Ruthlessrider wrote:
Headed for these two countries next week. Traveling with a Canon 5D IV along with Tripod and three Canon telephoto lenses covering 16-200 mm. Landing in Reykjavik and moving to the NW corner. Any comments ir recommendation on what to shoot, special techniques to use, etc. would be appreciated. My level is seasoned amateur.
Suggest you check out Youtuber Mads Peter Iverson who has done a ton of videos on photographing Iceland and even sells a location guide.
If, by Northwest corner of Iceland, you mean the Westfjords there are many beautiful spots:
For birds: Látrabjarg cliffs
Pink beach in Raudasandur
Largest waterfall in Westfjords: Dynjandi
beautiful fjord: Bíldudalor
beautiful town and great food: Isafjördur
drive to the top of the mountain at Bolungarvík for a great view
fantastic hike and landscape shots: take a boat ride to Hornstrandir Nature Reserve
Lastly, definitely take a tripod! The colors are spectacular during 4-6 hours of "golden hour" light. My favorite time to shoot was between 10 pm and 2 am. Have a great time!
Welcome to the forum, Ruthlessrider! I'll have to go vicariously with you and Hammond; look forward to seeing those photos and hearing about your adventures on this site in August/September. Have a great trip!
G Brown wrote:
For Scotland you are coming into the Midge season....take insect repellent
For Iceland.....take plenty of money.
have fun
My daughter’s family just came back from Iceland. Yes!!! Take plenty of money.
G Brown wrote:
For Scotland you are coming into the Midge season....take insect repellent
For Iceland.....take plenty of money.
have fun
Midgies - the national bird of Scotland!! They are gnats with fangs!
If visiting the Western Islands of Scotland avoid all wickerwork.
Ruthlessrider wrote:
Headed for these two countries next week. Traveling with a Canon 5D IV along with Tripod and three Canon telephoto lenses covering 16-200 mm. Landing in Reykjavik and moving to the NW corner. Any comments ir recommendation on what to shoot, special techniques to use, etc. would be appreciated. My level is seasoned amateur.
I was in Iceland last year. Just some observations.
The weather changes often. Take a light rain coat and protection for your camera.
We did a lot of hiking it seemed mostly uphill. You will not want to lug all that gear with you.
I seem to remember shooting mostly landscape with a wider angle lens.
Reykjavik is a nice city but wouldn't spend a lot of time there. We drove the ring road around the whole country and found plenty of photo ops everywhere.
The people are great and can suggest things worth seeing and tourist areas to avoid.
Enjoy your trip.
Great book on Amazon. Gives you about fifty photo ops, grid coordinates, and photo data, pocket sized.on vacation do not have title. Broken down geographically.
I was in Iceland in 1985 before it got overcrowded and expensive. It rains a lot, and even when it is not raining, you may be photographing waterfalls, where there is a lot of spray in the air. So my advice is to take a good zoom lens to avoid having to switch lenses. Or before leaving the parking lot and heading off to the waterfall or geysir, check to make sure you have the lens you want on the camera.
And watch out for the volcanic dust. It is pumice - which is great for grinding lenses. One day I was using a little mini-vac to clean the cameras, and our Icelandic tour guide asked if I could send him one when we got home. An hour later he came back and asked if he could buy the one we had, he was so anxious to get his hands on it (he was a professional photographer, among other things). We ended up sharing it for the rest of the trip and giving it to him when we left.
hammond wrote:
Might run into you in Iceland!
July 18-29 in a rental SUV with a roof mounted tent.
Bringing a Nikon D500 and a small arsenal of lenses including 10-20mm wide angle, 8-15mm fisheye, 18-250 zoom, 58mm f1.4, 35mm, and 150-600mm + 1.4x teleconverter... praying for good weather!
it gets very windy there--make sure your tent is well attached!
when I was in Iceland all I took was my 28-300 which was on my camera 90% of the time. Also had along a 16-50 for wider shots
Ruthlessrider wrote:
Headed for these two countries next week. Traveling with a Canon 5D IV along with Tripod and three Canon telephoto lenses covering 16-200 mm. Landing in Reykjavik and moving to the NW corner. Any comments ir recommendation on what to shoot, special techniques to use, etc. would be appreciated. My level is seasoned amateur.
Yo, Ruthless, I'll be on a bus trip around Scotland next week myself (saving Iceland for a separate journey). I've already stocked-up on the Skin So Soft and packed my 2 current travel lens favorites which also cover 16mm to 200mm. Best of luck and share your photos when you return.
What to shoot in Iceland? Just about everything. As Dorothy said " It sure doesn't look like Kansas Toto" Waterfalls are a good way to start. They range from tall and scenic to huge and ground shaking.There are volcanic steam vents everywhere. Actual inactive volcanoes are cool.The geothermal power plant is actually interesting.The lake full of icebergs is worthy. The Lonely planet Iceland guide book is very good. Food can be on the expensive side but there are inexpensive places ( grocery stores and full service gas stations) and the no tipping saves you on meals. If you plan on getting within 50 miles of Lake Myvatn you will wish you had an insect net for your head- they are cheap @ sporting goods stores amazon etc. I could have sold mine for a hefty profit. One unfortunate item is the highway system. The roads are fine but there are very few places to turn off to take pictures. Pick up the latest map at a Tourist info place.The highway ststem is a work in progress and route changes take place.
In Scotland, go to the Isle of Skye. Stunning scenery.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.