Iceland » Traverse Earth

Traverse Earth is One Year Old & My Best Photos from 2012!

Dec 262012

I started this website on Christmas Day last year, purely because I finally had enough time to get a site up and running. It’s already been through a facelift since then, and I hope you all like the new design more. My goal was to post a new travel photo every day of the year. If you follow me regularly you’ll know that it went well for a while, but I started to miss an occasional post, and have been really lazy in the lead up to Christmas!

Since starting the site I’ve posted a total of 304 photos, so 61 short. I’m making it my New Years resolution to hit 365 next year, with a post every day. I can announce that in order to achieve this goal I’ll be spending the first three weeks of this year in Southern Africa again, starting off in Cape Town. I’m not doing a lot of planning for this trip, as I’ll be going with a couple of locals. I’ve been informed today that potential plans include swimming with whale sharks off Mozambique, visiting the Kruger, and a couple days in Malawi. I’m going to enjoy getting to travel and just be told what to do rather than have to figure it out for myself this time!

On top of that trip, I’ve been fortunate enough to negotiate a week off a month, starting in March. So, I’ll be able to visit ten different locations to add to the website. I’m not sure where I’ll be going yet, but Cuba is high on my list, as is a return to Iceland. I’d also like to photograph Angkor Wat in Cambodia. That would be a long trip for a week, but I think it may be worth it. Red rock country in the USA has a strong potential, as does a few days in the Everglades.

I’ve decided to follow today’s photo with what I consider my best shots from 2012, so scroll down and take a look.

Today’s Photo: On the Road, Iceland

This shot was taken in Iceland’s East-fjords. This day we were rushing. We had a long way to go and a tendency to take twice as long as we should to get anywhere. So, my clever travel partner figured out how much time the drive would be, where we’d want to stop for extended time periods, and what was left for impromptu stops for pictures. She had three different timers running and all sorts of alarms. As a result, I was shooting handheld to keep each stop to a minimum. It was bright enough that I didn’t need a tripod to ensure sharp images, and I could align my various exposures in Photoshop. Still though, this spray and pray approach has resulted in a LOT of rejected photos. We didn’t reach our destination when we’d planned, but I’m sure we’d probably still be trying to get there now if not for the strict timer system.

My Best Shots from 2012

Tampa, Florida

Iceland

Prague

Bermuda

Rwanda

Iceland

Zambia

Ontario, Canada

Prague

Rwanda

Ontario, Canada

Bermuda

New York City

Iceland

Prague

Rwanda

Iceland

Acqui Terme, Italy

Bermuda

Toronto

Cape Town, South Africa

New York City

Zambia

Iceland

Rwanda

Zambia

Iceland’s Rugged Southern Coast

Europe, Iceland, Travel 2 Responses »

Dec 172012

In Icelandic folk lore it’s believed that many of the strange towering rock formations in the country are actually trolls, petrified after failing to take cover before the sunrise. I’m not sure if this formation comes under that explanation, but I like to think two trolls went skinny dipping, got “distracted” and were turned into one single column of solid rock.

Can you name this waterfall?

Europe, Iceland, Travel, Waterfall 5 Responses »

Dec 152012

I’ve decided to have a bit of a contest to see who can be the first to post the name of this waterfall (I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t because I can’t remember what it’s called). It was an incredible site. The cliffs are arranged in a horseshoe shape and the water tumbles off in this semicircular surrounding way.

Godafoss from Below, Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel No Responses »

Dec 122012

I would normally try to avoid posting two photos from Iceland in a row, but I’ve tried processing this photo more times than I can remember. It was pretty difficult, mainly because it was shot at midday facing directly into the sun. This is Godafoss, the incredible waterfall in Northern Iceland. On the other side of the river the landscape was swarmed by tour buses, but on this side, there was hardly anyone about. When I clambered my way down the cliffs to this little beach I was alone. Until my travel buddy came careening down the steep path to join me. We spent a while sat here, watching the people on the other side come for a quick look then head back to their buses.

I could have cropped out the guy standing to the left of the falls, but I decided I liked having him there. It helps to put the scale of the falls in perspective.

On the Edge of Gullfoss, Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel 1 Response »

Dec 102012

Here’s another shot of Gullfoss, right on the edge where the water tumbles down into a giant chasm. I saw a picture from a similar view to this one today, but in winter. It looked incredible. I think I’ll have to brave the cold to experience Iceland in winter, with the aurora borealis and the ice caves accessible!

Lupin Field, Iceland

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Dec 062012

We had a jeep that could take us to explore this trail that we found near the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. What an adventure this trail could have been. Unfortunately, it was behind a locked gate so I had to be content with snapping a shot of the flowers and moving on. We found a dirt track later where we could drive right through the fields. Half way down the road we stopped and took photos. Then, climbed up on top of our jeep, cuddled up and watched the clouds roll by… until another jeep rolled past and looked at us funny.

Turf Roofed Church in Hof, Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel 1 Response »

Dec 042012

This church in Hof was a happy find. I’d wanted to photograph turf roofed buildings the whole time I was there. We were on our way back to the Jockulsarlon Glacier lagoon, on the same day that we had to make it all the way to Reykjavik. We were pressed for time. But, before we left Hof, the tiny little town we’d spent the night in, we had to stop to photograph this church. I’ve posted other shots of the exterior and interior before.

Iceland’s Westfjords and the Midnight Sun

Europe, Iceland, Travel No Responses »

Dec 012012

Here’s another shot of the Westfjords under the midnight sun in June 2012. One day, I’ll make it back there. It’s a truly incredible country.

Rickety Bridge, Myvatn Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel 4 Responses »

Nov 292012

I liked this bridge a lot. So much so that when I saw it from the road I decided I had to photograph it, despite the fact that we had to continue on the road about a quarter-mile more before we could pull in. I began walking back to the bridge, thinking my travel partner would follow. Unfortunately, she didn’t. She took off in the other direction. Come to think of it I still don’t know what she’d spotted there.

The problem was that I’d taken the car keys with me. After setting up to take today’s photo I broke down my gear and debated whether to cross the bridge or not. In the end I did, very gingerly. I took two more pictures there before returning and making the walk back to the car, interrupted by a photo of a farm. When I returned I found my travel buddy huddled next to the car, shivering. I felt pretty bad. Amazingly, she didn’t complain, but from that point on she was in charge of the car key every time we got out. This typically resulted in me returning to the car to find it heated to the temperature of the surface of the sun.

Svartifoss and Boulders in the Rain, Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel 3 Responses »

Nov 272012

Featured by Suzy Guese

I found out, on Twitter, that a fellow traveler, Suzy Guese, has a weekly competition for travel bloggers. For a week, she views submissions from all over the world and then chooses five of them. I decided to give it a shot by providing a link to one of my earliest posts, from Zambia. Check it out, along with four other exciting travel stories and follow her for a weekly dose of travel writing:

Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week of November 26, 2012

Today’s Photo: Svartifoss and Boulders in the Rain, Iceland

This is another photo of Svartifoss from the “nearly falling in the water” series. My travel partner and I clutched onto each other as we teetered on minimal boulder real estate. She held the umbrella, I worked the camera. There were a few errors resulting in half the umbrella breaking into the frame and the tripod inadvertently getting kicked after somebody slipped. I won’t say who. We were in this awkward position when two other photographers turned up with tripods in tow. They didn’t choose to balance themselves in the middle of the river while trying to operate an umbrella, camera, and prevent each-other from falling into the chilly current like we did. I think it was worth it. At the very least, it was good fun.

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