Church Mountain Falls at Midnight

Only in Iceland; what can I say?

Puffin 1

An Icelandic Atlantic Puffin with a bill full of translucent lesser sandeel. These amazing birds are a joy to watch. They nest in 3ft deep flower adorned cliffside burrows, and hunt small fish to feed the hungry chicks hiding inside. They are agile flyers and can dive 200ft under the freezing waves to catch these translucent fish.

Puffin 2

An Icelandic Atlantic Puffin with a bill full of translucent lesser sandeel. These amazing birds are a joy to watch. They nest in 3ft deep flower adorned cliffside burrows, and hunt small fish to feed the hungry chicks hiding inside. They are agile flyers and can dive 200ft under the freezing waves to catch these translucent fish.

Victoire

The puffin with the most fish wins!

The White Church

The White Church sits on black volcanic basalt cliffs covered by blue lupine flowers and overlooks the sea. The "Troll Rocks" can be seen at the base of the cliff. According to legend, there were three trolls - skessudrangur, laddrangur and langhamar who were pulling a three masted ship into shore, but they were caught at dawn and the sunlight and turned them to stone.

Ice Sculpture 7

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock.

Horse Barn Graffiti

This decrepit, abandoned horse barn has some fabulous graffiti depicting a modernized cartoon of a nordic viking battle painted on it.

Pony In The Clouds

This Idyllic flowered Icelandic horse ranch sits a the base of the mountains and faces the sea. The mountains trap the low clouds from the ocean which tumble over the ranch. Perhaps these humid conditions contribute the pony's hair frizz issues?

God's Favorite Bench At Sunrise

A 2 am sunrise backlights this beautiful church on a hill. The path and bench seem serene and inviting. Eyjafjörður (fjord) near Akureyri and the surrounding mountains are seen to the left. The fjord is full of whales, and the surrounding land is full of farms, flowers and horse ranches.

Aldeyjarfoss In Midnight Colors

Aldeyjarfoss, a 60 ft drop of snowmelt over volcanic basalt pillars. The midnight sky of Icelandic summers creates dramatic "near sunsets" (the sun never actually sets) with sculpted clouds and spectacular color. The cutaway volcanic landscape shows the deep basalt pillars which are primarily hexagonal crystal formed by cooling lava.

The Lonely Black Church

Dolphin Ice Sculpture

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock. This one looks like a dolphin to me.

Colt In Yellow Flowers

Nordic GPS

Called "steinvarða" in Icelandic, these rock cairns are scattered across iceland. Our guide called them "primitive GPS"; they are frequently placed across the landscape in trails that are visible for miles and mark important pre-road paths through the mountains. Some are very very old. If you look closely there are three cairns seen extending to the horizon in a row pointed toward mid screen across this lava field.

The Great Geysir

The temperature of water 20 m down Geysir’s feeder channel is about 125 ºC. It has risen from a depth of 1-2 km. Geysir discharges 1.5 l/s, whereas the entire area discharges 14 l/s

Puffin In A Burrow

This puffin is entering his burrow to feed his hungry chicks inside.

The Fishing Trip

We are returning from a family fishing trip at about 1 am. This is as low as the sun gets in Iceland during the summer. The captain is cleaning the fish and offers the leftovers to eager seagulls who pace the ship.

Ice Sculpture 2

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock.

Icelandic Ponies

This Idyllic flowered Icelandic horse ranch sits a the base of the mountains and faces the sea. The mountains trap the low clouds from the ocean which tumble over the ranch.

Dandelions Before The Sea, Wait For Sunrise

Just before sunrise at 3 am, these closed dandelions wait for the sun to rise over the mountains. In a couple of hours this predominantly green field will explode with vibrant yellow as the dandelions open to greet the sun. Eyjafjörður fjord passes just between the two central snow capped mountains and exits to the sea.

Dandelions Before The Sea

This glorious field of yellow flowers stretches to Eyjafjörður fjord which passes just between the two central snow capped mountains to the sea.

