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Iceland 2008 There’s a saying in Iceland which goes something along the lines of “If you don’t like the weather now, wait five minutes - it will probably get worse”. Our road trip experience of Iceland in November pretty much backs that up. For starters it was cold. Cold enough for a solid sheet of ice to form on the outside of the window of our rented 4x4. With the window wound down it was perfectly possible to punch a hole through the ice and wind the window back up again. It was also cold enough for spray coming off a waterfall to freeze the instant it touched a blade of grass. Such was the volume of spray and extent of the cold, that the grass looked as if it had been dipped and completely encased in ice... The expanse and scale of the beautiful scenery, mesmerisingly straight roads and twisty bumpy dirt ‘trails’ led to endless “wow” moments. Around each corner lay new sights, changing perspectives and signs that bore little resemblance to our road maps! Over the course of a week we covered 1000 miles, drove through some very interesting - read awful - weather and discovered that Reykjavik airport is in fact not in Reykjavik at all. It’s in Keflavik, some 31 miles away. We found that out whilst halfway through our flight... You live and learn.
Seljalandsfoss Waterfall. Spectacular waterfall, where you can get as close as you dare. Needless to say, it’s freezing cold, and the wind chill factor just makes it worse...
The very ‘tip of the tongue’ of Sólheimajökull, part of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier.
Road leading to Vik - a very small town along the southern coast. It was one of those days where the weather held, the sun came out and we had plenty of light to work with.
Vik again. Don’t be fooled, the black isn’t tarmac or a road. It’s black volcanic sand!
The black volcanic beach of Vik, complete with a generous crispy layer of snow . Lovely to look at, but maybe not so good for bathing.
Two views from Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik’s modern church which was completed in 1974. Despite renovations which obstructed the views from the public viewing areas, we were granted access to a much better (and higher) vantage point - the beautifully crafted workmen’s wooden scaffolding! :-)
Still in Reykjavik and along the harbour’s edge stands this striking sculpture of a Viking ship. By night it’s own illumination is added to by the headlights of passing traffic - making for an ideal photo opportunity at any time.
A mere stone’s throw from where we stayed in Reykjavik was the Einar Jonsson museum and sculpture garden. On one overcast and ‘flat’ day the decision was made to pay it a visit. Typically the museum itself was closed, but the gardens were open and deserted. Some captivating sculptures kept us busy shooting until the lack of light forced us to give up...
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