January 25, 2020 — Kirkjufellsfoss, Snaefellsjökull Peninsula, Iceland Ten minutes before sunrise. No place does blue hour like Iceland. And it’s amazing how much a tripod with a five-pound camera can act like a sail in a strong wind. (Nikon D850, Tamron SP 24–70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
January 26, 2020 — Jökulsárlón, South Coast, Iceland Taken about a half-hour before the image in yesterday’s post — looking north, rather than east. The clouds and mist were in constant motion. Indeed, much of the time the mountains were obscured by clouds. My February 15 post shows one dramatic moment. The image above shows a pause in the turmoil of the cloudy cauldron. Still wondering if JMW Turner would’ve liked Pink Floyd. (Nikon D850, […]
January 23, 2020 — Snaefellsjökull Peninsula, Iceland Iceland is volcanic. Very. Many mountains are volcanic black. Rocks are black. Sand is black. Snow, however, is white. (Nikon D850, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.1; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
January 26, 2020 — The Thórbergur Center, Hali Country Hotel, South Coast, Iceland As we returned to our hotel and eatery after a morning shoot, she and I gaped gasping at the gray glory of the sky. While the others ducked into their warm and dry rooms, we got as close as we could to the edge of a sharp slope that ended at the edge of a partially frozen lagoon. Not wanting to take […]
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 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 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 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 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.)
August 6, 2019; Vevey, Switzerland. While archiving shots from Europe, I came across this gem. It harkens back to the August 7 post. It was taken about two hours before the blue one near the bottom of that post. It pays to go back over old shoots: I’m still discovering work from that trip. There are more images of this magic two and a half hours and you may well see some in the future. […]
August 18, 2019; Estoril, Portugal. Just starting the third cup of coffee and another pastel de nata. Back to the conversation. I had put the camera away. Then I looked up and got it out again. (Check yesterday’s post to see how this started.) (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.3; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
August 18, 2019; Estoril, Portugal. Balmy morning on the balcony, enjoying coffee with my wife’s brother and family. It had been a sunny morning, but as we got into the second cup, the fog came in. This is different. Where I come from, a second cup makes the fog go away. (Nikon D500, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 2.3; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
August 12, 2019; Northwest of Locarno, Switzerland — September 6, 2019; Silicon Valley. It was a turbulent night. I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and stared at the ceiling, thinking, “it’s too dark.” But it wasn’t the ceiling I was thinking of. It was the image I’d just posted on the blog afew hours earlier. And there were other things too: Was the foreground too severe? Does it focus the viewer’s attention enough? The tones, tones, […]
August 12, 2019; Northwest of Locarno, Switzerland. It was a dark and stormy day; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the valley (for it is in Italian Switzerland that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the water-logged photographer who struggled against the torrent. But then, a break in the clouds, which was of benefit, […]
August 9, 2019; Totensee. The sky was subject to rapid mood shifts: this was shot just fifty-two seconds after the image in the last post. It was post-processed after arriving home following a week in London immersed in Constable, Turner, and Monet. Rothko too, of course. Inspired by Constable’s clouds, Turner’s unfinished landscapes and seascapes, Monet’s monochrome* winter scenes, and a good dose of minimalism from Mr. Rothko, this is one version of what came […]
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