Wild Iceland on film
Spoiler alert - Iceland was epic and wild!
When you don’t need material things for Christmas, the family came us trumps with a gift of flight tickets to Reykjavik… Wow, I am so lucky!
Travelling light with just a backpack for the two days in Iceland, I packed more gear than clothes - obviously.
Kit list:
Nikon D7000 with 18-105mm, 55-300mm, and my new for this trip Sigma 10-20mm with the hope of some Aurora action with the looong nights in January.
Canon EOS 300V with 28-90mm and Tamron 19-35mm and two rolls of FlicFilm Aurora 800 film.
As much as I would love to take a more serious film camera, my bag was at it’s limit already and it was not solely a photography trip.
Canon EOS 300V - FlicFilm Aurora 800
Landing just after dark, and the next daylight 18 hours away, we took a stroll around the city. This shot of the Bonus supermarket probably isn’t on anybody’s list of shots envisioned when planning a trip to Iceland, but I actually really like it!
First thing on the agenda for the morning was Hallgrímskirkja, but with sunrise at nearly 11am the darkness seemed to never end…
Canon EOS 300V - FlicFilm Aurora 800
What a beautiful building, with spectacular views from the top.
Next we headed for the harbour for a whale watching adventure out into the bay - for this I shot digital and spent an incredible hour watching Humpback Whales, with my first taste of Iceland’s wind. My hands have never been so numb, but that didn’t matter with the wild snow covered mountains as a backdrop. Wow, what a place.
Canon EOS 300V - Filcfilm Aurora 800
With just enough time for a cup of tea break, it was off to Sky Lagoon for a very atmospheric relaxing evening, even though it was 2°C, the water was toastie warm. Obviously no film photos from this one!
The second (and final) day on this whistle stop visit was the Golden Circle Tour, and I know I’ve used the word Wow already, but Wow! The landscape is insane.
Canon EOS 300V - Flicfilm Aurora 800
Kerið Crater formed from a volcanic eruption 6500 years ago, and needed the Tamron 19-35mm lens to get it all in. I love how the Flicfilm Aurora rendered the blue of the frozen lake in the bottom.
Canon EOS 300V - Flicfilm Aurora 800
Although this view of Gullfoss may look beautiful and wild, in reality it was the most difficult conditions I have ever photographed in! The wind gusts were 80mph and it was a struggle just to stand upright, the ground was sheet ice and without crampons would have been impossible. Add to that the spray from the waterfall and razor sharp shards of frozen rain blasting your face and eyes using the camera as a shield to even view it! Oh and the cold - wow that was cold, with a wind chill of -12°C according to our guide. Even just to get an acceptable image was a challenge.
Canon EOS 300V - Flicfilm 800
With the last evening, hopes of seeing the Aurora very slim with cloud cover, we wondered the seafront sipping Brennivín to keep warm (which was actually rather good), willing the clouds to part enough to see something.
Canon EOS 300V - Flicfilm 800
Even when the clouds did show signs of clearing, there were no signs of the lights.
Canon EOS 300V - Flicfilm 800
The trip was over too quickly, and we only scratched the surface of this amazing island - I would love to go back on a proper photographic adventure.