Iceland: October 2015 - Days 8 and 9 added

Some great shots there, looks like it was a productive trip! Nice to see some Icelandic locations I've not seen before - I definitely need to get out there :)

Dan
 
What amazing places to visit, and a fantastic collection of images to come back with. Love them all!
 
There's some crackers in amongst these. Looks like a productive trip
 
Truly stunning shots. What an amazing place Iceland is and you've really captured it well. I need to go again to do a solely photographic holiday as last time it was a blend of adventure and photography - and my word there is so much to photograph. Probably the most photogenic Country on Earth!
 
After viewing these images I have a feeling that the place will be overrun with photographers very shortly! :)
 
Day 5 (Part 1): At the end of day 4 we ended up in a hotel at Lake Mývatn, which is a nature reserve and has a rich fauna of water birds, especially ducks. However, we were here for the landscapes and luckily the surrounding area has plenty to see! So, it was another early rise to hope for a sunrise, but we lucked out again, although we did have some rather interesting cloud formations over the lake. After breakfast we headed up to the Námaskarð sulpher area and stumbled across Grjotagja Cave along the way.To clear our heads of the smell of rotten eggs at Námaskarð it was off to Víti Crater for a brisk walk around the rim.

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Lake Mývatn by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Grjotagja Cave by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Hot Mud Bubbles by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Steam Cone by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Námaskarð Sulpher Area by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Víti Crater by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr
 
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Day 5 (Part 2): After Viti Crater and some more exploring around Lake Mývatn, we headed up to Dettifoss, which is the most powerful waterfall in Iceland. It did not disappoint, the noise was astonishing! Very conveniently it's only a 15 minute walk along the bank to Hafragilfoss where we enjoyed a spectacular sunset. As we drove to our next overnight stop at Egilsstaðir the skies remained clear so after a quick check-in to the hotel and a bite to eat in Subway, it was off out to find a decent foreground in case we had a show. Well, the foreground subject matter was rather poor around Egilsstaðir, but the light show was fantastic! What a great day! Total driven: 318km

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Dettifloss by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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A Sense Of Scale by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Enjoying The View by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Hafragilfoss by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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The Aurora by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr
 
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Fantastic photos Dave - nice to 'read along' with the trip.

My trip last month was a bit more photo focused than my previous trips, but really want to spend a longer period of time there. Im still editing my photos from last month and waiting to use up a 35mm film so I can get a couple of rolls developed and see what I did (or didn't) get. These make my look as dull as dishwater :p

look forward to more!
 
Hi Dave
Firstly it looks like you had a really good time you have got a stunning set of images from there that capture the essence of the place the images you have taken makes me feel I must make the effort to get there.
Regards
Richard
 
The last one is superb, also really like the Kirkjufell shots. Can't wait for my trip to Iceland next May.
 
Sorry for the delay in updated to anyone that's following this, it's been a hectic week!

Day 6: After a late night (or early morning, however you want to look at it!) watching the Aurora, we decided to have a bit of a leisurely explore so we took the less direct route around some of the mountainous headlands to our next destination. This part of Iceland reminded me very much of the Norwegian Fjords, only with less buildings. We arrived at the Vesturhorn Mountain range just before sundown, and although the word was used a lot on our trip, as well as 'wow!', this place really was 'Awesome!' Total driven approx 400km

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Vattarnes Lighthouse by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Heavy Skies by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Mountain Hut by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Whooper Swans by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Attraction by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Vesturhorn Mountains by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr
 
Day 7: A promising forecast meant another early start to catch the sunrise at one of the places I was most looking forward to seeing - the ice beach at Jökulsárlón. The forecast proved nearly correct in that we had a sort of sunrise, but bizarrely it was also raining and windy on the beach which meant a frustrating time trying to keep the lenses and filters dry and free of rain spots! We also had to keep a close eye out for the 'rogue waves' which show themselves here every now and again, but more of that later! After a couple of hours it was a short drive back to the hotel for breakfast, and then the rest of the day was spent locally at the Jökulsárlón ice lagoon and the nearby Fjallsárlón ice lagoon. Both these ice lagoons are full of icebergs that have broken off from fingers of the mighty Vatnajökull glacier. After diner it was back down to Fjallsárlón ice lagoon in the hope of an Aurora show, but unfortunitely it was a little cloudy. 88km driven.

