It’s not always a mad sunrise or sunset in Iceland… occasionally things are moody too weather wise. I love that aspect too! That and they have some of the greatest winding roads to drive on. So much more fun that some long, straight road.
That’s all. Enjoy. 🙂
If you have ever seen this area of Southern Iceland, then you can attest to these amazing colors! These are totally accurate…. and I would find it hard to believe had I not seen it first-hand. It was my first time in this area in the summer when I took this, after a previous visit in more arctic conditions. Do you see those strange rocks? Well, some of what you are seeing is rocks and the rest is a very unusual moss. It’s a tan-green color. It’s extremely fuzzy/spongy and makes the whole place just seem unworldly. That, combined with the extra-blue water, made for a scene that was just shockingly awesome.
Sometimes I feel like I would be content JUST shooting roads and sunsets for the rest of my life. I mean, it’s such a layup, right? I go through SUCH trouble to get all kinds of cooky shots that are cool. But these shots are just so easy! I mean, you just get out of the car and set up the tripod for a photo. It’s like cheating… then I think about all the hiking I do and all the work to get other shots that are sometimes not as interesting. The Effort-to-Result ratio is way off! But then I forgive myself and stop trying to be so analytical and “efficient” while making art. It’s more than okay to be inefficient!
Sometimes I think I could make a whole blog just about horses in Iceland. I swear, I have So Many Photos of horses in Iceland, and they’re all pretty good! I can’t take much credit for them, you know, as the horses are just so darned photogenic. And then the whole country has a perfect backdrop… it’s just kind of hard to take a bad photo of them!
I also like that they all look a bit like Owen Wilson.
The best fish I have ever had is in that little Viking-house there to the right. You have to duck to get through the door. Once inside, you emerge into a darkened Viking-style dining hall (imagine the great hall where Gríma Wormtongue held powah over King Théoden of Rohan). It’s called Tjöruhúsið in the little town of Isafjordur.
The whole experience is fun too. There is a little window in the back where the fishermen come every morning to deliver the fresh fish in exchange for getting to eat there for free. They bring you the food inside giant iron-clad pans… it was so awesome. I love to gorge myself here with giant dinners before heading out for all-night shooting.
I went over a high mountain pass that connects one remote part of the country into another. There’s always ice and snow up here. Well, really, it’s mostly ice and very little snow.
This little stone and wood-framed home stood desperately alone.
When you are surrounded by constant strange-light, everything feels like a waking dream. And when I reached this point, my iPod playlist started getting into the forlorn songs. It did nothing to help the reality of the situation if there was one to begin with…
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
See that little sheepy there on the left? I think he must eat the tall parts of all the grass in that entire field to keep it looking perfect.
In fact, I’m often amazed at these huge fields of perfect grass. No one ever mows them, and usually, there are almost no sheep. I have no idea how the grass is so perfect all the time. It’s really mind-bending and I stop thinking about it too much after a while because it begins to hurt. It’s that same kind of brain-hurt that you think about when you wonder what things would be like if there was no universe. I put it up there on that scale.
Here’s another one of the images from my 1000 Stories from 1000 Places NFT drop. It sold out in minutes, but they are now available to trade on OpenSea and X2Y2, etc so be sure to check them out.
I consider myself very lucky to have a network of great photographers around the world. I met a lot of them through Flickr back in the early days, where we were constantly commenting and giving feedback on one another’s photos. This has enabled me to meet up with great photographers wherever I travel, and they are great people to hang out with because they already know the prettiest places around where they live!
One of the people I was lucky to shoot with was Rebekka in Iceland. We met at a coffee shop in Reykjavik and talked about where to go shoot. We jumped in her car and drove a while until we reached a fjord. Nearby were these horses running around like wild beasts. They have no fear of humans, and we were able to go right up to them. Their hair is very long, and I’m sure it evolved from the hyper-cold whipping winds around the edges of the sea.
I don’t shoot a lot of animals, because I find it hard to improve upon what other great animal photographers have done in the past. However, here is a tip for shooting animals. It’s kind of a lame trick, but it always works. Use a wide-angle lens and get in close. It always makes the head look really big and cute. Humans love big-headed animals and it always makes them smile. Why this is, I have no idea… Note this trick also kinda works with babies.
