Uploads from Xindaan, tagged isl, with geodata

Puffins IV, Ingolfshöfði, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:04:00 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Opposed to the last picture, the Puffins at Ingolfshöfði showed a lot less fear of humans, since they are not hunted. This allowed for different kinds of shots, of which this one is the last one I intend to show. Here, I chose a small group, as opposed to the previous portraits, to focus more on their group behaviour.

Lens of choice was again my Sigma 70-200/2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter at f4 for the depth of field, wanting to not have the entire group in focus. The background is a natural one, leftovers from a glacier run.

I recommend to watch this picture using large black magic.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - DNA

Puffin at Flatey Island, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 07:02:58 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

It is very interesting to notice the differences in Puffin behaviour depending on whether or not they were hunted. In the case of not hunting, you could literally get in their face and get a frame filling shot without them blinking. At Flatey, I had to be a lot more careful. Patiently waiting, seeing one, walking slowly, camera firing, knowing that my "target" will fly off when I get too close.

At the same time, trying to get a decent picture composition. I put the Puffin to the right side to give visual room to start. The white specs of bird dumpings serve as a compositional counterpoint.

Lens of choice, of course, was the largest focal length I had at hand, in this case, my Sigma 70-200/2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter, resulting at a focal length of 280mm. I chose the smallest aperture f4 for this, to get to use the shallow depth of field to separate the puffin from the fore- and background.

I strongly recommend to watch this picture using large black magic.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Church at Flatey Island, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:08:21 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

In the north of Iceland, there is a small island called Flatey. "Small" is relative, as it is the fifth largest island of Iceland, being 2.5 km long and 1.7 km wide. The highest point of the island is just 20 m above the water, hence the name "flat island". A large attraction for tourists on the island is the rich wildlife of birds, including puffins, seagulls, and so on.

In 1942, 120 people lived here, but the growth of the villages/towns nearby caused a steady decline, and in 1967, all inhabitants have left the island. Nowadays, people live there only the summer. On the island, there are very few buildings, the school was built in 1929, and old church was closed in 1884, in 1960, a new church was erected.

That church is the main point of this picture. For taking it, I went north, as I wanted the mountains of the mainland in the background. I chose the composition that the rising slope of the mountains mimicks that of the church. To get that, I used my Sigma 70-200/2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter. The overall focal length was 160mm at f8, 1/800s.

A first for me is the treatment of the picture colour wise. Mirroring the island's history, void of permanent inhabitants since the sixties, I tried to get this "old" feeling by selectively desaturing colours, while saturating others, adding vignetting, and so on.

Feel free towatch this picture using large black magic.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Einar Jónsson Sculpture, Reykjavik, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:17:18 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

In Reykjavík, there is the Listasafan Einar Jónsson, the Museum of Einar Jónsson, a not indisputed icelandic sculptor (1874-1954). The building of the museum was built between 1916 and 1923.

For this type of pictures, my 50mm/1.4G lens at f1.4 is great, making use of its shallow depth of field.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Icelandic Light

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:14:59 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

A thing that is great in Iceland is the really long time you have for that wonderful golden evening. When we were there in June, it was basically happening between 5pm and midnight. Add to that the ever changing weather, rain to sunrise to rainbow, and you get all sorts of wonderful light moods, like in this picture, where a very dramatic sky from heavy rain showers contrasts to the wonderfully lush green, soft hill - with sheep on it, to put a cherry on top.

I took this picture with my Nikkor 16-85 at 50mm, f8 and 1/80s exposure time.

I recommend to watch this picture using large black magic.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Landmannalaugar IV, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:21:46 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

This is another picture of Landmannalaugar. This time, not from the plain, but from above. The view is from a nearby mountain towards the camping site and the surrounding mountains. You can see the lava field Laugahraun coming from the right, in comparison to the houses of the camping site below. The mountain on the right background Bláhnúkur, meaning "blue mountain top", which is quite literal what it looks like. The lava field came from an eruption in 1480 of the mountain Brennisteinsalda ("burning mountain"), which is still emitting sulfurous gasses today.

The camping site is still quite empty, as access through the highland roads (we took the F208 from the north) opened just a few days before we got there. You can still see all the snow on the mountains.

This picture was taken using my beloved Tokina 11-16, at 11mm, f8 and 1/500s exposure time.

I strongly recommend to watch this picture using large black magic.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Landmannalaugar III, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:36:47 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

This is another picture Landmanalaugar, like the first and second one. Together with the glacier lakes, it might be one of the two greatest single landscapes, if one had to pinpoint a single thing on Iceland. The colours of the mountains are just otherwordly, and in the midst, you can see a (for icelandic standards) small waterfall. At the start of the fairly large plain (in the picture at the lower left), you can see some swans, enjoying the fresh grass and the small river there.

