Seastacks and Smoke: A Photographer’s Journey in a Time of Plague

The idea for this journey began during our lockdown here in the South Bay.  I’m a professional landscape photographer that’s lived in the South Bay since ’99. I photograph everything from the tidal pools along the coast to Iceland and Europe to the National Parks. And during the lockdown, it was frustrating not having access to any of that. So I concocted a photo…

Central Oregon Coast

The coastal area from the Newport area down to Yachats has one cool photo location after another. Yaquina and Heceta Head, the lighthouses that guard that rough-edged coast, are worth a photo walkabout. Seal Rock Rec area is worth experiencing at sunrise or sunset. Round it all off with the views from Cape Perpetua and the iconic Thor’s Well. It’s good stuff.

Portfolio image #1: Seljalandsfoss

I never did get a portfolio level photograph at the Seljalandsfoss waterfall on my May trip; after two days I was heading east on the Ring Road again. I caught Seljalandsfoss on a May morning, wind cold and blowing hard, I was seeing the place through eyes that’d already seen 20 hours of travel. Some interesting shots came out of it that first day…

Welcome to Iceland

I left passport control at Iceland’s Keflavik International at about 5:20AM dragging my suitcase and camera pack. There was supposed to be a guy at the airport entrance holding sign with my name on it. Nope. So I dumped my stuff next to the Welcome to Iceland desk, got a donut, switched my phone to the local network and left a message … and…

At the Klaustur Roundabout

East of Vik, the Ring Road scenery is fairly average by Iceland standards. Southeast Iceland is mostly farmland, black sand beaches and miles and miles of lava fields covered in thick, green moss. A little weird that moss. When you get to a traffic circle, you’ll see the tiny the town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur (church farm cloister).  Klaustur, the local nickname for the town, is quickly…

Notes on a Portfolio Review

I spent last weekend at the Javits Center in New York. New York has never been a favorite spot for me. The crowds, the priciness of it all, always make me feel the place is overrated. The one reason I went to New York, New York was the PhotoExpo, for the Portfolio Review sessions happening there. The main convention floor had areas for the…

Northwest Iceland, a Visit to Dettifoss Waterfall

The section of the Ring Road from Egilsstadir to Lake Myvatn was my least favorite drive. You leave the east coast, head past lush farm lands and drive through fields of black lava for much of the two hours it takes to get to Lake Myvatn.  There is one important photo location along this section of Ring Road, the Dettifoss waterfall.  Dettifoss is about…

Take Care of Your Tools

There were several times on the road when I was reminded of my Yankee side — that part of me that takes a hard look at things, tells you to own up when you screw up. And I had one Yankee moment on the trail up to the Svartifoss waterfall. Early on, I came to a bridge over a creek. I took the place…

Welcome to Iceland

There was lots of snow on the road leaving Keflavik Airport that Friday morning. I had a cheap rental car, a front wheel drive Dacia Logan. I took things slow. I hadn’t driven in snow for years — or a stick shift. And since it was just me on this Ring Road trip, I had to navigate the Reykjavik suburbs in a clunky and unfamiliar…

First Evening

My “Welcome to Iceland” day had been frustrating. Navigating Reykjavik’s slushy streets, remembering stick shift skills, the long drive down the South Coast with not one coffee shop open, then the Seljalandsfoss waterfall shoot getting (mostly) rained out. None of those things are fun when someone’s been up for 24 hours. What a difference a shower and three hours of sleep and meditation can…