Snaefellsness Peninsula Day 1

It's late and I'm tired, so I'm just going to post some photos. Snaefellsness peninsula is a study in light. Or is that just Iceland in general?

Day 2

   Early Post

Yesterday morning was wet and misty with just a little rain. Later in the day we had lots of sun poking through the clouds and some really nice lighting. This morning has begun the day raining, blustery, and overcast.

I remarked on the rain to a local who replied, "oh yes, rain all summer." When I noted that yesterday afternoon had been lovely, he said, "ah yes, one dry day all summer."

Uh oh.

Day 1

We arrived in Keflavik half an hour early, grabbed our bags and the mini van that John rented and headed out to Hotel Eldhester (Fire Horse). We were politely informed, at 8:00 AM, that our rooms would not be available until noon. So we had a quick breakfast and headed out to see the sights.

Our first stop was Geysir (yes, that's where we get the word for geysers). This geyser is smaller than Yellowstone's famous Old Faithful, which I have photographed several times. And the eruptions are very short in duration. What makes this one so much fun is that it erupts with a bang about once every 5 minutes or so. The first eruption made me jump - I was not set up to photograph it. But then I set up and took this amongst others.

Our next stop was Gullfoss, a magnificent multiple layered waterfall channeling an amazing volume of water.

 

Then lunch, a yawn-filled drive back to the hotel, and a three-hour nap. I'm glad we powered on through today. More tomorrow.

All Packed and Weighed and Under the Limit

Is it time to go yet???

Three More Days and Ready to Go

Itching to hit the road

Weight Limits

Iceland Air limits your luggage to one 50-pound checked bag (two if you go "Saga" class), and one 22-pound carry-on. I'm good with both; both of my bags will make it a few percent under the limits. Luckily for me, I haven't found any Iceland Air limits on personal weight.

Size Matters - Another Look

Following up on my post of a couple of days ago, here is a graphical look at the relative size of the land masses I was talking about. I have also placed myself in the picture for reference, but at this scale I just don't show up (and I'm a big guy).

Echoes

Apropos of nothing except for a Friday night:

Echoes.

Sizing Things Up

Fun Facts

Iceland's area is about 40,000 square miles.
New Mexico is a bit over 120,000 square miles.
The Big Island of Hawaii is just over 4,000 square miles.

Iceland is a third the size of the state I currently call home, and it's nearly ten times the size of the island I grew up on.

Iceland's population is about 320,000.
New Mexico's is about 2,000,000
And the Big Island's population is around 185,000

Iceland has less than a sixth of New Mexico's population and just under twice that of the Big Island.

Iceland sports an average population density of 8 people per square mile.
New Mexico crowds 17 people into that same space.
Hawaii's sparsely populated Big Island squeezes in 46 folks on a square mile of land.

I wonder if anyone gets lonely in Iceland.

But let's keep things in perspective; New York City has a population density of 27,500 desperate souls per square mile.

What I am Going to Take With Me

These are the things I'm taking which I consider essential to photography:

• Manfrotto Tripod
• Nikon D90
• Wide Angle Lens
• Mid-Range Lens
• 300mm Zoom Lens
• Shutter Release
• (2) Graduated ND Filters
• (3) Solid ND Filters
• (1) Polarizing Filter
• (4) Nikon Batteries
• Nikon Battery Charger
• (3) 32GB SD Cards
• Geo Tagger
• Camera Wet Bags
• Walkstool Tripod Stool
• Headlight Flashlight
• Nikon Manual
• Tamrac Sling Backpack
• 1.5 TB External Hard Drive

I need these things for survival - yes, I said survival:

• Pocket Knife
• (4) spare AA batteries
• Parka
• Fleece Top
• Water Resistant Light Jacket
• Gloves
• Hiking Boots
• (5) pairs hiking socks
• Jeans
• Quick dry pants
• (4) T-shirts
• Quick Dry Long Sleeve Shirt
• Bandanna
• Computer Glasses
• Reading Glasses
• Sunglasses
• Tallisker Flask
• Passport
• Wallet w/ Visa, AmEx, & Cash
• Plane Tickets
• Suitcase

For when I want to relax:

• iPod
• Skull Candy Headphones
• Airplane Headphone Adapter
• Kindle
• Street Shoes
• (3) pairs socks
• Sandals

For communication:

• iPhone
• Laptop Computer
• Mouse
• Laptop Power Supply
• iPhone/Pad/Pod Charger
• Converter Plugs
• Log
• Mechanical Pencil
• Pen

Navigation:

• Nuvi GPS
• Nuvi Beanbag
• Nuvi Cable
• Nuvi Adapter Cable

Interest:

• Iceland Map
• Insight Guide to Iceland Book

And of course a handful of items I classify as personal