Gulfoss.. Dawn
Gulfoss is probably Iceland’s most famous waterfall. Certainly one of the most popular tourist attractions being within the Golden Circle – an area defined around Reykjavik that contains attractions easily reached from the city.
I arrived at the falls around first light, 9 am, in thick fog, ahead of the tour buses that would be calling in for the rest of the day. There were just a couple of cars in the car park. This was still the blue hour, the sun hadn’t risen, hence the blue cast to the Photographs.
In the first image below, a single figure adds scale to this vast waterfall. In the second image, the tiny figures from one of the first tour buses can be seen at the safety fence, just tiny smudges, putting the canyon that carries the river Hvítá onward from the falls, into perspective. Click on the images for a clearer sharper view :-)
70mm f/11 1/8 sec. ISO-100
24mm f/11 241 sec. ISO-100
Cornwall Photographic 
That is an awesome sight . . . and the person gives it a scale larger than I would have imagined without them on the photo.
November 26, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Thank you Emilio. It really is an awesome sight. So awesome I visited twice. Went again when it wasn’t so foggy. I’ll post those pictures at some point in the future.
It’s very difficult sometimes to appreciate the scale of something from a photograph. People in the picture really can put it all in perspective..
November 26, 2014 at 5:58 pm
Wow… Stunning image… Looks really intimidating …
November 26, 2014 at 6:04 pm
Thank you Sreejith. The power of nature can indeed be quite intimidating. It’s very exhilarating to be close to such power. I understand there are plans to harness this power to generate electricity with a whole new hydroelectric development. I have no doubt the beauty of the falls will be maintained however.
November 26, 2014 at 6:15 pm
If they could harness the power from this falls and still maintain the beauty, there is nothing like that.
But, most of times, authorities fails to do that, an example is the gorgeous water fall of south India, the Jog Falls.
Once a dam was constructed upstream, the flow to the fall became very less and it totally lost it’s past glory…
November 28, 2014 at 5:41 pm
I’m sorry to hear this Sreejith. Governments really shouldn’t be trusted with such things..
November 28, 2014 at 5:57 pm
In developing countries it keeps happening. Politicians and big corporates mislead people and exploit natural resources…
Any ways, people are more aware and responding properly now a days.
Hope we can do our part by sharing the beauty of this land through our images and make people feel, what they are loosing, right?
November 29, 2014 at 4:30 am
Absolutely Sreejith! :-)
November 29, 2014 at 8:58 am
impressive!
November 26, 2014 at 6:57 pm
It is indeed Gwennie! :-)
November 26, 2014 at 7:10 pm
Such a wise decision to strike out on an early start ChillB .. these pictures truly show the grandeur and scale of the mighty Gulfoss …
That raw energy and noise of the cascades plummeting over the rocks and away down the canyon makes you rooted to the spot doesn’t it with the wonder of it all … probably just as well ;-)
I don’t suppose it comes as any surprise to know I too have a shot at the precise location :-D .. but a little later in the day and complete with icicles . … boy it was slippery and freezing that day …
Beautiful dawn captures .. look forward to some more views x
November 26, 2014 at 7:03 pm
Thank you Poppy. It’s certainly a difficult subject to bring anything new to, being such a regularly photographed landmark. I think you managed to get the rainbow though didn’t you Poppy? I think we were very lucky in many respects that it was so mild, not nearly so treacherous as when you visited. It is a sight that really needs to be seen in person. Nature at its raw best! :-)
November 26, 2014 at 7:14 pm
wow what an amazing place to visit!
November 26, 2014 at 7:49 pm
It certainly is! :-)
November 26, 2014 at 8:39 pm
A fantastic and impressive place! beautiful force of nature, thank you for the pictures
November 26, 2014 at 8:36 pm
Thank you fot looking Patrick. I appreciate your visit!
November 26, 2014 at 8:39 pm
That is really stunning Chillbrook.
November 26, 2014 at 9:34 pm
Thank you so much Leanne! I ended up visiting twice, such an awesome sight! :-)
November 26, 2014 at 10:02 pm
I think I would have too, what an incredible place, was it loud? I had to keep looking at the photos, they were amazing.
November 26, 2014 at 10:04 pm
Thunderous noise Leanne, the whole place completely envelopes you..
