An azure colored lake provides color in the Iceland highlands.
The Iceland highlands are known for their relatively bright colors. Most of the color is from low growing mosses, contrasting with the black volcanic sands as well as rich, colorful mineral deposits. These colorful highlands were not a destination for us. Rather they were simply something to fly over to get to the next collection of abstract rivers scenes. However, we liked them so much we returned the following day.
This photo represents sheer joy for Greg and me. We had traveled maybe a quarter way around the world to find the abstract designs of the water runoff of the Icelandic glaciers and were giddy with excitement with our success in photographing these crazy abstract river designs, Iceland from the air.
We had both seen similar scenes in books of award winning photos and were drawn to the abstract designs of Iceland from the air. Greg did ALL of the planning and driving. I happily tagged along. It was pure joy when we got up into the airplane and realized our hours of travel and Greg’s hours of planning were a success. Below our tiny airplane were crazy, inexplicable, myriad of designs. Somehow, these were formed by the glacier river runoff. White, blue and brown designs were all equally confusing. We knew our Iceland journey was going to be a success.
The Black Sand Beach in Iceland is a tourist destination along the main road in southern Iceland, east of Reykjavík. Here you can expect wedding photographers, tour buses, food trucks, patrolled paid parking and a few avid photographers.
Winter is a better time of year to visit the Black Sand Beach of Iceland. There are some wonderful hotels nearby. Winter is best from a photography point of view because the light is better with the sun lower in the horizon, bigger storms and larger icebergs on the beach. During the summer months, the iceberg remnants are having a contest to see which can melt away the fastest. In the winter it is a struggle of survival for the heartiest photographer. I visited in the winter of 2015. Iceland Winter Visit. Our goal in 2024 was to photograph Iceland from the air, from both an airplane and a helicopter. But first we need to travel to our tiny inland airport, photographing southern Iceland along the way.
The melting snow reveals snow fall layers from many prior seasons and Antarctic abstracts.
In one small section of this coastal area we spotted varied Antarctic abstract designs. The melting snow was revealing the layers of previous years of snow, creating interesting designs. These muted color patterns in the cliffs were several stories tall.
Brightly colored homes in Newfoundland, Canada
My theory regarding brightly colored homes seems to still hold true. European towns with long, cold winters have the most brightly painted houses. These brightly colored homes were a common sight in St. Johns NL, Newfoundland-Labrador, Canada. Most every home and business in this town followed this tradition. Islands seem to have more subtle pastels.
Nanortalik, Greenland Field of Dreams
Greenland villages are small by any standard. The largest town in Greenland, the largest island on earth, has less than 20,000 inhabitants. Nanortalik has about 1,100 people making it the eleventh largest town on the island. So I was wondering what is the eleventh largest city in the US? If you go strictly by incorporated city limits, it is Austin, Texas. If you include the primary statistical area it is the Miami, Fort Lauderdale area with over six million residents.
In the winter of 2023 we went to southern Utah to escape the winter cold and provide me with yet another opportunity to improve my golf game. Neither goal was fully realized. But I did get to experience the surreal beauty of Bryce National Park under a deep cover of fresh snow.
Elephant portrait
The next couple weeks were spent bouncing around Kenya exploring the savanna from the window of a Land Rover. I was the only person in our ten photographer group to not print off the correct travel documents for entry into Kenya from Uganda. Fortunately, we had gotten to the airport in time to correct this oversight. More African travel frustrations. Continue reading
Layers upon layers of rock in a mile deep canyon, the Grand Canyon
Most any photo of the Grand Canyon landscape will reveal the many colorful layers of very different rocks. Billions of years of erosion and upheaval have revealed ten distinct layers. My favorite to photograph was the vishnu shist.
It seems viewers expect photos of the Grand Canyon to look like, well, the Grand Canyon. However, a great variety of reflections in the Colorado River kept me occupied. These abstract, more intimate scenes, are preferable to me over your typical landscape photography.