January 28, 2020, 11:32 p.m. — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland As the forms resolved into a loose spiral, they slowed and remained stationary. We were rapt and remained stationary. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 15–30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD. f/2.8, 10 sec, ISO 400. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
January 28, 2020, 11:29 p.m. — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland As the plot thickened, the action moved to center stage. ISO sensitivity now down to 400. This was Kp index 3.3. I can’t imagine how bright the top of the scale — 9 — is. Maybe you really do need sunglasses. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 15–30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD. f/2.8, 10 sec, ISO 400. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
January 28, 2020, 11:26 p.m. — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland Things remained as they were for a while. Taking advantage of the lull, I walked about fifty meters off from the rest of the group for a quiet moment, and as I gazed off the east, Thor hit the light switch. It wasn’t a fade up. It was snap and full-on. I was transfixed by the slow weaving of the sheets of light. Riveted. Mesmerized. […]
January 28, 2020, 11:11 p.m. — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland The later it got, the colder it got. But somehow no one minded. The mood had shifted from “is anything really going to happen?” to “what’s going to happen next?” ISO sensitivity bumped down from 4000 to 2500. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 15–30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD. f/2.8, 10 sec, ISO 2500. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
January 28, 2020, 10:48 p.m. — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland When we returned from Vestrahorn, Óli, our Icelandic guide, checked the Kp index, which was heading toward three. He called a number of his contacts to see what things were like in other locations, and then announced at dinner that we were going to try for the Northern Lights. We returned to Jökulsárlón at about 9 p.m., put on our crampons, and ventured into the […]
January 28, 2020 — Vestrahorn, South Coast, Iceland One of the iconic vistas in a land full of iconic vistas. Ignoring advice, I didn’t put on my wellies, preferring my waterproof insulated boots. The wellies, being higher, would’ve allowed me to go further into the water, which would’ve changed the angle, which would’ve afforded better reflections. My solution was to go out as far as I could and try more shots. I stayed long after […]
January 27, 2020 — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland What was the photographer ruminating on while creating such an image — made of two different treatments of one shot combined with part of another shot? What might he think? It could be a question of two ages: Would JMW Turner have liked Pink Floyd? Discuss. I’m verklempt. PS: Not looking good for Northern Lights tonight. Kp Index is 1. (Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. RAW processing […]
January 28, 2020 — Diamond Beach, South Coast, Iceland About a half a mile from where the photo in the last post was taken, the lagoon empties into the North Atlantic. Miniature bergy-bits flow out and then are washed back ashore by the tide and the surf. There they sit, shining on the beach awaiting their inevitable trip back into the sea. They look like diamonds. This one seems to be sniffing the air, contemplating […]
January 27, 2020 — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland When you think of a lagoon, don’t you think of white sand, blue water, and palm trees? This is different: black sand, blue water, and icebergs. The ’bergs have been shed by one of the largest glaciers in Iceland. Things happen fast in Iceland: This lagoon didn’t exist sixty years ago and in the foreseeable future, it’ll be a fjord. (Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. RAW processing […]
January 26, 2020 — Reynisfjara Viewpoint, South Coast, Iceland Can I go anywhere near an ocean without doing a seascape horizon? No. I can’t. It’s in my DNA. And the thing is, Iceland has lots of ocean. (Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.) More seascape horizons: www.amagaphoto.com
January 26, 2020 —Black Sand Beach, Vik, Iceland The North Atlantic shows no mercy because it has no mercy. (Nikon D850, Tamron 100–400mm f/4.5–6.3 Di VC USD G2. Post-processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
January 26, 2020 — Reynisfjara (Black Sand) Beach, Iceland It was a dark and stormy morning. The wind-whipped weather was a fierce opponent. The barely risen sun cowered behind the clouds. Photographer and camera were covered in sleet and snow. This emerged from the mist. From this angle, most photographs of this scene appear to show two sea stacks. Actually, in those shots the one on the left (the one you see here) appears to […]
January 25, 2020 — Route 1, East of Reykjavik, Iceland This shot should not have worked. It was shot through the window of an off-road bus (think rock-hard suspension) going 90 km/h on a not terribly smooth highway. The window was dirty from two days of being splashed with road slush. But it was the first time we’d seen the sun since our arrival. The colors were otherworldly and the land was an Icelandic combination […]
January 24, 2020 — Londranger View Point, Snaefellsjökull Peninsula, Iceland Taken a few minutes earlier than the one in the post before last, this shows the unaltered colors that the camera recorded. I had previously thought the color was a distortion of reality and blamed it on a brand of filter I’d never used before, but no — the water really is that color.* The next post will move us forward. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm […]
January 25, 2020 — Kirkjufellsfoss and Kirkjufell Mountain, Snaefellsjökull Peninsula, Iceland It was a dark and stormy morning. Sun would rise in another fifteen minutes. The wind was… impressive. Posted from the departure lounge at Keflavik International Airport. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 15–30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
