Who goes to Iceland in the dead of winter when the sun rises at 11:22 a.m and sets just after 3:00pm? And what do you do when you get there? And “rises” is a bit of a misnomer. Rather it skulks near the horizon, makes a brief appearance and then skulks back.
Photographers will be familiar with “the blue hour”, that twice magic time of day just after the sun dips below the horizon or just before it rises and there is a blue light cast on everything. It’s not too dark to see, but in the city all the street lights are on. In the country, there are marvellous silouhettes of trees and barns and….Twilight. Great time of day to shoot.
In Iceland it’s “the blue hours” plural. Twilight literally, lasts for 3 hours twice a day.
One of the most iconic sculptures of all of Iceland is the Sun Voyageur located on the shores of Reykjavik. This was taken at night. There is no good or bad time to photograph this stunning piece. It’s lit up at night. Which as I mentioned, is about 20 hours a day in late December.
Reykjavik skyline at night. You can see the Harpa Centre (red white and blue) in the distance. And speaking of the Harpa Centre…. it is stunning when it reflects the sunrise – at 11:22 am.
Yoko Ono had the Imagine Peace Tower erected in Iceland after John Lennon’s death. It is only lit on certain days of the year – those that have significance to one, the other or both of them.
Nothing equals the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve in Iceland. First of all the Icelandic people start firing them off at least a week before New Year’s Eve, and at least a week after. It is a spectacular display. Incredible.
The public transit system is wonderful. Buses everywhere. To anywhere.
The lava fields. What a lonely place. Like being on the moon.
I didn’t get to see the Aurora – it was overcast every night I was there. But still, it’s a wonderful country with wonderful people. And great hotdogs.
ordinary ripple photography 