Shipwreck

This is the very last (and may be the best) photo I took in Iceland, just somewhere along the south-west coast. No well-known top location, no great sunset, but somehow I like this shipwreck atmosphere at the end of day. It is so typical Iceland; it expresses the rough side of this barren land (a saying in Iceland is an “Behind every tree there is naked woman”; I did see neither of them :-). It is very enjoyable to let your eye work and discover some nice scenery yourself.
Anyhow, with or without trees, Iceland is a unimaginable beautiful land. Bye bye Iceland, hope to see you again in the future and be a Viking for another week!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-200, f16, 2s; +1 stop; ND2 hard gradient filter; flash used; tripod.

Mudpots and fumaroles

Seltún near Krýsuvík, located on the Reykjanes peninsula, is a breathtaking geothermal area in Iceland (land of fire and ice). Here the Earth is alive, she bubbles, simmers, smokes, sighs and stinks. On Facebook I can show you the kaleidoscope of colorful sediments, but you have to do it without hydrogen sulfide smell (=foul odor of rotten eggs).

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-200, f11, 1/50s; +0.3 stop; tripod.

That's why it is called Iceland!!!

‘Ice-harps’ at Skogafoss. Most people make a quick stop here to photograph the spectacular waterfall. But when you focus on the details, wait a little for the light to hit the water and use a longer shutter time you get these kind of pictures.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 90 mm; ISO-50, f16, 1/2s; +1.3 stop; ND3 filter; tripod.

Magic in the sky

I have seen the Northern Lights a couple of times before, and it is still magical! This evening we walked right from our hostel uphill on a slope with a thin layer of snow and hard ice underneath. Halfway I slipped and glided downwards with an ever increasing speed, holding my tripod and camera in front of me. Somehow I managed to slow down and even stop. I resumed the climb upwards. And as you can see I was rewarded with a great Aurora Borealis scenery.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-3200, f4, 8s; tripod.

Vatnajökull drive

Scenic road trip from Jökursalón to Skaftafell along snow-covered mountains and moraine fields of the Vatnajökull glaciers. Global warming is very tangible here. The ‘ice rivers’ retreat about 100m inland every year. Photos are taken from the car (my brother was driving!).

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-105mm/f4 @ 50 mm; ISO-800, f5.6, 1/2500s; +1.3 stop.

Neighbours

Blizzerd near Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest glacier massive. Roads were closed, we were completely isolated from the rest of the world. But luckily we could still see the house of our neighbours.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 70 mm; ISO-400, f2.8, 1/160s; +1.3 stop.

Total reshape

Glaciers not only transport material as they move, they also sculpt and carve away the land beneath them. Material picked up by a glacier forms moraines along the surface and sides of the glacier. As a glacier retreats, the ice literally melts away from underneath the moraines, leaving undulating fields and ridges with deposited gravel, small rocks, and sand. The landscape is drastically reshaped over hundreds or even thousands of years. This process is very visible at Skaftafell National Park during our evening walk. Take a look at this small gallery.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-800, f16, 1/60s; polarization filter.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 105 mm; ISO-800, f10, 1/125s.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 140 mm; ISO-800, f10, 1/20s; +0.7 stop; tripod.

Vík í Mýrdal

Today we stayed in the Vík area (vík means bay), Suðurland. The first photo is taken from the 218 road to Dyrhólaey and shows the morning sun on the Mýrdalsjökull (jökull means glacier). In the afternoon we made a hike on one of its ice tongues, Sólheimajökull, with dangerous crevasses. And we closed the day on Reynisfjara lava beach.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 70 mm; ISO-400, f16, 1/160s; +1.3 stop.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-105mm/f4 @ 50 mm; ISO-400, f16, 1/200s; +1 stop.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm/f4 @ 25mm; ISO-400, f14, 1/13s; +0.7 stop; ND2 hard gradient filter; tripod.

