Tag Archives: photography

The most photographed waterfall in Iceland

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We had one more waterfall to catch for the day.

Seljalandsfoss, AKA the most photographed waterfall in Iceland was our last stop. It means “selling the land of waterfalls.” This is where most southern Iceland tours make at a stop; it’s overall one of the most popular places in all of Iceland. Based on its positioning facing west behind a cliff, it’s also most beautiful viewed at sunset because that’s when the light hits the waterfalls. Most of the rest of the day, it’s behind shadows.

Naturally Pokin wanted to head there for sunset.

“You realize every single photographer in Iceland is going to have the same idea right?” Nicholas said.

“Yes,” Pokin answered. And that’s why we are going to go early to camp out a spot.

So, despite the sun setting at 6:55pm, we were there by a little after 5. My bud and I decided to wait in the car. Pokin hauled off with her gear.

A little while after, she came back with her gear, looking a lot damper.

“I don’t have a wide enough camera lens to capture the photos. I’m better off with my iPhone,” was the answer.

We all head back out together. My curiousity was piqued from this “most beautiful waterfall” claim. From here it looks ok.

The sun starts to fall as we get closer and the view gets better.

And of course it gets wetter.

The place wasn’t as busy as it could be as most of the tour busses have to leave before sunset, but there were a decent number of Instagrammers on site and photographers. I can only assume they are Instagrammers based on the props and poses.

At one point Nicholas says “you’re going to regret not having your camera here.” And they go back to get their camera. But the iPhone photo still won out in the end.

Here it is during the full sunset glow.

The cool thing about this waterfall is that you can walk all the way around it. I recommend the counterclockwise route so you are scrambling up slippery rocks instead of down. The cave behind the waterfall was formed by gradual erosion of rock from the waterfall spray. Makes sense, this waterfall sure sprays over the course of its 60m drop! The Seljalandsfoss flows from the Seljalandsá river which is fed by the Eyjafjallajökull glacier.

And with that, we’re done with waterfalling in Iceland this trip. Can’t say I’m sad, but this is a nice one to end with.

Skógafoss part 2

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This morning Pokin actually read up on the Aurora Borealis in Iceland.

Turns out, while September and March are supposed to be the best times to see them in Iceland (September due to the Autumnal Equinox), Iceland isn’t actually the best place to see them in general. (Alert: because it’s often cloudy and rainy!!!) If aurora is your main purpose then you’re better off heading to places like Finland, Sweden, and Alaska. You can definitely see them in Iceland, and many people have taken great photos, but it is very much up to luck and timing. There are forecast apps and forecast sites that tell you the chances of seeing aurora, though apparently for Iceland they are not too reliable. Your best bet is to check out the live cams or follow one of the many Facebook groups that share sightings.

Well we were here supposedly to see the still resting Fagradalsfjall volcano, so I guess not seeing aurora is ok. From here on out the forecast doesn’t look great for aurora sightings.

Given it was raining this morning and given we were up a lot of the night waiting for the aurora to reappear, we decided to make it a rest day and take it easy.

Which lasted until about 11am.

“It’s nice out,” Nicholas said. “We should probably taken advantage.”

So again we bundled up and headed out. We considered a few options that we couldn’t do because of the rain yesterday, and in the ended decided to head back to Skógafoss.

Skógafoss also happened to be the starting point of the Fimmvörðuháls trailhead, apparently one of the top hikes in Iceland because you’re walking alongside a river dotted with waterfalls for the initial stretch. The whole trail is a 25km (16 mile) hike one way that ends in Þörsmock (Thórsmörk). Given that we were starting out at 11am and needed to drive 25 minutes to get to the starting point, we definitely weren’t doing the full hike, but we figured we’d get as far as we possibly could before turning around.

Back to the crowded parking lot and back up many flights of stairs we went.

My bud decided to film it on his GoPro.

Which was just like 10 minutes of walking up stairs. Longer for Pokin.

It didn’t take much going on the trail to lose most people. We didn’t lose the sheep though, which I didn’t mind. Sheep are fun.

We spent about 2 hours walking the trail.

