Iceland - Bakkager∂i
I’ve decided I’m not going to even try to blog about the trip very much. I’m just too exhausted at the end of the day to do that. Plus, there are so many images to mess with, mostly taken with the point-and-shoot (not that those can’t be nice, but there are a lot of them). Instead, I’m going to try to have these post be about our shooting sessions. The ones where we pull out the big cameras and tripods and take our time making images. Hopefully, I’ll be showing you some nicer images instead of just ones that go with the story.
We haven’t really done a “lot of photography.” Don’t get me wrong, Iceland is beautiful, but some places are packed with people (which means we just pull out the point and shoot cameras), and other times, when we’re away from folks, the parking is not conducive to a vehicle the size of the bimobil. A small car does have its advantages with the pull-outs around here. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t had our periods of taking our time and photographing to our heart’s content; it’s just not non-stop photography here.
As the header says, these few images are from our first day in Iceland. After arriving we headed north, first to go food shopping, and then to Bakkager∂i. We were there to see puffins (which we did), but after setting up camp, Ann suggested we go outside to explore the area a bit. The sun was periodically breaking through the clouds and there was a view I wanted to check out so I said “Sure!”
Well, the view led to a trail around a giant rock/lava hill and some very interesting rock outcroppings. We both excitedly set up shop and waited for the clouds to start breaking, and they did . . . well, sort of. I set up a square framed image and waited for the sun to break through. Which it eventually did for about one minute.
Then I changed the aspect ratio of the image for a wider view, and waited again. This time I waited longer, but it eventually happened and I made the image.
We waited for another 15 minutes or so, but everything became socked in again, so we decided to pack up and continue the trail around the rock hill. About a quarter mile down the trail, as we were passing some more rocks, I started to see a glow. I told Ann to go on and quickly set up. The gentle glow grew in intensity and I made my shot. As I was pressing the shutter down for my “backup” exposure (a habit from my old film days . . . which has come in handy given the number of bugs that have appeared in shots in some locations), it was like the lightbulb blew and the light was gone. That second image is a dull mate to this one. I waited another 10 minutes for the light to come, but to no avail. A glance at the horizon wasn’t promising either. So I packed up and headed on to find Ann.
That wasn’t the end of the day though. Ann was on the other side of the rock outcropping I’d photographed, having set up a lovely composition looking down the valley. After I looked at Ann’s composition on the LCD of her camera. Ann asked it it was worth waiting for the light to come back. I said, “Hell, yes!” So we waited, and waited. After a good while Ann asked how much longer we should wait. I looked at the clouds, and then my watch, and said, “Another 40 minutes or so, half past the hour.” 26 minutes later the sun opened up for about 3 minutes. Ann has several nice exposures to choose from. Hers was the shot of the day, which will definitely be a blog post for the future.