Godafoss Dawn
When I posted my photographs from Godafoss yesterday, I mentioned that it was difficult to gauge scale from the pictures and that I would work on that. This morning I was up at 6am, the weather forecast was good and I thought I might get some nice pictures of the falls as the sun rose on our way to Mývatn, a large lake not far from Akureyri. Pictures from there later..
As it turned out, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. According to the old rhyme, red sky in the morning, shepherds warning, we were in for some rough weather later on (it did snow very heavily as we drove home this afternoon) but for me that was fair exchange, as the sun peeked over the horizon, the whole area was bathed in a wonderful pink light.
As I set up to take my pictures, I managed to persuade my friend Chris, without whom this whole trip would be next to impossible, to walk back along the track from where we were parked to the road, cross the river and then hike along the opposite bank of the river. We’d pre-agreed where I wanted him to stand and with a series of arm waving gestures, he knew when I was about to set off a long exposure and he promised to stand very still. He stood very still for much longer than was necessary but I had no way of letting him know when the exposure was done.. :-)
I think the tiny figure of Chris, standing on the rocks above the falls does exactly what I’d hoped.. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them despite the frozen fingers in the -12°C morning air.. Click on the images for a clearer sharper view.. :-)
24mm f/11 147 sec. ISO-50
While we were at the falls, I took the opportunity to do a series of long exposures using a 10 stop ND filter. Here’ another of my pictures from today. Loads more to follow at some point..
24mm f/11 30 sec. ISO-50
Extremes of temperature are not good for people with MS. Extreme hot or cold tends to exacerbate symptoms. One of the ways MS used to be diagnosed was patients would be put in a hot bath to see if symptoms got worse or new ones appeared. I knew I was rubbish at dealing with heat. I was a little worried about how I’d deal with the cold.
The thing about being hot though is, unless you have air conditioning, not something common in homes in the UK at least, you can take so many layers off but it’s very difficult to cool down. The good thing about the cold, in my mind at least, is that you can usually warm up.
I took precautions before I came to Iceland. I have two layers of merino wool thermal underwear, thermal socks, T-shit, hoody, fleece, windproof parka, trousers and windproof over trousers. I have a merino wool balaclava, woolly hat, and two hoods. I have snow boots on my feet and on my hands, I have fingerless gloves so I can operate my camera and windproof waterproof mittens to slip on in between shots. With all this gear, I’m managing to keep nice and warm and with my usual medication and the help of friends, I’m coping.
It’s a real hassle getting the top layers on and off every time I stop the car because I’ve seen something I want to take a picture of. This is a frequent occurrence but it’s so worth the hassle. I used to be a real sun worshiper. I’d have chosen Florida or the Mediterranean any day but the heat would be so hard for me to deal with now. This suits me brilliantly and I couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Get out there and get on with it if you can, ask for help and take it when it’s offered..
Tomorrow my friend and fellow blogger Poppy and her husband will be meeting us here in Akureyri. How cool is that? I can’t wait.. :-)
Cornwall Photographic 