To get this compressing compositional effect, I again used my Sigma 70-200/2.8 with the 1.4x teleconverter, at a combined focal length of 160 mm (and aperture f8). (On terms of composition, the horizon is not tilted, the mountains move backwards.)

The highland road (we went on the F208) just opened a few days before we got there, so it was still quite empty, resulting in a great round trip hike, passing Brennisteinsalda, the "burning mountain", a name not that far away from the truth.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

My (Flickr) Most Interesting Pictures - Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - My Flickr DNA

Svartifoss, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:53:30 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Another beautiful waterfall in Iceland is the Svartifoss, located at Skaftafell National Park. What makes it special is it falling among basalt columns, giving it a very special surrounding. The half circle formed by the basalt column is also the reason why I went for the symmetric composition.

When taking the picture, it was pouring heavily, so I had to endure a constant fight between keeping the lens clean and getting decent exposures. The result here was taken with my Tokina 11-16/2.8 at 11mm, f8 and an exposure time of 1/8 s, for which I used a neutral density filter and of course my tripod. The contrast situation was hard, since the sky was white by the clouds already, contrasting the dark basalt columns. I chose to go with the highlights, however, letting the water literally falling out from the sky.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Puffins, Ingolfshöfði, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 21:55:00 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Puffins are just too cute, sorry for having more than one picture of them for now. :)

Puffins (Fratercula arctica) are quite funny birds. Despite their looks, they move funny, and we have seen more than one "crash landing" in the water. The occasionally heard "clown" attribution certainly has a reason. We have seen puffins at different places, at Flatey Island in the north, Borgarfjördur in the east, and Ingolfshöfði in the south (these were the places where we stopped). It was interesting to see the different distances when the puffins start to avoid you, at Ingolfshöfði, where this picture was taken, you could get quite close when being careful, whereas at Flatey, where the birds are regularly hunted, you had to do a lot to get even remotely close for a decent shot (which I'll post eventually).

Like the first puffin picture, this one was taken with my Sigma 70-200/2.8 (at 200mm) in conjunction with a 1.4x teleconverter. It is a full size portrait, i.e. no crop. Getting so close with a fully open aperture also renders the background niceley homogeneous.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#102 on Explore on September 04, 2009. Thank you very much!

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Tranquility found

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:24:25 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Part 3 of the series, where I varied foregrounds with a similar background. Central point is the white iceberg in the distance, as in the first and second pictures. The first one had a dark (compositional) "point", the second one two dark points, while this one has a bright point of interest.

All pictures were taken at Fjallsárlón in Iceland, a glacier lake right next to Jökulsárlón, its more famous brother.

The picture, recommended to watch using large black magic, was taken with my Tokina 11-16mm at 11mm with my tripod at a very low position to get the foreground in.

This picture concludes my series on Icebergs and glaciers, watch for different aspects of Iceland in the next round! :)

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Melancholy at Fjallsárlón, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:37:07 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

A different composition than the first overview of Fjallsárlón. Instead of a diagonal line, I wanted to have two matching points, the person's silhouette in the lower left and the same-coloured black iceberg in the upper right quarter of the picture as counterpoints. The person by being dwarfed puts the whole lake, as well as the icebergs, into perspective. It's nature, not humankind, what's dominating here. Add to that that above Fjallsárlón is actually the volcano Öræfajökull, the glacier you see coming down its flank, and you get some nice (right now virtual...) contrasts of fire and ice.

I took this picture using my Sigma 70-200/2.8 at 98mm focal length.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

My (Flickr) Most Interesting Pictures - Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - My Flickr DNA

Fjallsárlón (v3), Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:44:21 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

The colours of glacier ice vary between blue and white, depending on crystalline structures forming under high pressure, creating blue ice. Black colour happens when volcanic ash rains down on it. And this is what you can see here. I like this one especially due to the colour contrasts.

For taking the picture, I used my Sigma 70-200 telezoom (together with a 1.4x converter) at 195mm. The condensing nature of the lens brought the small iceberg and the massive glacier wall closely together. At this time, it was foggy, which dulls the background colours even more, bringing out the blue iceberg in the foreground. Composition was chosen so that the (rippled) reflection of the blue iceberg was fully in the picture.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#103 on Explore on 2009-08-10. Thank you!

My (Flickr) Most Interesting Pictures - Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - My Flickr DNA

Fjallsárlón (v2), Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:47:58 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Looking for tranquility.

The overcast sky in conjunction with a low camera position allowed for wide-angle shots, taking in the whole scenery with foreground details. The almost complete absence of wind, on third day I went here, allowed for calm impression I tried to get.

The place is Fjallsárlón in Iceland, a glacier lagoon right next to the more famous Jökulsárlón, both being wonderful places.

The picture, recommended to watch using large black magic, was taken with the Nikkor 16-85mm/3.5-5.6G VR at 85 mm and f8 for optimum sharpness.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#212 on Explore on 2009-08-03. Thank you very much.

