Haifoss
I was very lucky, I received a new GPS for my birthday and completely by coincidence, I was given a Garmin which unlike the competition, had maps of Iceland pre-installed. Naturally I took my Garmin along with me on this trip and these maps proved to be invaluable. I was able to pinpoint locations on Google Earth and navigate to the coordinates with ease. Without this tool, I may never have seen Haifoss. As it was, the GPS wanted me to take a track which was in reality, a service road to a hydroelectric installation of some kind and clearly marked ‘staff only’. Back-tracking, I found another road with a tiny sign marked ‘Haifoss’. So easily missed. I hadn’t seen another soul for hours when I turned onto this road. Miles from anywhere, I really started to get a sense of the wilderness that Iceland is. Of all the places I visited in Iceland, Haifoss probably had the most impact.
14mm f/10 1/5 sec. ISO-100
Coming upon the waterfall out of the mist and rain, I was seeing it just as the first person ever to see it had seen it. There were no fences, no signs warning me that if I were to walk over the edge I might hurt myself and guess what, despite the lack of signs and fences, I did manage to stop myself from wandering over the edge. I got very close to it in order to get my pictures but I’m not stupid..
36mm f/11 1/8 sec. ISO-100
I stood on the edge of this 122m/ 400ft gorge and I felt very alone and that felt so good. I felt freedom, I felt alive, I felt a tremendous surge of emotion it’s now so difficult to describe. This was nature in the raw, unadulterated by other human beings. I was being given the privilege of seeing this tremendous sight as it’s supposed to be seen. For how much longer I wondered but pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. For now it is as it is. One of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen.
It’s very difficult to get a sense of scale here. To help, I’ve had a bit of fun with next photo and placed a few famous landmarks in the scene. The statue of Liberty is 93m tall. Big Ben is 96m tall and St Paul’s Cathedral is 111m tall. This waterfall is 122m high, easily out ranking these other landmarks.
I wasn’t given long before this beautiful valley was once more shrouded in mist and rain. I was given the gift of an hour of solitude in this wonderful location to just wonder at the splendour of it all…
14mm f/10 1/6 sec. ISO-100
Click on the images for a clearer sharper view.. :-)
Cornwall Photographic 
AMAZING LANDSCAPE! Great pic!!
December 2, 2014 at 6:11 pm
Thank you Vince. It really is a stunning place to visit.
December 2, 2014 at 6:39 pm
This carved and rugged landscape laid out before you must have been a truly wondrous sight ChillB .
The solitude unhampered by the usual visual safety barriers, signs and notices we’re all so used I can sense enhanced the experience to quite another level completely …
What a glorious time you had of it all :-)
Stunning photographs x
December 2, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Thank you so much Poppy. It really was the lack of fences and signs that got to me, this was how it was supposed to be enjoyed, not being nannied by some authority or other. It is a stunning location to visit. I know I’ll be going back.. ;-) x
December 2, 2014 at 6:39 pm
Lovely shots and I like your idea for providing scale…..;0)
December 2, 2014 at 6:22 pm
Thank you Mark! No people to provide scale on this one. I thought a few national landmarks could do the job instead.. :-)
December 2, 2014 at 6:34 pm
So . . . gonna have to do Iceland one day . . . so many places.
Beautiful shots.
December 2, 2014 at 6:23 pm
Thank you Emilio! I hope you do make the trip. It really is a truly amazing country. The world’s biggest island provides some incredible locations. :-)
December 2, 2014 at 6:32 pm
These are exceptional. Your idea to use famous landmarks for scale was brilliant. That sense of just how enormous some of the landscapes is easy to miss without them.
December 2, 2014 at 7:03 pm
Thank you so much Gunta. I was really keen to try and get across the enormity of this landscape. Everything seems just so much more larger than life somehow. I feel very lucky to have been able to visit. :-)
December 2, 2014 at 9:56 pm
Wow wonderful landscape! Magic!
December 2, 2014 at 7:35 pm
It really is, thank you! :)
December 2, 2014 at 9:57 pm
Stunning
December 2, 2014 at 8:20 pm
Thank you! :)
December 2, 2014 at 9:57 pm
Amazing. … love the light and the colours …such a feast!!!
December 2, 2014 at 8:24 pm
Thank you. I feel very lucky to have been able to just sit and feast as you say! :)
December 2, 2014 at 9:58 pm
Lovely radiance!
December 2, 2014 at 8:41 pm
Thank you Simon. The light was quite special!
