As I was finishing up a recent three week trip I started thinking of a list of my take-aways that might give fellow photogs a heads up on future visits. Of course every trip is different, and the weather changes by the hour, so take this for what it is worth.
On F347
1. Come prepared for wind and rain. We had high quality full Gortex coverage and wore it all almost every day, often to cut the wind. It wasn't bitterly cold, so we didn't need too much insulation under that if we were hiking. There were a few full on rainy days, but we lucked out and were driving longer distances those days, so didn't miss out on too much.
2.Given #1 don't be put off to much by the weather. There were many breaks in the rain on stormy days that we managed to hike in and I got some dramatic pictures. When it was really blowing rain I sometimes could sneak a shot with my Sony facing away from the wind, but for the most part used my phone at those times since it is so much easier to wipe the lens off.
Shot from the car on our stormiest day. I had to park at an angle to the wind and lean back to keep the lens dry.
3. The Ring Road is good, but narrow for a major highway, with no shoulder. At least they drive on the "right" side of the road! A bit nerve wracking when a big truck is barreling toward you with 45 mph gusts blowing! Very few places to pull over and take pictures, which can be frustrating when the light and scenery open up revealing incredible beauty, but don't be an idiot tourist and just stop in the highway.
4. It was too windy to use my travel tripod most days - I doubt even a heavy duty would really work many days. Thank God for the great IBIS on my Sony. Of course some shots were blurred when the wind shook me, but I took a series in those cases and almost always got one that worked. Same goes for the drone, which I only flew a few times. It was still worth bringing for those shots! Saw more drones in 3 weeks than I've seen in years in Washington. I once watched 6 asian tourists crowd onto a deck at a lodge and launch little drones one after another. I wondered about signal interference, but they didn't seem to have a problem.
Hengifoss
5. We were hoping to avoid the summer crowds in September, but many popular places still felt crowded. I was often impressed with the effort many tourist types (not dressed for the weather like us) would go to on stormy days. It made me shiver just looking at people in jeans with a cheap poncho blowing in the wind, but they still got up behind that damn waterfall!
Hiking the Lava trail, Landmannalaugar
7. Icelanders were very nice and all spoke good english, making it an easy foreign trip.
8. This little island packs a punch of incredible beauty. Waterfall overload! Get off the Ring road and drive up some of the easier F roads to get away from the crowds.
Drone pano on the way out from Landmannalaugar
9. I had really hoped to do some night/stars and with luck some aurora, but the weather never cooperated.
10. If I were to go back I'd suck it up and pay the big bucks to go on a photo tour/hike deeper into a remote area of The Highlands in one of the giant tire rigs that can ford rivers.
- When you have a shot, take it. You won’t get a second chance in Iceland, where conditions change in an instant.
- Don’t be disheartened by bad weather; the most dramatic images often emerge then. The only real deterrent is sustained medium to heavy rain, but you can usually wait it out or drive to where the weather is different.
- And to echo Jim’s point: don’t be the idiot tourist who endangers yourself and others. Use common sense when deciding where to stop or park.
I used my 70-200mm lens a lot there because of the long lens hood (for rain). And mirror lockup (though I guess most people use mirrorless cameras these days) to reduce vibration in addition to the vibration from wind.
Thanks for all the comments guys, and your additional feedback on tips. Like Monica used my 70-200mm a lot, leaving it on most of the time we were driving. My wife Debbie deserves assistant credit for many of my shots on this trip - helping me do quick lens changes. When hiking I left the 20-70mm on my A7cr - too windy for changing most of the time.
Jim Dockery wrote:
Thanks for all the comments guys, and your additional feedback on tips. Like Monica used my 70-200mm a lot, leaving it on most of the time we were driving. My wife Debbie deserves assistant credit for many of my shots on this trip - helping me do quick lens changes. When hiking I left the 20-70mm on my A7cr - too windy for changing most of the time.
You mean you don't have 2 bodies in the field? :-)
