Glaciers are almost always surrounded by clouds. Is it because the water vapor entering the air when ice melts? I think so. Nevertheless, parts of the mountains and ice revealed though holes in the clouds look mysterious and majestic at the same time.

This glacier lies some 20 minutes walk from the parking lot. Guess what? No tourists. This tells a lot about the contemporary tourism in Iceland. But I’m glad that we were finally alone.

Glacier Hiding

Photographed with the Canon 5DS R and the Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135 using Kuuvik Capture. Yes, I lug a heavy backpack, a tripod and a 11″ MacBook Air with me all the time. Even if it’s a few kilometers walk. But since setting up a shot takes several minutes, it’s a must to pre-visualize what I’m going to do. Fortunately I have an app for that: the Mark II Artist’s Viewfinder.

I prefer to be alone (or with a few friends at most) when photographing. Which gets increasingly hard in Iceland. The number of tourists had already reached questionable levels, and the vast, empty land, one that you can roam for days without bumping to anyone seems to be a thing of the past. This really depresses me, so I might dedicate an entire post for the issue someday.

But a short-term mitigation is to go away from the crowd, simply acknowledging that some beauties of the country had been lost, and try to find those that escape the attention of the selfie-stick wielding masses.

Case in point. We spent the better part of the dawn at Geysir after the coolant leak discovery, and despite the early time of the day, quite a few real photographers (you know, the tripod-carrying type) and a dozen selfie-stick knights were surrounding Strokkur (the geyser that erupts every 10 minutes or so). So I walked around the colorful pools on the hillside, and wandered towards the geyser after which all other geysers in the world are named: Geysir. I’ve seen it erupting once 10 years ago, so who knows.

Geysir is Silent Now

There was no eruption this time, but found something, a hidden treasure, that all others there at that morning blissfully ignored. It was kind of funny to see that I’m aiming my camera at the exact opposite direction of everyone else, a good 50m from the crowd… Maybe this is the key to survive photographically at this place at this time.

At the end, I’m very happy with this image of the sleeping giant. Made with the Canon 5DS R and Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* 2/135. Composition and focusing done in Kuuvik Capture.

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.