Eventually we got to High Peak Falls, and decided we’d better turn around. Pokin had sunset plans and didn’t want to miss them.

Driving to Vík and my glacier day

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Once Pokin washed up and dried off, we had a hearty breakfast and set off towards Vík.

Incidental note, the Foss Hotel Glacier Lagoon has an excellent breakfast. My bud and I approve.

On our way out, we stopped at the little waterfall beside the hotel.

“What’s the point,” said Nick. “There are so many better waterfalls.”

“I agree,” I said. I didn’t need to be near any waterfalls.

“It’s right here,” Pokin said. Let’s just see it.

So I guess we just saw it.

Vík is a town along the south coast of Iceland famous for their fine black sand beaches. It’s also considered the southernmost city in Iceland and also one of the rainest. We didn’t really know that when we decided to go there. They just happened to have rooms available when we were booking. So bonus.

First though, we had some glacier business to attend to.

I got word that Intersteller was filmed in one of the nearby glaciers, so my bud and I definitely had to go.

As warm up, we started at Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon. It’s the smaller cousin to Jökulsárlón, but not by much, and benefits from being way less crowded. You can’t see this lagoon from the road, but it’s only a short 10 minute walk to the lake Both lagoons are fed from the Vatnajökull ice cap, which is the largest icecap in volume in Europe. While we were there, we heard icebergs cracking off into the lake.

It happened to be raining, so I got a rainbow too.

Then it was to Svínafellsjökull – Interstellar!! To get ourselves in the mood, we loaded up the Intersteller sound track, data charges be darned!

The Svínafellsjökull glacier is a slightly longer walk from the parking lot. I didn’t care. Better anticipation!

I see it! Getting closer now! Can’t wait to get my paws on that ice!

The weather continued to stay overcast but I wasn’t going to let that deter me. Once we got to the base of the lagoon, we noticed a walking path towards the glaciers to the west of the lake, so we followed it in hopes of getting to the glacier.

I’m so excited!

It started to get really steep, so Pokin decided to stay put to grab photos instead.

My bud and I felt pretty sure footed though, so we continued onwards.

Unfortunately shortly after, we too, had to turn back too before we could step foot on the glacier as the trail just got too sketch even for us.

Maybe there was a different path there. Probably we should have booked a guided tour. Next time!

Sunrise at Breiðamerkursandur

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Way too early in the morning the next day, the alarm went off and I was thrown into a bag.

Off we went to Breiðamerkursandur, also known as Diamond Beach. Diamond Beach is located across from the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. As icebergs crack off the the Jökulsárlón glacier and float out into the ocean, some of the icebergs wash back up on shore resembling chunks of diamonds in the light.

Pokin was determined to take sunrise photos here. As soon as the car pulled to a stop she rushed out towards the incoming waves.

Crazy person.

My bud and I took the more cautious approach. We scouted out the lay of the land, first. We even went back to look at the lagoon —

— and only when I knew the timing of the waves did I venture out to the icebergs.

I helped out with some shots even.

My caution proved smart as Pokin and her camera got wiped out by a rogue wave as she was getting this shot.

Her filters, camera, and tripod went splat lens first into the sand, and Pokin fell on her butt the other direction. My bud and I just looked at each other with a knowing look. Yep, predictable.

Lucky for her the hotel was only 30 minutes away.

Smartly of me I think about these things.

Dry bear day for the win.

Waiting for Godot – or at least a sunset

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So all afternoon it would rain, and then it would look like it wasn’t going to rain anymore. Which was of course a lie because inevitably it rained again.

Which left us with the quandary.  One of the main purposes of coming here is of course to see the crazy rock statues constructed by the Rapa Nui (the easter island natives).  And of course a most spectacular way to see the Moai would be over a sunset.

I would say indecision got us more soaked than not.

Here we are in-between a rain drenching.  (Note ominous rainclouds in the distance)

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(Note also Nicholas’ expression of pure joy)

Well eventually we waited long enough that we did get to see it.

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Nicholas even perked up a little.

Because it kept raining, we were really lucky to be almost the only people there.

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By almost, I mean we were pretty much the only people at Tahai.

Yeah I’d say we got pretty good front row seats.