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Iceland

Terry

New member
July 4th falls on a Friday this year and it opens up the opportunity to take a quick 3-4 day trip and do some shooting outside of NY. While a long weekend isn't nearly enough time to explore all of the wonders of Iceland, I'm still thinking that even a short trip would be amazing.

Has anyone been?
Any planning recommendations?

Right now the second choice is a flight to Shannon and the same 3-4 days in the Southwest of Ireland.

Thanks,
terry
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I live there part time. In fact, I am moving there full time this June, so I should be able to help you. If you have any questions, let me know. It may seem like a plug, but one of my friends rents apartments in Reykjavik, and they are a much better deal than a hotel. http://apartmentk.is/

Iceland is pretty amazing, but the nice thing is that if you rent a car, it is quite easy to stay in Reykjavik but still drive to some amazing things close by. There is hardly any traffic, they drive on the same side as we do, and the street signs (other than the place names) are either in English, or easy to interpret. Reykjavik itself is a great city with much more to do than its population would suggest. Within an hour's drive or less, there are some amazing places like Hvalfjordur (whale-fjord), the hot-springs at Krysuvik, Lake Kleifarvatn, and even the more traditional sites like Gulfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir.

This is Hvalfjordur...





This is Krysuvik




Anyway, feel free to ask me any questions you have. I am not an Icelander, so I don't have a native's perspective, but I have spent a good amount of time there. I have a bunch of photos from there on my website, so if you are curious, you can look there as well. I am in Brooklyn now, but I will be there in the summer, so if you want to grab a coffee or go shooting when you are there, I am sure that could be arranged.

Stuart
 

Terry

New member
I live there part time. In fact, I am moving there full time this June, so I should be able to help you. If you have any questions, let me know. It may seem like a plug, but one of my friends rents apartments in Reykjavik, and they are a much better deal than a hotel. http://apartmentk.is/

Iceland is pretty amazing, but the nice thing is that if you rent a car, it is quite easy to stay in Reykjavik but still drive to some amazing things close by. There is hardly any traffic, they drive on the same side as we do, and the street signs (other than the place names) are either in English, or easy to interpret. Reykjavik itself is a great city with much more to do than its population would suggest. Within an hour's drive or less, there are some amazing places like Hvalfjordur (whale-fjord), the hot-springs at Krysuvik, Lake Kleifarvatn, and even the more traditional sites like Gulfoss, Geysir and Thingvellir.

Anyway, feel free to ask me any questions you have. I am not an Icelander, so I don't have a native's perspective, but I have spent a good amount of time there. I have a bunch of photos from there on my website, so if you are curious, you can look there as well. I am in Brooklyn now, but I will be there in the summer, so if you want to grab a coffee or go shooting when you are there, I am sure that could be arranged.

Stuart
Stuart - great that I can use Reykjavik as a base and go out for day trips (which given the fact that it will be light for a zillion hours a day maybe night trips with some daytime sleep). I followed the link you provided. If I rent a car is apartmentK reasonably easy to get to in the city and to park? Coffee or shooting would be great fun. I will make a trip to Barnes and Noble tonight for an Iceland book to get a better idea of matching up your places listed with a map.
So, I am sure that I will have more questions for you!

Getting excited.
Terry
 

Terry

New member
WOW. Stuart, Awesome shots! So Terry, When are we going? :D
Chris LOL, for you or anyone who wants to make this an outing it would be loads of fun.

For me it would have to be a short trip leaving Wednesday July 2 or Thursday July 3 returning either the 6th or 7th. It is a pretty long journey from the west coast but someplace I've really been excited to visit and quite an easy flight from NY.
 
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TRSmith

Subscriber Member
It sounds and looks like such a cool trip. And short enough to fit into almost any schedule. I'm jealous and was only half kidding about the East Coaster thing--it would certainly make a nice excuse.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I would happy to guide you guys around sometime if you chip in on gas. It's currently 7.57/gallon, so it's not cheap! And we think 3.50 is bad...
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Oh, and Terry, a car is pretty useful as a photographer unless you plan on going on organized trips. I found that the majority of my photos in Iceland were taken outside of tourist locations...usually along backroads where buses and organized tours don't bother to stop. Having your own car, while expensive to rent and pay the gas for, is worthwhile. Renting a car makes getting to and from the airport easier as well, because it is about 45 minutes drive from town. There are plenty of buses, but the car makes it that much easier. I would recommend Magnus at Saga Car Rentals if you need a rental car. He is a great guy and they have been good to me.

As for Apartment K, the women who runs it is named Kathy. She is an American married to an Icelander. They have a few apartments, so the parking depends on where you are. If you are in one of the apartments on Lindargata, then parking is pretty easy. There are no assigned spots, but if you are used to parking in New York, you will find it a lot easier. There are usually a few spaces free on Lindargata. The other apartment is on Klapparstigur, which is literally in the middle of town. There are some metered spots, but all day parking would be somewhere nearby. You would have to talk to Kathy about it. I am sure she would be able to let you know. Reykjavik is pretty tiny, so even if you have to walk a bit, for parking, it should be too far.
 

Terry

New member
Thanks Stuart,
Yes I was 100% planning on a car especially since I don't expect tours to coincide with good light. My brother spent 3 weeks traveling around and camping out even like 7 years ago I think his 4WD vehicle was like $150 a day. I've bought gas in the UK/Europe before so I'm ready for the $7.50 :scry:
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
To be fair, weather in Iceland is always variable. It is a blessing and a curse -- you always have interesting skies -- that is the most amazing thing about Iceland to me. It seems like the whole country is an island floating in the sky. The clouds tend to hang low, the air is crystal clear, so off in the distance it seems like the clouds are at the same level as the land, hence it looks like it is floating. Often it will be clear where you are, and raining somewhere in the visible distance, there are often dark skies with rays of sunlight...it makes for some incredible landscape photography. That said, there are certainly days where it is just plain miserable. Make sure you bring some sort of good rainwear...both for yourself and for your gear. Don't be afraid to go out if it is raining, because it might be nice at your destination, or it might clear quickly.
Here are some examples of the clouds and light:




 

Terry

New member
Thanks for the heads up Stuart.
I emailed your friends and the apartments look great and there is space available.
Trying to decide if I should fly in and arrive late night or red-eye in the next AM - I assume you fly from NY, so any reason to favor one flight over the other?

Terry
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I generally fly in so that I leave JFK at 8:30 pm and arrive at 6:30 am or so the next day. It can be tiring to come in that early, but it is nice to have a full day ahead of you. I feel it is better for jetlag too. It is difficult to adjust to 24 hours of daylight, but it is made easier if you have "night" on the plane, and then have a full day ahead of you. Then you will be tired around the natural time. If you just plan on staying up all night for photography and sleeping during the day, then the time you arrive does not really matter since you will only be there a few days.
 

Terry

New member
Duh,
Forgot to say your pictures are stunning.

Generally, I do best with red eye flights and I've gotten an awful lot of practice over the years.
 

Terry

New member
Stuart. I am putting this a bit on hold for right now as I was able to reorganize my schedule and will join the GetDPI gang down in San Juan....may save it for a full trip next summer and see if we can convince Jack and Guy that a workshop in necessary!
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
TWIST TWIST. I want to go to Iceland

I happen to have a local contact in Moscow who I hope won't be there forever:rolleyes:.
Maybe next year a Moscow - St Petersberg trip
-bob
 
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