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Sunrise At Jökulsárlón by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Beautiful Blue Ice by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Crystal by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Fjallsárlón by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Ice Fish by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Aurora Over The Ice Lagoon by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr
 
The last two of day 6 and the second one on day 7 are just superb. I would be over the moon with a set like this.
 
Day 8: Another early morning to the ice beach at Jökulsárlón and hope for a clear sunrise without rain. Our hopes paid off. Photo 4 shows how big the rogue waves can be - when I set myself up to take the shot the waves were just lapping at my boots, then after a while, POW! In comes a rogue wave! Luckily a tight fitting pair of wellies and waterproof trousers kept me dry. After a couple of hours, it was back to the hotel for breakfast and checkout to continue our journey to Vik. We made a few stops on the way, at a glacier I can't remember the location of, the turf covered church at Hof, and Stjórnarfoss waterfall. We arrived at Vik and checked in and had a meal in the hotel. The forecast was looking promising for clear skies so it was off out at about 22:00 to capture The Aurora over the crashed C-47 plane on the huge beach at Sólheimasandur. We decided that we would sit and wait to get the shot, no matter how long it took! Well it wasn't to be, with a greenish thin layer of cloud cover spoiling our view of the show. By 02:30 we were cold and tired, so off to bed! 307km driven.

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Ice Splash by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Colours by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Crystal Clear by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Rouge Wave by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Hof Church by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Stjórnarfoss by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr
 
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More amazing shots Dave!!!

Think I'll delete all mine, haha.

Sorry I didn't reply to your other reply - mabye a couple of them could talk about the exspiure, filters, post production of a couple of shots, maybe one of the ice berg on the beach ones and other one or two. They are so much outstanding l, I'd love some pointers for next time I go :) but don't feel you have to give away any secrets ha ha
 
Day 9: Our last day taking photos :( After a leisurely breakfast and a short drive from the hotel we went for a long stroll along Vik beach to photograph the basalt sea stacks. The position of the sun and a lot of spray in the air made things a bit tricky, but after a bit of repositioning I got the shot I was after. Another short drive to the huge beach at Sólheimasandur to photograph the crashed plane, which I've since found out is a U.S. Navy Douglas R4D-8 (military version of the DC-3). Exploring and photographing this was just awesome! Heading towards our final hotel, we passed the might Skogafoss waterfall. We also went visited the very busy and touristy Seljalandsfoss and the beautiful hidden falls, Gljúfrabúi. I didn't get any decent shots here as there were too many people about to get a reasonably clean shot, but it was still good to see them. Next we headed off to our final destination, Haifoss. This place was just awesome, and we were lucky enough to get a bit of a sunset, which rounded off the trip a treat! Total driven 280km.

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Bassalt Sea Stacks by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Vik Church by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Not Much Left by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Stranded by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Skogafoss by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr

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Háifoss by Dave Kiddle, on Flickr
 
Day 10: A relatively short drive to catch the 10.30am flight home.

All told, it was a brilliant trip and one that I doubt I'll ever forget. We were lucky with the weather, and got some excellent shots, many of which I haven't processed yet! The four of us were living in each other's pockets for 10 days, so it was a miracle we didn't end up killing each other! We had a lot of laughs and gained some fantastic memories, and I'm really looking forward to going back next year! Total distance driven in the 10 days: just a smidgen under 3,000km.

Thanks for taking the time to read this thread, and thanks for all the positive comments (y) :)
 
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I have to say that this is one of the best threads I have ever read on here. Absolutely stunning ( and I'm just a tad envious :) ) :clap:
 
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