Asterix goes to Iceland

[asterixsg]

17. Hallgrímskirkja at night

This was the night of the super moon...

18. Kirkjufell

... this time in a portrait orientation. I scouted out this location as I could see the reflection of Kirkjufell in the stream in front, and by the time I composed the shot, the wind picked up :cry: and in the next 10-15 minutes, it started to snow again...

19. Lóndrangar at Malarif in Snæfellsnes

Went exploring the Snæfellsnes peninsula and by late afternoon reached the Malarif lighthouse. I had seen some really nice photos in that area. But we couldn't find any walking tracks as everything was snow covered...

Finally, found a parking area further down the road and hiked up a small hillock to take a record shot of Lóndrangar. Lóndrangar are the remnants of an ancient basalt cylinder-cone surrounded by more recent lava flows.

 

[Kiwira]

thanks for sharing these breath taking photos, must have been one great experience being there !

there're so many beautiful places in the world which we have yet to see..

 

[Kopiko79]

Hi Asterixsg

amazing photos you have there. some of them deserving of national geographic's attention

would you mind sharing your detailed itiniery and the associated costs?

 

[asterixsg]

Iceland is famous for its waterfalls. I was quite looking forward to Hraunfossar because I had seen some really nice photos of it...

20. Hraunfossar

Literally translated to Lava Falls...

It had snowed really heavily the previous night and in the morning. As we drove in, we couldn't even see where the parking lot was. I had to walk slowly in front where I "thought" the road was and my friend drove the car inch by inch behind...

From the parking lot, I walked in knee deep snow to the viewing platform and a bit beyond. Not much opportunity to try out different compositions because it was way too risky to judge the depth of the snow around us...

I got a real scare when I decided to walk to the nearby Barnafoss and got stuck in waist deep snow. Its a miracle that I somehow extricated myself

21. Gullfoss

Almost everyone who visits Iceland, goes to Gullfoss as its included in the Golden Circle tour. We decided to shoot it minus the tourists, so we went in really early almost at daybreak. For a while we were in the carpark not knowing which way to go to get to the waterfall :bsmilie:
It was heavily overcast and because of the overnight snow, there were no footsteps either to give us a clue...

Finally, I spotted a wooden engraving with the signboard that pointed towards the waterfall.

The access to the waterfall is restricted during the winter months because of the snow which makes the path quite slippery and dangerous.

Since I had the luxury of time, I tried out different compositions from the standard viewing platforms. Here's one of them...

 

[kei1309]

beautiful... i think i need a vacation!

 

[asterixsg]

thanks for sharing these breath taking photos, must have been one great experience being there !

there're so many beautiful places in the world which we have yet to see..

Glad that you enjoyed the photos. Yeah, there are many beautiful places in the world but its sad to see mankind in a self-destruct mode.

Hi Asterixsg

amazing photos you have there. some of them deserving of national geographic's attention

would you mind sharing your detailed itiniery and the associated costs?

Thanks for your kind words. I have written about my itinerary in the first post itself.
I spent one night in Reykjavik, 2 nights in Grundarfjörður (in the north of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in the west of Iceland), 1 night in a farmhouse near Laugarvatn, 1 night in a farmhouse near Vik (South Iceland), 2 nights at a farmhouse in between Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón (South Iceland) and then the final night in Reykjavik.
In the coming days, I will recollect the expenses incurred and update Post #2.
Cheers...

 

[sukhoi37]

great series.
cant wait for the rest!

 

[asterixsg]

All,
updated Post #2 with expenses. Now, I need to find some maps (am aware of copyright issues, so will probably only include links) to illustrate the route that I traversed...

beautiful... i think i need a vacation!

Thanks. Go for it, don't just dream of it

great series.
cant wait for the rest!

Thanks. More coming, as and when I find time...

 

[asterixsg]

22. Abandoned

Found this abandoned house while driving along the southern coast of Snæfellsnes with Snæfellsjökull in the background... Spent an hour exploring the surroundings and walking in knee deep snow. AWESOME time...

23. Black sand beach

Ended a really long day by visiting the area around Dyrhólaey. If the weather had been good, I would've loved to go down to the shoreline, but then decided to stay up on the cliff and enjoy the views...

In the distance, you can see the basalt sea stacks of Reynisdrangar. According to legend, the Reynisdrangar sea stacks were formed when two trolls were trying to drag a three-masted ship to land. When daylight broke, they turned to rock

The thing with Iceland is that, at every location, you need to spend at least a week to really explore that location to its potential... These record shots just dont make it...

 

[cheesy]

awesome photographs! my guess is TS went there alone and loves landscapes. am i right? :bsmilie:

 

[asterixsg]

awesome photographs! my guess is TS went there alone and loves landscapes. am i right? :bsmilie:

TS wishes to thank cheesy for the comments

Yes, TS loves landscapes. And no, TS didn't go to Iceland alone. TS went with a fellow photography enthusiast who also likes to photograph landscapes

Just kidding lah. You obviously haven't read any of the cr@p that I've been writing, especially in Posts #1 and #2

 

[cheesy]

i did read.. but maybe not carefully enough ;p

 

[cheersjy]

Amazing place and an amazing skills to capture them - looking forward for more!

 

[bhteh]

Asterix, I was amazed by the photos you showed me over the weekend using my iPad. These photos look even better here when viewed large. Awesome collection! :thumbsup:

 

[asterixsg]

i did read.. but maybe not carefully enough ;p

Was just pulling your leg...

Amazing place and an amazing skills to capture them - looking forward for more!

Thanks for your comments. Lots more to post, but will stop soon. Let other threads takeover and let this one be buried. I believe people already have an idea of what to expect from Iceland

Asterix, I was amazed by the photos you showed me over the weekend using my iPad. These photos look even better here when viewed large. Awesome collection! :thumbsup:

bhteh, thanks for your comments and encouragement. Nice catching up with you.

 

[asterixsg]

Now for some fun shots. And blue skies. Yippeeeeee...

24. Signpost

Couple of days ago, we had gone on that road and were driven to the glacier for a walk on blue ice and the sky was gray/white. Now, we had blue skies and the glacier looked more white

25. Single lane bridge ahead...

... that's what the sign says. All over Iceland, I saw that the roads were built for two lane traffic, but when it came to bridges, mostly they were single lane. I think I have guessed the reason for it, but I would love to find out the official explanation...

 

[cheesy]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Beserk]

Awesome photos. Keep them coming.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[StarAlliance]

May i know what camera body you were using most of these landscape shots?

 

[asterixsg]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Thanks cheesy...

Awesome photos. Keep them coming.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks Beserk...

May i know what camera body you were using most of these landscape shots?

I used Canon 5DMkII for most of the landscapes...