hotels blog. Not only is the toilet positioned so close to the shower partition that someone with broad shoulders can’t sit straight, but as you sit there the door gradually swings open and comes to Continue reading →
Thursday, February 15, 2024 in
Iceland2024,
Travel
Andrew’s off to Iceland, again. I promise I won’t re-use the fish fingers joke, it wasn’t that funny in 2011… While I have been to Iceland before, this promises to be quite different. The previous trip was in mid-Summer, run Continue reading →
Monday, February 12, 2024 in
Iceland2024
With my Zanzibar trip now firmly behind me, I’ve looked back and tried to condense what I experienced into guidance for future visitors and photographers. This was my first trip to East Africa, and I came away with a lot Continue reading →
Several of us tacked a few days onto the end of the tour, primarily for a lie in the sun next to the Indian Ocean. For that the Z Hotel was perfect, with a beautiful pool literally on the edge Continue reading →
Thursday, January 4, 2024 in
Travel,
Zanzibar
As is traditional, here’s my group panorama from the “last supper”. From left to right Louise, Andrew (yours truly), Other Andrew (“Spike”), Ann, Mark, Richard, Lee, Sarah, Nicola, Jon and Michelle. As it was shot in very low light I Continue reading →
Thursday, December 14, 2023 in
Travel,
Zanzibar
The departure time for the morning shoot was set even earlier than on previous days and I again demurred, preferring to catch up on sleep now my body had adapted to the warm. Apparently I missed a shark being landed Continue reading →