Morning in Reykjavik, #2, Iceland, 2023
“The Icelanders are the most intelligent race on earth, because they discovered America and never told anyone.”
― Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900
A Very Fashionable Travel Destination
But America–and the rest of the world–has certainly discovered Iceland, what with a brilliant Icelandic tourism ad campaign, and then word o’ mouth. It has now become one of the hottest “unconventional” travel destinations in the world–especially for photographers. And rightly so. And not just in summer.
It is an enchanting place, with glaciers, mountains, crags, waterfalls, northern lights, a wild ocean, whales, geysers, lava flows, volcanoes, and a very secretive but colorful population of gnomes and trolls.
To the photog: your shutter finger will tire, you will constantly gasp “ooh!” and aah!”, you will wear out your tripod hinges, you may not carry enough memory cards, and you will spend longer in post-production AFTER your trip than you spent on the actual trip…
But…
Don’t forget to soak up the experience with the most sophisticated (if not always 100% reliable) memory card of all: your brain and that magnificent emotional memory bank contained therein.
Reykjavik
So, for Part 1, let’s start where most visitors start: in the capital city and port of Reykjavik–site of the largest concentration of homo sapiens on the island. (Of the 390,000 or so Icelanders, all but about 120,000 of them live in the greater metro area of this settlement.)
Monochrome Images
The Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center, completed in 2011. How many towns, with a population of under 400,000, have a hall of this caliber, originality, and beauty? Impressive. And a wonderful study in perspective and geometry for the photographer…
Harpa Concert Hall, #10, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2023
Harpa Concert Hall, #19, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2023
Harpa Concert Hall, #21, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2023
Harpa Concert Hall, #23, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2023
The Sun Voyager, a minimalist sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason, unveiled in 1990. This 30-second exposure gives it an even more surreal look…
Morning in Reykjavik, #14, Iceland, 2023
And who could miss the Hallgrímskirkja, or Church of Hallgrímur of the Lutheran Church of Iceland, started in 1945 and completed in 1986. Situated on a hilltop, it dominates the downtown area. To photograph it without the crowds, plan on rising at “oh-dark-thirty” and getting there at dawn. This is another 30-second exposure to bring out the dramatic effect of the clouds (with a little help from Silver Efex Pro)…
Reykjavik Scenes, #52, Iceland, 2023
The upscale apartments along Reykjavik’s waterfront. The Harpa Concert Hall is just out of the frame to the right, and the Sun Voyager sculpture is out of frame to the left. The top floor apartment in one of the tall buildings sold in 2021 for some $3 million (US dollars)–this isn’t a cheap place…
Reykjavik Scenes, #67, Iceland, 2023
Color Images
Even though I lean heavily monochrome when it comes to my work, I have to admit, much of Iceland–including the city of Reykjavik–looks prety darn nice in color.
To wit:
Downtown, looking up the “rainbow road” aimed at the Lutheran Church. By day, this place is crowded with hustling and bustling humans of all stripes…
Morning in Reykjavik, #6, Iceland, 2023
The imposing 1924 statue of Ingólfr Arnarson , who (according to the Book of Settlements) established the first Norse settlement in these parts in the year 870AD (sculpture, Einar Jónsson). Those Vikings sure racked up their travel miles…
Morning in Reykjavik, #8, Iceland, 2023
A very early morning wide-angle view of the Harpa Concert and Convention Hall. The frozen green cellist in the foreground is a 1970 sculpture called The Musician by Ólöf Pálsdóttir…
Morning in Reykjavik, #11, Iceland, 2023
Already shown above in monochrome, here is a different take on the Sun Voyager sculpture, in color this time–different day, just after sunrise, straight on, different cloud cover, and looking out across the bay…
Morning in Reykjavik, #15, Iceland, 2023
Some of the more traditional buildings in the downtown area with the Lutheran Church lurking in the background…
Morning in Reykjavik, #17, Iceland, 2023
Some random downtown scenes…
Reykjavik Scenes, #2, Iceland, 2023
Reykjavik Scenes, #11, Iceland, 2023
Reykjavik Scenes, #19, Iceland, 2023
Reykjavik Scenes, #41, Iceland, 2023
At the port, one of the Icelandic Coast Guard ships. The bronze sculpture of the two fishermen in the foreground is called “Looking Out To Sea” (“Horft til hafs“) by Ingi Th. Gislason (1905-1956)…
Reykjavik Scenes, #24, Iceland, 2023
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