Wading into the icy water led me to better photos!
Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.
Stjórnarfoss was unusual among all the falls I visited – hardly anyone else was there. In my half-hour on site, perhaps a dozen people came by to snap their photos. In the photo below, the presence of a few people give you a sense of scale for this two-tier waterfall. Here I deployed my secret weapon: water sandals, which I used at about half of the waterfalls on this trip. The water was cold, and lapped at my rolled-up pants, but the opportunity to wade shin-deep allowed me access to compositions impossible for those who needed to keep their feet dry! Read on…
Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.
Svartifoss waterfall is impressive, in part for its 20-meter free-fall from the cliffs at the head of a deep gorge. The horseshoe-shaped wall behind the falls is made of columnar basalt, providing a dark, geometric backdrop to a dazzling chaotic flow of whitewater. Hundreds – if not thousands – of tourists hike the short trail to these falls, pausing on a low bridge across the stream below the falls, or on a metal platform cantilevered on the cliff off to one side. Signs ask people not to approach the falls at water level, but with some careful maneuvering I was able to find a spot where I could balance myself on boulders, place my tripod feet in the stream, and get some clear shots. In the photo below, I include a person on the viewing platform at right; although they are closer than the falls, it provides some sense of scale. Read on…
Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.Iceland is a magical place for anyone who loves waterfalls. The steep terrain, birthed from volcanoes and shaped by glaciers, leads to steep slopes and differential weathering that creates massive cliffs and deep gorges. Plentiful rain and glacial meltwater result in massive water flow that leaves visitors with a sense of wonder – and soaking wet clothes. For each the next 10 days I will share photographs from one of the eleven waterfalls visited on this trip.
I’m sneaking Kirkjufellfoss into my post-Greenland posts, although we actually visited it ten days earlier at the beginning of the cruise to Greenland. We spent a cloudy morning visiting these falls and walking a gravel path back to town, where our ship was docked. These falls, near the Kirkjufell volcano on the Snæfellnes Peninsula, are a favorite subject of photographers. (Mount Kirkjufell is often noted as the ‘most photographed mountain in Iceland.’) As with many of Iceland’s waterfalls, it is particularly challenging to capture this beautiful waterfall without a lot of people in the shot. In this case, the pathway for visitors literally passes above the falls on a low bridge across the stream, meaning any upstream shot inclusive of the whole cascade is bound to include the bridge and, today, several other tourists. Patience, and careful composition, led me to some decent shots. Read on…
Massive glaciers spill ice into a tidal lagoon – ice that washes ashore on a black-sand beach. Spectacular!
Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.
Although the trigger for this visit to Iceland was to board the National Geographic Endurance for an expedition cruise to southern Greenland, photography was the focus of my extended stay in Iceland. This post highlights photos from my first stop in Iceland: Jökulsárlón (aka Glacier Lagoon) and its adjacent Diamond Beach. While I’m at it, Fjallsárlón lagoon is just down the road and offers equally enthralling scene of an adjacent glacier calving bergs and berglets into a tidal lagoon. Read on to see photos!
A spectacular gorge with a pretty waterfall at its head.
Part of a series of posts about my travel in Iceland, including visits to eleven waterfalls.
Although Fjaörárgljufur ravine includes several beautiful cascades, it is best known for its deep and spectacular gorge. When I visited, on the afternoon of my first day, it was teeming with other visitors who hiked the trail on the high terrain for its various views across and down into the gorge. The trail ends at a precarious viewing platform overlooking Mögárfoss, a tall waterfall at the head of the ravine. Read on…
A few days of solo travel after Greenland allowed me to visit more of Iceland.
When I left Iceland last summer, after a wonderful family trip, I never expected to be returning so soon. But, I had the opportunity to cruise southern Greenland with Lindblad National Geographic Expeditions, this summer – and that trip began and ended in Reykjavik, capital of Iceland. I thus found myself back in Reykjavik barely a year later, at the height of the tourist season, with plans to explore the southeast coast (whereas last year we focused on the Golden Circle and the Westfjords). In a series of posts, I’ll share highlights from a brief exploration of Reykjavik prior to our Greenland cruise; a cruise stop at Kirkufellfoss in western Iceland; and my drive around the Ring Road as far as the Glacier Lagoon (380km), and back past more than a dozen incredible waterfalls. This first post is a bit of an introduction. Photography was the focus of my trip, so I’ll share many photos. Read on for more!
This ends my series of posts (beginning here) about our trip to southern Greenland. I found it to be a beautiful, fascinating place. For convenience, I’ve gathered all the photos and videos in one chronological gallery. Although I feel like we saw a lot, we just scratched the surface – only in the deep south, and only on the coastline. The northern regions, and the interior, are a dramatically different place. Maybe I’ll be able to return someday!
Map of our voyage from Reykjavik Iceland (at right), just before we reached Kangerlussuaq Greenland (at left).
Shortly after dinner on our first night aboard, as we cruised the Iceland coast toward its western peninsulas, the ship’s naturalists – always on the lookout – announced we had come upon a group of whales. It turned out to be a pod of minke whales and a bubble-feeding humpback whale. The ship paused as passengers enjoyed watching the humpback, right next to the ship, repeatedly blew a circle of bubbles, and then surfaced in the middle to swallow a massive gulp of fish that it had ‘trapped’ in the confused circle created by the bubbles. I stood on Deck 6 forward, capturing snaps of the smaller minke whales in between sightings of the humpback. Check out the gallery of my images, and watch a video, including some from the moment below captured by National Geographic photographer Nick Cobbins. Read on for more…
A ten-day cruise from Iceland to the southern coast of Greenland.
Recent trips to the Antarctic [South Georgia, 2023] and the Arctic [Finland, 2024] whet my appetite for exploring further in the polar regions, so I jumped at the chance to cruise southern Greenland in late summer. Indeed, because this cruise began and ended in Iceland, it gave me a chance to expand on my prior visit to Iceland [2024] to explore its southeast coast. Finally, this cruise was aboard the National Geographic Endurance, the same ship we’d sailed on our cruise of South Georgia and the Falklands in 2023, and which I found to be a terrific experience. Read on!
The Endurance, seen from the icy water near Thryms glacier; Skjoldungensund fjord, Greenland.Continue reading “Greenland”
A beautiful two days in the remote northwestern region of Iceland.
After a few days amongst throngs of tourists at the “Golden Circle” of sights near Reyjavik (see my prior post) we headed for the remote northwestern corner of Iceland, the Westfjords. We rented a rural house at the blue dot on the map below, and explored westerly from there – reaching the westernmost tip of Iceland, which is also the westernmost point in Europe. It required driving some remote, dusty, narrow, twisty, and sketchy roads… but also led us to stunningly beautiful landscapes. Read on! and check out the galleries linked below.
David Kotz 