December 2, 2014 at 9:58 pm
Iceland was on top of my bucketlist and your pictures just confirm that. So beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
December 2, 2014 at 8:49 pm
Thank you David. I hope you get to visit very soon. Hire a car, get a GPS and spend some time with Google Earth, check the weather, look at the latest satellite images and plan your excursions accordingly. This way you’ll get the most out of your visit. :)
December 2, 2014 at 10:01 pm
What a glorious canyon. It’s amazing and I’m glad you had that window of unobstructed beauty so you could share it later with us!
December 2, 2014 at 9:18 pm
I’m very happy to be able to share Marina, thank you. I’ve seen some amazing sights during my visit. :)
December 2, 2014 at 10:02 pm
Grrrreat shots, respect! :)
December 2, 2014 at 9:25 pm
Thank you very much, appreciate it! :)
December 2, 2014 at 9:55 pm
A beautiful serie, great photowork!
Love your edit too!
December 2, 2014 at 10:13 pm
Thank you Hans. The scale of the scene demanded I do something to try and get some perspective on it! :-)
December 3, 2014 at 8:31 am
You experience says it all. And of course your photos of Haifoss. I often find it very disturbing that society wants to protects us from all “dangers” of Mother Nature instead of letting us breath it in as you did here. And of course your closeness to it all is reflected in your photos. Such beautiful images.
December 2, 2014 at 10:26 pm
Thank you so much Otto. I totally agree with you. One can see there’s a 400ft drop there, we surely don’t need a sign to warn us not to walk off the edge but sadly at other locations I visited, that’s exactly what I saw. This was so refreshing! :-)
December 3, 2014 at 8:33 am
Fantastic Adrian. I have to get to Iceland to photograph one of these days.
December 2, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Thank you Edith. I hope you get there. It is a stunning location. I noticed at the airport that there was quite a bit about choosing Iceland as a stopover from the US to the rest of Europe. Perhaps you could include Iceland next time you fly this way. :-)
December 3, 2014 at 8:35 am
Great post; excellent photo’s!
December 2, 2014 at 11:50 pm
Thank you so much Harrie! :)
December 3, 2014 at 8:36 am
Wow! Your photos are exceptional, Adrian. I can just imagine how excited you must have been to find this amazing place and have it all to yourself. It’s an awfully long way down, but what a way to go. :)
December 3, 2014 at 2:42 am
Thank you Sylvia. It was quite a moment seeing the falls for the first time. Pulling up in the car I could hear the water but couldn’t see anything. Once I got out of the car and walked a few yards though, there they were and not a soul around. Quite a drop indeed, you’d certainly have a nice view on the way down.. :-D
December 3, 2014 at 8:38 am
Stunningly awesome.
December 3, 2014 at 6:48 am
Thank you very much! :)
December 3, 2014 at 8:49 am
We tried to find Haifoss and we never managed to find the road :D A gps would have been useful maybe :D I’m glad that you managed to capture it !
December 3, 2014 at 7:24 am
Thank you. Having been foiled when the GPS tried to take us down a service road I thought I wasn’t going to find it either but driving slowly back the way I’d come I spotted the tiny sign. So glad I did. I’m sorry you missed out on it.
December 3, 2014 at 8:52 am
Maybe next time I will pay more attention to the signs :-)
December 3, 2014 at 9:21 am
This sign was more like a homemade sort of thing, tiny. I would have missed the turn if I hadn’t been looking for another track. I saw the track before the sign. Like many signs in Iceland, they don’t come before the turn to warn you it’s coming and they seem almost camouflaged to blend nicely into the background! :-)
December 3, 2014 at 5:55 pm
Exactly ! :D
December 3, 2014 at 6:01 pm
Once more, so very beautiful well executed photography in a wondrous land. Logged into Icelandairs webpage looking for a cheap flight. Must go there. :)
December 3, 2014 at 7:46 am
I hope you find a flight! You’ll enjoy it enormously! :-)
December 3, 2014 at 8:53 am
Magnificent! Love that last shot the best of all. I had the chance of going to Iceland next March but chose the Lofoten instead. May have been a mistake…
December 3, 2014 at 7:59 am
Thank you Rachael. Norway is somewhere that is top ofmy must see places and has been for a very long time. Norway and Iceland share a great deal. If I’d had the chance to go to Norway or Iceland, I’d have chosen Norway but Easyjet flights were the deciding factor for me. I hadn’t imagined just how much Iceland would get under my skin however and I’ve just booked flights for the end of February for a return visit. It’s cheaper for me to get to Iceland than it is to Plymouth. Crazy! :D
December 3, 2014 at 8:59 am
Wow fantastic pics of a beautiful land full of nature
December 3, 2014 at 10:21 pm
It is very beautiful, thank you Lou! :-)
December 3, 2014 at 11:30 pm
unbelievable that you encounterd nobody. It must have been overwhelming.
