I recently took a European tour with two friends joining me for the first leg of it. Even though we were delayed 24 hours with the worst airline I’ve ever traveled (Iceland Express, make sure to travel Iceland Air). Fortunately we still ended up going and it was an amazing experience. The highlight for me was the Blue Lagoon, it was a singularly unique experience and makes all other thermal mineral spas seem quaint by comparison. The in pool bar and massages really bring the experience forward to another level.
I recommend renting a car like we did the first day, the rates are competitive. It’ll give you the freedom to explore the island. In the future, when I return I think a four wheel drive and more rugged vehicle might be a better choice. We took some paths that were clearly not meant for our little Skoda wagon. We drove in much farther than smart people would have given the isolation and cold. A helicopter tour to see the volcano and whale watching tour are also two things we missed that will be on top of the list for our next trip. We did manage to catch the aurora borealis though and that was the other major highlight for myself besides the other worldly beautiful landscape.
Photographically, I was carrying a lot of equipment. In my backpack were:
1. Sony A850 Full Frame 24mpx camera
2. Zeiss C/Y mount (Leitax adapted to Alpha) 35-70mm F3.4 (my most used lens of the trip)
3. Zeiss ZF.2 mount (Leitax adapted to Alpha) 21mm F2.8 (my second most used lens)
4. Tamron 70-300mm F4-5.6 (brought it for whaling but didn’t use it.)
5. Zeiss Sony ZA 85mm F1.4
7. Sony NEX-5N (APS-C) with LA-EA1 adapter
8. Contax G Zeiss 28mm F2.8
9. Contax G Zeiss 45mm F2
10. Sony 16mm F2.8
11. Giotto tripod system with Vanguard GH-100 pistol grip ball head
12. Sony TX5 Waterproof Compact Camera
Some of the shots, I'll periodically update this with more photos.
NEX-5N HDR mode is pretty decent:
Not bad flare from the TX5:
Rainbows at night?
Light pollution from Reykjavik
Wish we had stars like these in Manhattan
Don't let this happen to you somewhere desolate with no cell signal and no supplies.
Quite an amazing spectical in person.
So that's it for Iceland. Here's a preview of Switzerland. I'll post more later if there is any interest.
I recommend renting a car like we did the first day, the rates are competitive. It’ll give you the freedom to explore the island. In the future, when I return I think a four wheel drive and more rugged vehicle might be a better choice. We took some paths that were clearly not meant for our little Skoda wagon. We drove in much farther than smart people would have given the isolation and cold. A helicopter tour to see the volcano and whale watching tour are also two things we missed that will be on top of the list for our next trip. We did manage to catch the aurora borealis though and that was the other major highlight for myself besides the other worldly beautiful landscape.
Photographically, I was carrying a lot of equipment. In my backpack were:
1. Sony A850 Full Frame 24mpx camera
2. Zeiss C/Y mount (Leitax adapted to Alpha) 35-70mm F3.4 (my most used lens of the trip)
3. Zeiss ZF.2 mount (Leitax adapted to Alpha) 21mm F2.8 (my second most used lens)
4. Tamron 70-300mm F4-5.6 (brought it for whaling but didn’t use it.)
5. Zeiss Sony ZA 85mm F1.4
7. Sony NEX-5N (APS-C) with LA-EA1 adapter
8. Contax G Zeiss 28mm F2.8
9. Contax G Zeiss 45mm F2
10. Sony 16mm F2.8
11. Giotto tripod system with Vanguard GH-100 pistol grip ball head
12. Sony TX5 Waterproof Compact Camera
Some of the shots, I'll periodically update this with more photos.
NEX-5N HDR mode is pretty decent:
Not bad flare from the TX5:
Rainbows at night?
Light pollution from Reykjavik
Wish we had stars like these in Manhattan
Don't let this happen to you somewhere desolate with no cell signal and no supplies.
Quite an amazing spectical in person.
So that's it for Iceland. Here's a preview of Switzerland. I'll post more later if there is any interest.