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Trevor Crone
14th June 2009, 11:53 AM
Having just returned from a 19 day trip to Iceland I’m finding it a little difficult to settle back into my ‘normal’ routine. The island is simply ‘magical’, so quiet, few people and few cars. You can drive for miles without seeing another person or car.

Icelanders are very friendly and helpful, always willing to give advice when asked. They are calm and measured; their advice always seems well considered.

I went with fellow photographers and Arena members, Paul Foley and Tim Rudman. We’ve known each other for sometime so it was terrific fun sharing time together doing photography and taking time out to relax. Meal times were always a hoot!

We stayed in some of the smaller hotels and guest houses to help keep the costs down. They were all excellent, food and accommodation was very good indeed.

Our photography was confined to the S.E. part of the island between the old fishing village of Eyrabakki to just N of the delightful coastal town of Hofn. We encountered icebergs, hot springs, waterfalls, sea stacks, canyons, lava fields, deserts of black sand, glaciers, and snow capped mountains and volcanoes, beautiful towns and churches and we were attacked by Arctic turns on several occasions. I managed to squeeze in some urban photography around the small towns of Eyrabakki, Vik and Hofn.

For portability and weight I took with me my Ebony SW23 (6x9cm) camera, 4 lenses, 2 roll film backs, Pentax digital light meter, Gitzo Systematic carbon tripod with a Manfrotto 410 geared head and over 70 rolls of 120 film. I shot just over 60 rolls, mainly Delta 100 but some Delta 400 and Neopan 400 for the extra speed on windy days and hand held use.

The camera gear and film was taken as hand luggage, the gear in a small Tamrac back pack and the film in a Billingham Hadley bag. The tripod and head was packed in a suitcase as hold luggage. As it turned out I took too much clothing and one of the lenses was only used for one shot. The wide angle lens, a 47mmXL Super Angulon was used the most. I just had to photograph those wonderful big skies.

As one would expect we had all types of weather from sun to snow on the high ground. Temperatures were up to a balmy 13’C on some sunny days.

We were there from the 23 May to 11 June and it was never dark. On one occasion Tim Rudman was photographing around midnight!

I’ve started to process the film and once this is done I’ll try and put a few in the album section.

Will I return? You bet given half a chance for it’s such an enchanting place and I for one have fallen under its spell:)

mono
14th June 2009, 12:02 PM
Thanks for this report, Trevor!
It`s a good guide, Iceland is still my dreamland!
I will hopefully go there some day!?

Sandeha Lynch
14th June 2009, 12:31 PM
Hope you had a good tern out when you took a tern for the worse. :D ;) :)

Envious, for sure.

Trevor Crone
14th June 2009, 01:36 PM
Thanks Sandeha, I think one of those terns must have got me when I had a turn for the worse while typing up the report:o

Dave miller
14th June 2009, 02:06 PM
Thanks Trevor, I look forward to seeing your pictures.

Richard Gould
14th June 2009, 02:39 PM
Thanks Trevor, sounds like a photographers dream, for me one day i'll get there Richared

B&W Neil
14th June 2009, 02:47 PM
Thanks Trevor for such an informative report. I have always wanted to go there myself so must now try a bit harder to get there! I will look forward to seeing yor images in due course. I am sure the experience has done you some good ;-)

Neil.

Rob Archer
14th June 2009, 03:30 PM
Nice one Trevor - hurry up and post some pictures so I can persuade my wife we need to go there! One question - is the place any cheaper due to their dire economic situation? The phenominal costs of living have put me off so far.

Rob

Fintan
14th June 2009, 03:34 PM
Great post and looking forward to seeing your prints. I'm struck down with envy, Iceland gives me such wanderlust. I hope to get there someday.

Trevor Crone
14th June 2009, 05:25 PM
Certainly Iceland is more affordable then it was a few years ago. It cost me about £2000 for the 20 day stay which included flights from Gatwick, B&B and vehicle hire (4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser). You need to cost in evening meals which is on average about £20 per meal and the cost of fuel (awaiting final costs from CC statement):(.

Tim was the only one of us who had been before (2007) and he noted the drop in overall costs. Even wine is now cheaper:).

Working along side Tim Rudman and Paul Foley was an absolute treat and as I said we did have a fun time as well as time spent on our photography.

I would certainly like to return especially to see the northen lights which start about August as the skies start to darken.

Rob Archer
14th June 2009, 05:43 PM
FADU trip for the future, perhaps (although a weekend would be too short!)?

Rob

Dave miller
14th June 2009, 06:03 PM
FADU trip for the future, perhaps (although a weekend would be too short!)?

Rob

In your dreams? :D

Fintan
14th June 2009, 08:58 PM
In your dreams? :D

In mine

Paul Owen
21st July 2009, 04:38 PM
Iceland seems to becoming more and more popular as a place for photography as well as more reasonable. I am fortunate in that I visited there in July 2007 as well as April 2009 and I'm in the process of arranging a photographic workshop there in June/July 2010.

The amazing thing I found is that there is no "charge" to visit places that; were they in the UK would be under the control of the National Trust with a hefty entry fee. There are so many easily accessible locations that it should be on the list of places to see for all landscape photographers!

I've journeyed well over 6000 kms around the island and it has left me spell-bound. I've solo wild camped for 2 weeks (a humbling experience) as well as utilising farmhouse accommodation (much more civilised). I've experienced all kinds of weather - in a matter of a few hours at times and the quality of light is fantastic.

Highly recommend a visit!

eirgud
29th October 2009, 08:32 AM
I am from this island and I miss the fantastic light you experience there. The costs have fallen dramatically and there should be no great problem for any english speaking person to travell.
The nature is fantastic but also demanding and unforgiving.
In my youth I used to go to the mountains almost every week, for a stay in mountain huts without electricity and phone. That taught me to dress properly for all occasions and it also made me more humble. Because the nature there can really show any person how antlike we are. Standing on a flowing lawa stream for one!
I trawelled a lot inside the Island and I am willing to give info if you would like. As a historian I am well informed about Iceland.

Sincerely

Eirgud

Timrudman
30th October 2009, 05:50 AM
Trevor, Paul & I did have a great time there in the summer as Trevor has described. Wonderful company!

I recently returned from another stay of 5 weeks there and enjoyed it very much. Weather was predictably quite different and the days shorter. Sadly things seem to be getting more expensive again. I talked about this to local people on more than one occasion and several told me that prices were now rising to higher levels than before the crash. We found a considerable variation of staples like evening meals but wine and spirits in particular remain very pricey.

Now looking forward to a winter of printing :-)
Tim