December 4, 2014 at 12:50 am
It was Ellen, absolutely wonderful! :-)
December 4, 2014 at 8:27 am
What an incredible place – pictures aren’t bad either! :D
I understand exactly the emotions running through you – an exhilaration in the joy of life and the freedom that our souls need to feel alive. It’s a drug – be careful! ….. fortunately smaller hits are available closer to home :)
December 4, 2014 at 4:32 pm
Thanks Noeline. Absolutely it’s addictive, I’ve just booked flights for my next trip.. Hits closer to home will keep me going ’til then. :-)
December 4, 2014 at 5:25 pm
So impressive nature, and so impressive photos. Addictive already, I can understand that!
December 4, 2014 at 9:24 pm
Thank you Bente! I am very addicted. Nature at its most impressive. :-)
December 4, 2014 at 9:45 pm
Amazing vistas! Nearly laughed out loud when I scrolled down to the montage ;-)
December 4, 2014 at 10:29 pm
I thought I’d have a bit of fun with the scale of the place Sarah! ;-)
December 5, 2014 at 9:19 am
And why not :-) It’s good to have a bit of fun with our images!
December 5, 2014 at 1:25 pm
:-D
December 5, 2014 at 1:44 pm
Such a rich landscape ~ the waterfall is unique and impressive with the colors at this time of year ~
December 5, 2014 at 6:20 am
It was the colours in the landscape that I was so attracted to Randall. The rich bronzes and yellows, blues and greens particularly. This waterfall is simply majestic and wild and so very beautiful. :-)
December 5, 2014 at 9:18 am
Stunning series, Adrian. A magnificent location, hope to get there one day.
December 5, 2014 at 4:46 pm
Thank you Simon. I hope you get to Iceland. It’s a stunningly beautiful country with a real sense of wilderness that’s really got under my skin. :-)
December 5, 2014 at 5:23 pm
A huge print of the final image, hanging somewhere in your home, would be a healthy thing to look at every day, to remind you of that most important feeling you had. The photos turned out so beautifully, and I’m glad you made an attempt to describe the indescribable. How I love getting really outside the bounds, being grounded and dwarfed and unified all at once.
And the “dimly lit” path that was almost missed – that played a part too, didn’t it?
December 6, 2014 at 6:32 pm
It really did Lynn. So very nearly giving up on ever finding this place and there was the sign an the little track.. A very bumpy and rather white knuckle drive later and there it was. I think you’re right. A print would be good as a reminder of just what it felt like to stand at the top of the valley like that with those tremendous waterfalls roaring in the background. I will definitely be visiting again.. :-)
December 6, 2014 at 9:45 pm
I can see why this place has such an impact on you. The viewpoint is exceptional. And some really clever trickery in that one special composite.
December 7, 2014 at 4:52 pm
Thanks again Andy. I honestly couldn’t quite get my own head around the scale here and knew it would be difficult to appreciate in a photograph, just as the Grand Canyon is. Throwing a few iconic landmarks into the gorge was a bit of fun but served a purpose I think. :)
December 7, 2014 at 6:25 pm
Amazing!
December 8, 2014 at 10:17 pm
Thank you Kate, it really is an amazing place!
December 8, 2014 at 10:44 pm
What absolutely splendid solitude and so happy for you that you experienced this rare treat.
December 9, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Thank you Patti. It really was very special! :-)
December 9, 2014 at 10:46 pm
Absolutely marvelous!
December 10, 2014 at 3:44 pm
This was just one of those WOW!! moments Elena, coming upon this double waterfall in the middle of this wilderness!
December 10, 2014 at 5:23 pm
That landscape and those colours are divine. Heart-achingly gorgeous.
December 11, 2014 at 6:04 pm
It’s so difficult to describe how it felt, coming across these magnificent waterfalls out there in the wilderness. No people, no fences, I was seeing the waterfalls just as the first person who ever saw them had and it was quite a unique experience.
December 11, 2014 at 7:01 pm