Iceland - Part III

(all shots made by Daniëlla with her iPhone and some funky iPhone post-processing apps)

We have returned from Iceland and it was absolutely wonderful. Can't wait to go back again! So let me share with you our last ten days.

In the north there was still a lot of snow, which prevented us from visiting some of the places we had in mind. We wanted to go to a nice waterfall, but it was located along a treacherous small road. When the road turned into a trail through a grassland, we decided not to test the car again as there was no other traffic around to pull us out of the mud. But there were some nice Icelandic horses. They stay out in the open all year round, so they get this beautiful furry coat. Really fluffy and good looking. And they are very docile too. So Marsel picked his target and decided to lie flat on his tummy in the snow. Brave man :-) The horses however were so curious, that they constantly came too close to get a sniff at us and they even followed us around when we went walking. They make nice subjects, looking very handsome in the snow. 

Although they are small in size, the Icelandic horse is very strong and can handle the cold weather very well.
But don't make the mistake of calling them ponies. They will start kicking & screaming!

For our last week in Iceland we wanted to return to the south again, because we skipped a lot of good spots there at the start of the trip. They say about Iceland that the wind always blows and the rain always falls horizontally - well... they are right! It was raining so hard when we were there early March, that it was not possible to make any shots at the time. 

We rented a small cottage, so we did not have to adjust to a schedule for breakfast or dinner at a hotel. Luckily for us, the weather around Vik was dry, so we were able to scout the area very well and take some nice shots.

We went back to Skogafoss, one of the well known waterfalls in Iceland. Although we were there in the middle of the day and the sun was out, we had a great time. Funny how you can shoot in Iceland practically all day long. As long is it is relatively dry, it works. The sun played with the spray of the waterfall and gave us a gorgeous rainbow. Did you know, that if you move closer to the waterfall, the rainbow becomes smaller and changes shape? I didn't. For one of the pictures Marsel took, he wanted me to stand really close to the waterfall. I got very very wet from all the spray, but also saw a circular rainbow. No, no picture. My iPhone would not have survived all that water.

Skogafoss, one of the most famous waterfalls in the south of Iceland.

There are a number of very well known sea scapes in the south as well, which make nice subjects for sunrise or sunset.... provided there is one :-) But we also discovered some very nice caves on the beach with beautiful basalt columns. Always wonderful to work with and to shoot details. You have to watch out for the tides in order to ge there, so it involves some planning to go.

When driving in Iceland, it is hard to keep going and not stop for something that you see along the way. One thing we noticed is that there are a lot of abandoned or run down farm houses. Here I have included one, while taking a picture of a waterfall, just to show you some of the surroundings and the atmosphere of the country. 

Another absolute highlight of our trip were the glaciers. There are many of them and Europe's largest glacier is in Iceland. Although it is very tempting to go and walk on them to get a closer look, it is very dangerous. At one of the glaciers there was a plaque mentioning two men that went for a walk and never returned. So if you'd like to do some glacier walking, book a guided tour!

When the sun is gone, the blue ice of the glacier can give the clouds a blueish tint.
All the blue colors in the ice and the sky reflect nicely in the still water.

If you have never seen a glacier with your own eyes (like me) it is quite overwhelming. The size, the colors, the shapes, the high mountains in the background. Really impressive. It makes you feel very small and humble. 

At the end of a glacier, there are usually lakes formed by the melting water and chunks of ice that break off where the glacier ends. The glaciers recede each year, so it will all be different next year. But I am sure it will be just as spectacular!

We will show you some of Marsel's images from Iceland and my video in our next post, when we announce the Squiver Photo Tour in Iceland, which will start end of February 2013. Are you ready to go to Iceland? Join us! A PDF with a detailed tour schedule, tour photos and a video impression of the trip will all be posted on our website and this blog within the next two weeks. So keep your eyes open and make sure to make a booking - we expect the tour to fill really quickly!