Peaceful Hay Farm

A lush hay farm overlooking Akureyri and the Eyjafjörður fjord. This was shot about 3 am.

Godafoss, Waterfall Of The Gods

The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters. In the year 999 Christianity usurped the Norse gods in Iceland. Legend has it that Thor, Odin, Loki and kin were drowed in this waterfall at that time.

A River Of Blue Lupines

This sea of blue lupines weaves toward the horizon where it meets a blue river winding back to the mountains.

Ice Sculpture 3

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock.

Puffin 3

An Icelandic Atlantic Puffin with a bill full of translucent lesser sandeel. These amazing birds are a joy to watch. They nest in 3ft deep flower adorned cliffside burrows, and hunt small fish to feed the hungry chicks hiding inside. They are agile flyers and can dive 200ft under the freezing waves to catch these translucent fish.

Puffin 4

An Icelandic Atlantic Puffin with a bill full of translucent lesser sandeel. These amazing birds are a joy to watch. They nest in 3ft deep flower adorned cliffside burrows, and hunt small fish to feed the hungry chicks hiding inside. They are agile flyers and can dive 200ft under the freezing waves to catch these translucent fish.

Ice Sculpture 5

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock.

Volcanic Steam

Sorry... No Fish

This puffin seems to return sheepishly with no fish to offer this trip.

Ice Sculpture 4

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock.

Thor's Hammer

Aldeyjarfoss Under Lenticular Clouds

Aldeyjarfoss, a 60 ft drop of snowmelt over volcanic basalt pillars. This photo was taken several minutes before the earlier version and the higher sun provide less color, but the sculpted lenticular troposphere clouds are more prominent. The cutaway volcanic landscape shows the deep basalt pillars which are primarily hexagonal crystal formed by cooling lava.

Puffin 5

An Icelandic Atlantic Puffin with a bill full of translucent lesser sandeel. These amazing birds are a joy to watch. They nest in 3ft deep flower adorned cliffside burrows, and hunt small fish to feed the hungry chicks hiding inside. They are agile flyers and can dive 200ft under the freezing waves to catch these translucent fish.

My Happy Place

A hay field overlooking Akureyri and the Eyjafjörður fjord. The Inn on the left with red roof was where we stayed, a beautiful corner of the planet. The hay is wrapped in a white cloak and suctioned free of air to help it last the winter without rotting. The white hay bales dot the landscape like giant marshmallows.

Good Life, Bad Toupe

Icelandic horses have such character, and always look like they are wearing a 70's style toupe.

Aldeyjarfoss In Midnight Colors 2

Aldeyjarfoss, a 60 ft drop of snowmelt over volcanic basalt pillars. The midnight sky of Icelandic summers creates dramatic "near sunsets" (the sun never actually sets with sculpted clouds and spectacular color. The cutaway volcanic landscape shows the deep basalt pillars which are primarily hexagonal crystal formed by cooling lava.

My Son Who Makes Me Proud

Lava Field

Iceland is a land of contrasts, while some fields have lush and flowered grassland, other vast lava fields have no growth or blankets of primitive moss stretching to the horizon.

Puffin 6

An Icelandic Atlantic Puffin with a bill full of translucent lesser sandeel. These amazing birds are a joy to watch. They nest in 3ft deep flower adorned cliffside burrows, and hunt small fish to feed the hungry chicks hiding inside. They are agile flyers and can dive 200ft under the freezing waves to catch these translucent fish.

Idyllic Horse Ranch

These Icelandic horses have a good life.

Pony And Mom

Devil May Care Pony Gang

Kurt Cobain came back as a pony.

Church Falls with Sunstar

This photo was taken a few minutes before the earlier version. The sun is not quite below the horizon, and casts a dramatic sunstar across the landscape.

Ice Sculpture 6

The Breiðamerkurjökull glacier breaks apart and sends ocean sculpted icebergs washing up on shores of black volcanic sand and rock.