Driving the Ladmannalaugavegur and the Fjallabaksleið north in the morning can be quite a challenge. The Sun shines right into your face in several sections, and it’s hard to separate the black road from its black surroundings.
This challenge is not without reward, though. You encounter otherworldly formations and scenes, ones that makes this place really special. Just like the spire on the image below.
A New Day Begins
Taken with the 5DS R and Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135.
Unlike several things in Iceland, Landmannalaugar changed very little over the last decade. Well, the road seemed a bit worse (more washboards), despite my car having better suspension and tires than a vanilla 4×4, and thus more suitable for this type of roads.
I’ve been there a couple of times before, mostly in heavy rain and overcast days. But the last evening was spectacular. This is undoubtedly an advantage of living close to a subject and being able to go there anytime the weather is good.
Bláhnúkur Sunset
The detail my 5DS R and Otus 1.4/55 delivers still amazes me. But the real icing on the cake is how the Zeiss renders the image.
While waiting for the car’s coolant leak fix, we’re limited to exploring areas closer to Reykjavík. But there are a couple of interesting places in the Reykjanes peninsula, so there’s no time wasted. One of my favorites is the area surrounding the Reykjanesviti lighthouse.
It was 10 years ago that I photographed Eldey island (the 70m bare rock that’s the home of the largest gannet colony in the North Atlantic). At that time I experimented with infrared, so I tried long exposures now.
Eldey Blue Hour
Taken with the 5DS R and Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 plus the LEE Big Stopper and another 3-stop ND stacked. The exposure time was 10 minutes. To my surprise, these exposures ended up quite noisy until I turned on long-exposure noise reduction (dark frame subtraction) in the camera. The auto setting doesn’t seem to work.
This dual ND setup needs a bit of edge sealing. As usual, gaffer tape to the rescue… My favorite tape now is the microGAFFER, which occupies only minimal space.
Dual ND edge sealing
You may wonder why I used the good old cable release instead of Kuuvik Capture. Well, it’s pretty hard to do that with the USB cable left on your desk at home…
Herons finally arrived and I spent the afternoon with warming up for the season. This year will be radically different from the previous ones because of the rig I use. The issue with photographing herons at this specific location is that they land at varying distances. This usually means frequent teleconverter and body changes, and lots of inadvertently cut wings and feet.
But not this time. The 5DS R has more than enough resolution for cropping if the bird lands further away while I can avoid truncating vital parts with closer landings thanks to the full frame sensor. I’m using the EF 500mm f/4L IS USM with the 1.4x III teleconverter.
Purple Heron Landing Ballet
Images are also much better from the 5DS R than they were from the 7D Mark II and 5D Mark III used for the last couple of years. Not to mention the ancient 1D Mark II… Frame rate is a bit slow sometimes, but still manageable. The real problem is that emptying the buffer to the card may take a lot of time even with a speedy 1066x Lexar CF. This is one point where I expect the 1D X Mark II to do wonders.
Besides the herons, a bunch of bearded tits were also hanging out in the reeds. They are funny little birds and I really enjoy working with them. So much that I missed quite a few heron landings.
Bearded Tit – Another Take
The light was great, so why not take advantage of the situation and the cooperating birds? Heck, I already have a ton of great heron landing images…
I’m waiting for several things to arrive. For egrets, herons, and my 1D X Mark II. And while waiting, I’m sifting through last year’s images. The one below was made with the 7D Mark II and the then new EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens (plus the 1.4x III teleconverter).
Egret Landing
This is a deadly combination that brought me a bunch of great images during the last twelve months. I’m curious whether the 1D X Mark II will replace the 7D Mark II in my bag. Weight, size, reach, convenience are all factors – not just speed and image quality. I’m really really curious. But don’t worry, I’ll let you know once the 1D X Mark II is in my hands.
On the evening of April 1st, a serious gale hit Lake Tisza. Of course I was out on the lake looking for images. After the first gusts I decided that it’s better to pack and go. But… I quickly made a few frames.
Imminent Storm
I wouldn’t have thought that one of my strongest images will lurk among those. It’s a huge departure from my usual style. It’s an image straight out of the camera – even the slightest post processing attempt weakened it.
Unfortunately the web sized reproduction does not let it go through entirely – and even the large version needs time to fully appreciate it. Look at the image. Let is sink. Smell the oncoming storm.
Oh yes, shot with the Zeiss Otus 1.4/55 on the Canon 5DS R. I can hardly wait to see it on large canvas.
