Mountain Glow

The evening sunlight illuminates the mountain peaks at sunset in Gullesfjord, Norway.

Back from the Lofoten

We just got back from a trip to the lofoten in norway. The lofoten are an island chain on the norwiegan coast about 150 km above the polar circle. The islands are very mountainous, and rise steeply out of the ocean. The light in the arctic regions is usually very impressive, and makes for interesting photography. Here is a mountain chain near Svolvaer in the evening light.

Arctic Shipwreck

Looking at the mountains through a shipwreck. Mjóifjörður, Iceland. This is an HDR, from 3 exposures, and I've done some work to it in Photoshop to make the textures a little less like a photo.

Distant Mountains

Mountains in the distance on Snaefellsnes, Iceland

Looking inside...

After climbing to the rim of Eldhraun, I took this panorama of the view across and into it. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite extend far enough, as I should have taken one more shot on the left side. Oh well, that's how you learn!

Eldhraun Crater, Snaefellsnes

Iceland 2012

 

Ascending the Crater

About to ascend the crater cone of Eldhraun, Snaefellsnes, Iceland.

Fragile Crater

This is Eldhraun, Icelands most delicate volcanic cone. It was formed when liquid lava bubbled out of the ground, forming layer over layer of bubbly, crusty lava which formed this cone. It was a beautiful walk to get to it, which took us through fields full of blueberries, dwarf birches, and mushrooms. The crater itself was quite steep, and well worth the adventure to climb.

Crater Cone

The View from the top of Stóra-Grábrók, overlooking Litla-Grábrók. The ring road in Iceland drives right past this, and it's a sight you shouldn't miss! There are three craters here, all differing in size. The smallest is almost gone due to earlier mining operations, but thankfully the area is now under preservation. the view is very other-worldly. Standing there looking over the landscape, the thought crosses your mind; "am I on earth, or is this mars?"

HDR from 3 photos, assembled in Photoshop HDR Pro, tonemapped in Lightroom

Somewhere on Snaefellsnes

I'm not sure exactly where I took this shot. We pulled off on the side of the road to capture the clouds rolling over this mountain. Its taken somewhere on Snafellsnes, Iceland. We were not all that far from Eldhraun, a beautiful delicate volcanic cone which we later hiked up. I'll be posting pictures of that here soon.

Dramatic Light

This photo is looking across the landscape while climbing Eldhraun, a very beautiful and delicate volcanic cone crater in Snaefellsnes, Iceland. The lighting in the picture is unusual, but I think it creates a nice effect the way it dramatically lights up the mountain and the sky. What do you think? Comments are always appreciated.

Glacial Fog

Looking over Svinafellsjökull as the fog starts to roll down the mountain. We had a wonderful morning hike on this glacier tongue, and the weather held out for us until we were on our way back down. The fog was rolling in and it was just starting to sprinkle as we were stepping off the ice. HDR assembled in Photoshop HDR Pro. Skaftafell, Iceland. Summer 2012.

Transition

Glacial ice transitions seamlessly into mountainside. Svínafellsjökull, Iceland.

Cold Desert Mountain

This mountain is called Snaefell, and lies to the north of Vatnajökull in Iceland. It is surrounded by highland desert. You can see neon-colored moss that grows at the rivers edge. The mountain is 1833 meters high.

Frozen Wave

Looking up the glacier tongue of Svínafellsjökull on Vatnajökull glacier, Iceland. Water moves in similar ways, weather its liquid or solid. This glacier tongue seemed to be a frozen wave, slowly rolling its way down the mountain until gradually reaching the ocean. More pictures to come in the near future.

Icescape

Looking down over the glacier tongue of Svínafellsjökull. Skaftafell, Iceland. In the background, you can just make out the atlantic ocean. This is an HDR assembled with Photshop HDR Pro.

Ice Bridge

This is an ice bridge melting in the summer sun. Vatnajökull, Iceland. I'm not sure how much longer this was around after we left. My guess is, it was gone in a few hours. This is an HDR assembled in Photoshop HDR Pro.

Color Overload

In Iceland, you see lots of colors. Often the colors are so vivid that they don't look real. In this picture, taken in the highlands near Snaefell, The landscape is mostly desert. Wherever there's water though, neon colored moss pops out of the landscape in a blast of color that really slaps you in the face to get your attention. I usually end up having to partially desaturate these pictures to get them to look right. Even still, some of them turn out looking pretty over-photoshopped. They aren't, Iceland took care of that already!

Fading Light

Here's another HDR looking down the docks in the harbor of Eskifjörður in the East Fjords of Iceland. 

 

Hvítserkur in moonlight

Here's another picture of Hvítserkur in Vatnsnes, Iceland. This is not the standard angle to photograph Hvítserkur from, but I wanted to capture the moon next to it. I walked a way down the beach (avoiding getting divebombed by kittywakes) and found this view.

On the Glacier Tongue

We took a guided hike on Svinafellsjökull, one of the glacier tongues in Skaftafell National Park, Iceland. It was a great experience, and very humbling to get a sense of how big the Vatnajökull glacier is. I'll be posting more pictures from this adventure in the future. Here's the first one to give you a little taste. Check back for more!