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Landmannalaugar, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:45:13 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Another picture of Landmannalaugar. Actually the same scenery as my first one. Yes, I am that boring.

Icelandic weather is tough for a photographer. You need time to wait for the right light. Not just the time of the day, but the time until the clouds are like you want them, letting the sun through or not. And if it takes two weeks, it takes two weeks.

What I like about this picture, and which is why I took it at a different focal length compared to the first one, is the sun coming partially through, creating even more variations in the colours of the mountain. These colours are formed by rhyolite and liparite laid bare by erosion processes.

The picture was taken with my Nikkor 16-85 at 46mm, f8.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#58 on Explore on 2009-08-01. Thank you very much!

My (Flickr) Most Interesting Pictures - Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - My Flickr DNA

Jökulsárlón, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:48:05 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Literally staring in awe, mouth open. One of the most memorable things I saw in Iceland were the glacier lakes from Jökullsárlón to Fjallsárlón. Just wonderful, quite mediative.

After the initial round of pictures is done, I focus on various subjects. The first glacier lake picture showed Fjallsárlón, this one is Jökulsárlón, which is most famous one, and with up to 248 m the deepest lake in Iceland. The different colours of the ice come from large ice crystals (blue) or volcanic ash (black), next to the normal ice (I'll let you guess the colour :)).

The picture was taken with the Nikkor 16-85mm/3.5-5.6G VR at 85 mm and f8 for optimum sharpness. I then did a crop for a panoramic view.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#8 on Explore on 2009-07-22. Thank you very much!

My (Flickr) Most Interesting Pictures - Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - My Flickr DNA

Reykjavik, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:37:35 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

The first round of my Iceland pictures is concluded with a non-naturey one, showing Reykjavík, more precisely, lake Tjörnin. The Tjörnin is a well known lake right in the center of the city. Adjacent to it are the city hall, several museums, and lots and lots of birds. The church you see here Fríkirkjan, the Free Lutherean Church.

The picture was taken with my Nikkor 16-85/3.5-5.6 at 25mm, f8. The camera was held horizontally to both avoid collapsing lines and give room for the reflection of the church in the lake. For taking the picture, I waited until later in the evening, to get the right light. The great sky added to it additionally.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#54 on Explore on 2009-07-18. Thank you very much!

My (Flickr) Most Interesting Pictures - Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - My Flickr DNA

Stockfish at Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:26:43 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

Fish on a line to dry - and later to eat. Necessary in a time when getting something to eat was an achievement in Iceland. Not that long ago...

This picture was done at Flatey island, where I also took the picture of the church. The island was given up in 1967, and nowadays, people live there only for the summer.

Composition wise, I opted for the square format, letting the fishes fill the frame. What I liked about this were also the colour contrasts with blue(ish) to orange.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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The Young and the Old Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:21:14 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

An a short hike at Námafjall in the Mývatn region, you walk among solfatara, fumaroles emitting sulfurous gasses. Yes, that smells. This is fairly recent volcanic activity, while in the distance, you can see older ones. The prominent one is a so-called flat-top volcano, whose form is characteristic for a sub-glacial eruption, where the ice sheet quickly cools the lava. Consequently, you only find such volcanoes in regions where glaciers are, or were, like antarctica (Brown Bluff), British Columbia (Pyramid Mountain, Tuya Butte, Caribou Tuya, South Tuya, The Table), Oregon (Hayrick Butte, Hogg Rock) and of course Iceland.

The picture was taken using my Nikkor 16-85 at 65mm focal length, f8 and 1/400s.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

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Landmannalaugar V, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:53:08 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

The fifth (and last :)) I chose of Landmannalaugar is focussing on the amazing colours again.What you can see here is Bláhnúkur (see the previous picture on the right hand side for an overview of its placement in the landscape). The name means "blue mountain", and I guess one can imagine why that is. There is actually a hiking possibility to the top, but as we got there just a few days after the road opened, the bridge was still washed away from the winter, and we couldn't cross the river (Brennisteinsöldukvísl) in the gorge Grænagil.

For taking this picture, I again used my Nikkor 16-85mm at 62mm, f8 and 1/500s exposure time.

I strongly recommend to watch this picture using large black magic.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

Flickr Hive Mind - flexplore - DNA

Fjallsárlón (v4), Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (Xindaan) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:14:17 -0700

Xindaan posted a photo:

A small series with the first one, trying to portray tranquility, using the weather with the overcast sky and the scenery without lots of colour contrasts.

The place is Fjallsárlón in Iceland, a glacier lagoon right next to the more famous Jökulsárlón, both being wonderful places.

The picture, recommended to watch using large black magic, was taken with my Tokina 11-16mm at 11mm with my tripod at a very low position to get the foreground in.

If you are interested, feel free to check out my whole Iceland set at my homepage, or rather the current state it is in. My favorites from there will get here onto flickr. Yes, I take proposals. :)

#98 on Explore on 2009-08-15.

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