November 26, 2014 at 10:22 pm
Lovely shots Adrian. I’ve never been to Iceland but it does have some appeal for me.
November 26, 2014 at 10:20 pm
It’s a stunning place Dave and with Easyjet seats from as little as £30 from Bristol, I’d heartily recommend making the trip! :-)
November 26, 2014 at 10:23 pm
Really impressive Adrian!
November 27, 2014 at 12:13 am
It’s a beautiful place Bente! :-)
November 27, 2014 at 9:33 am
What a truly breathtaking sight, Adrian! You really got some fantastic shots, and any humans in the pics, just fade into insignificance. :)
November 27, 2014 at 12:19 am
Thank you Sylvia! The scale of Iceland is vast. The landscapes, skies and features like this waterfall just have to be seen to be believed! :-)
November 27, 2014 at 9:34 am
What an utterly amazing location. The glorious wonderful scenes you are experiencing and the aurora to add that extra touch of glory!
November 27, 2014 at 1:26 am
Thank you Gunta. It’s been an absolutely fantastic trip!
November 27, 2014 at 9:35 am
Fantastic shots, love the blue hour tones adding an otherworldness to the pictures.
November 27, 2014 at 7:22 am
Thank you Ben, much appreciated!
November 27, 2014 at 9:36 am
I can hear the water – the power and scale, made clear by including the figure, is incredible.
November 27, 2014 at 11:12 am
As I mentioned in on of my replies here Noeline, there are plans to harness this power to produce electricity. I can’t see the Icelandic people allowing such a gem to be spoilt by such plans so it’ll be interesting to see just how they might go about this. With so much geothermal electricity generation going on one wonders why they might need to but there you are. It’s a stunningly beautiful place. :-)
November 27, 2014 at 11:52 am
Looks to me like you got awfully close to the edge, Adrian. As always, stunning shots. Iceland’s on my list, but …
November 27, 2014 at 1:51 pm
Thank you Lynne.. I guess I did get a little close.. closer I think in the next series but never dangerously so. :-)
November 27, 2014 at 5:24 pm
WOW, – this is awesome! What a place!
November 27, 2014 at 2:07 pm
Thank you Hans! It’s certainly worth a visit! :-)
November 27, 2014 at 5:25 pm
Absolutely fantastic Adrian……I love the figure standing on the headland….it just adds that extra element to an already great shot.
November 27, 2014 at 5:24 pm
Thanks Mark. I was glad to get just the one figure. Another 10 minutes and it would have been 20 or so.. :-)
November 27, 2014 at 5:29 pm
Wow! Outstanding scenes indeed!
November 28, 2014 at 12:19 am
Thank you Phil!
November 28, 2014 at 8:11 am
Magnificent shots!
November 28, 2014 at 8:10 pm
Thank you Patti!
November 28, 2014 at 9:48 pm
Extraordinary waterfalls and the figures are so important to provide a sense of scale – which is mind-bogglingly huge.
November 28, 2014 at 9:47 pm
The falls really are extradinary Andy, I had to remember to take my eye away from the viewfinder to just take it all in. :-)
November 28, 2014 at 9:49 pm
Such stunning and incredible photos ~ so much power and energy you have captured in these shots.
November 29, 2014 at 5:35 am
Thank you Randall. I’m glad that came across. It’s difficult to fit so much into the viewfinder and retain at least an essence of what you are seeing for real!
November 29, 2014 at 8:59 am
Truly brilliant Adrian ~ what a trip it must have been.
November 29, 2014 at 9:14 am
It has been Randall, thank you! :-)
November 29, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Love the blue in the photographs!
December 1, 2014 at 12:48 pm
Thank you again Liv. Pre-dawn light is always at the blue end of the light spectrum hence the hour before dawn is known as the blue hour. :-)
December 1, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Gorgeous.
December 1, 2014 at 7:33 pm
It was stunning! :-)
December 1, 2014 at 8:41 pm
I’m thinking your work with Cornwall seashores has given you a leg up for these photos of waterfalls. It was good that you traveled here already knowing how to work with the scene. Beautiful!
December 6, 2014 at 6:40 pm
I think you’re maybe right Lynn. Such a big landscape, quite daunting in a way to try and squeeze it all into a photograph and try and do it justice. I think the practise I’ve had with the shorlines and cliffs of Cornwall helped. :-)
December 6, 2014 at 9:50 pm