Foss day

Yesterday in the late afternoon I set foot on Iceland for the first time in my life! We (my brother Mathieu and his son Stan) landed on Keflavík, and drove up to our AirBNB address in Laugarvatn. Today we first visited the intimate Bruarfoss waterfall (foss means waterfall). It is a bit difficult to find. But what a beauty, I wish I had spent more time here (I definitely do that next time when I visit Iceland!). Next we headed to a touristic Geysir (with the famous geyser Strokkur, erupting to heights of up to 30m every few minutes) and moved on to a very windy Gullfoss winter wonderland. We were very lucky with the overcast weather of today. It added to black-and-white winter scenery.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 85 mm; ISO-200, f16, 1/8s; +0.7 stop; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 125 mm; ISO-100, f14, 1/30s; +1.3 stop; tripod.

Zorro on the moorland

It’s really “cool” to be outside in these special circumstances. Frost and sunrise light did the magic. The moor was suddenly painted in blue and orange colors. A perching Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor/Klapekster) completed the wonder winter scenery.

 

Nature is full of surprises. Shrikes are one of them. They are medium-sized birds with a long tail, strong bill with hooked tip, and sharp claws. Although they behave as birds of prey they are in fact passerines. They like to perch at high points and to overlook the area for prey.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 500mm/f4; ISO-800, f5.6, 1/320s; +0.7 stop; tripod.

SEO

Here is my last post of 2015. A big wish has come true! This Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus/Velduil) suddenly decided to land just in front of me and enjoy the last sunshine of the day. Look at those fierce yellow eyes! This is definitely one of the best nature experiences I had this year. In the background you see a few houses of the village Zevenhuizen.

* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f5, 1/164s; -0.3 stop; tripod.
* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f4.5, 1/500s; -0.3 stop; tripod.

Amazing Kestrels

Kestrels (Falco tinnunculus/Torenvalk) were excellent models today. Ditches and margins of fields are their favourite habitat for catching voles.

* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f4.5, 1/1600s; tripod.
* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f4, 1/1600s; tripod.

Reichswald

The terror attack in Paris of 2 days ago resonates everywhere in the world. It feels a bit strange to be in this quiet old Reichswald forest this morning. The forest has ears and the fields have eyes. This is an old saying for medieval times . Although the quietness is all around you could still sense an “unheimisch” atmosphere. Probably this has to do with the heavy fighting at the end of WOII in this forest.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-400, f9, 1/60s; hand held.

Beech forest

Beech forest in autumn colors. I tried to focus more on forest photography this autumn. It is not easy. It is very much about creating order out of chaos.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 75 mm; ISO-400, f16, 1/2s; +0.7 stop; tripod.
* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-400, f16, 1.3s; polarization filter; tripod.

Mushroom plate

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 50mm/f1.8; ISO-400, f7.1, 1/80s; hand held.

Flow lines

Autumn in the Ardennes. Yesterday Bas Mandos and I followed this little mountain stream (La Hoëgne) that starts on the Hautes Fagnes plateau and ends just south of Liège in the river La Meuse, in search for nice compositions. Beautiful place!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-100, f16, 5s; polarization filter; tripod.

Mistletoe

What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe! They are the music notes in the trees.
Panorama stitch with 2 exposures. Captured this morning with drizzle in Limburg, The Netherlands. Excellent weather for showing the warm and saturated autumn colors.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 90 mm; ISO-200, f5.6, 1/25s; tripod.

Unter der Linden

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 16-35mm/f4 @ 16mm; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/60s; +1.7 stop; hand held.

I like Poplar rows!

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 70-200mm/f2.8 @ 70 mm; ISO-400, f13, 1/400s; hand held.

Black watchers and white angel

I was entirely in the flow at the Strabrechtse Heide this morning. The light was great. After a short encounter with Scottish Highland Cattle in the dark I photographed these characteristic pine tree silhouettes in the blue hour followed by a great session with a Great White Egret (Ardea alba/Grote Zilverreiger). He or she was solemnly wading in the water surrounded by the void. Again I went by bike. This way my reach is wider and I can move faster than on foot. And above all, it is really an excellent way to experience quietness and get into the flow.

* Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 16-35mm/f4 @ 19mm; ISO-200, f13, 1.3s; +1 stop; ND3 hard gradient filter; tripod.
* Canon EOS 7D, 500mm/f4; ISO-400, f5.6, 1/800s; +0.3 stop; tripod.