Approaching Svartifoss, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel, Waterfall  No Responses »
Dec 182012
 

This photo shows the view of Svartifoss, from a distance, as you approach this stunning waterfall. From this far it looks like a trickle of water falling upon dry rock, where the water just disappears. In actual fact, as can be seen in my other pictures, this water does crash down onto boulders, but forms a large crystal blue pool and a fast flowing stream through the gorge.

After slogging for over a half hour uphill in a light rain this was a great sight to see, letting us know we were getting close. It’s funny despite the bleak weather and days both mine and my travel buddy’s spirits were very high. It’s amazing how happy we were on a rain soaked path in the middle of the bright night with little idea of how far we had to walk to get here!

Photo of a waterfall, Svartifoss, in Iceland. A smooth surtain of water fans out in front of hexagonal columns of black basalt

Iceland’s Rugged Southern Coast

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  56 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.

A petrified troll, rock column, on the rugged southern coast of iceland

 

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.

Waterfall near Lake Myvatn in northern Iceland where the cliffs are arranged in a horseshoe shape and the water tumbles off in a semicircular.

 

Godafoss from Below, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  2 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.

View from below the mighty Godafoss waterfall in Northern Iceland under a blue sky where the river water looks turquoise.

On the Edge of Gullfoss, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  2 Responses »
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!

On the edge of Gullfoss waterfall in Iceland where the water tumbles down into a giant chasm.

The Tampa Bay Grand Hyatt Boat Dock in Pink

 Florida, Travel  258 Responses »
Dec 022012
 

Here is another shot from my hour spent on the boat dock at the Tampa Bay Grand Hyatt. For this shot I decided to drop the camera down low and extend the docks reach for the horizon. It’s interesting to compare this photo to the other two I’ve already released:

Three Little Birds

Boat Dock in Blue

These photos were all taken within about a half hour as the sun was rising. It goes to show just how much the light conditions change as the sun rises, and how hectic it can be taking advantage of the changes. It can also make it difficult to decide when the right time to take the shot is! I’ve had a number of occasions, for example when I was shooting Horseshoe Bay, where I think I’ve taken all the pictures I want and then suddenly something happens that offers a better photo to send me running around taking them all again.

A boat dock extends to the horizon at sunrise, in front of a pink sky at the Hyatt Resort in Tampa, Florida.

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.

An old, dilapidated, rickety, bridge spans a small river surrounded by barren landscape in Iceland.

Svartifoss and Boulders in the Rain, Iceland

 Europe, Iceland, Travel  30 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.

Svartifoss in the rain, under a grey sky, with the blurred stream flowing around a boulder

 

 

The Batoka Gorge, Zambia/Zimbabwe

 Africa, Travel, Waterfall, Zambia, Zimbabwe  7 Responses »
Nov 202012
 

I’m planning on making my way back here in January. I can’t wait to see the cliff to the left, and actually the very spot where I was standing to take this picture, inundated by flowing and tumbling white water.

View into the Batoka Gorge from the cliffs, site of the Victoria Falls, during dry season.

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