Blog
A blog about photography and travel.
England vacation
Vacation in the south of England
For this year’s summer vacation I had a family trip to the south coast of England. We started with one week in Cornwall, an area well worth exploring with it’s dramatic coastline, old mines and picturesque small towns. Then we spent one week in Hastings, where my parents had a holiday home back in the day.
I really like being in the UK. It’s got a lot of beautiful spots, a lot of history, and it’s just easy to be there.
Nova Scotia
A week exploring Nova Scotia
Early June I want by myself to Nova Scotia for a week’s trip. Icelandair had just started flying there (I was on the first flight), it’s a short flight and I’d never been there before. I didn’t know a lot about it except that the company I work for opened its first foreign office there back in the 1980’s, and we had a lot of business there in the fishing industry.
So it was an exploration of sorts, with pros and cons from my point of view.
Pros:
Cape Breton is beautiful and not too touristy. Also the area south of Halifax (Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg), although a bit more touristy.
If you’re into history don’t miss Fort Louisburg.
If you’re into lighthouses (which I am) there’s a lot of them.
If you’re into ship spotting (which I am as well) there’s a couple of places that are good, especially Halifax.
The Annapolis Royal botanical garden is well worth a visit.
In season, the lobster and oysters are fabulous. But you have to find a good restaurant for it, otherwise you’ll get disappointed.
Cons:
Nova Scotia is quite large and there are big parts of it that are not that interesting. Especially for landscapes. Expect to do a lot of driving.
Halifax has a nice, small seafront area but otherwise it’s a bit dull.
If I should go there again I would go for the autumn colors (the whole island is basically nothing but coast and trees) and I would concentrate on Cape Breton.
Brisbane
Work trip to Brisbane
Once again I had the opportunity to go on a long work trip to Brisbane in the middle of the winter (the Icelandic winter). I was there a couple of years ago, just after Covid, which was a bit of a strange time. With everything back to normal, the experience was quite different.
Brisbane is a really nice city. Good for a walk, lots of restaurants with great food, bars, killer weather etc. Absolutely not touristy, just a thoroughly nice place to be. Feels like a city on the move, and will host the 2032 Olympics.
I was also in good company, with my colleagues Kristín (my sister) and Hulda. Always good to travel with smart and funny co-workers.
Regarding photography Australia is a bit like the US. Lots of nice things todo but the place is absolutely huge. Brisbane is beautiful but other nice places are not exactly next door. This time around I managed to get to the Gold Coast, to Tambourine Mountain and to Noosa Heads.
Photos are taken with Fujifilm XT5 and XE4 cameras, and XF16-55mmF2.8, XF23mmF1.4, XF27mmF2.8 and XF80mmF2.8 lenses.
Washington DC
Long weekend in the US capital
Late November I travelled to upstate Pennsylvania for a customer visit. I would have loved to spend a few days exploring there, it looked like an interesting rural area with rolling hills, colonial-style houses and nice small cities. There was no time for that unfortunately.
I did extend the trip to stay a few days in Washington DC. The city has an imposing center, with grand government buildings and memorials clustered around the National Mall. Other things to mention are the Arlington cemetery, which is well worth a visit, and the unique metro system. I’m a bit of a train fan, and I found the brutalist design used for all the stations fascinating.
But on the whole I have to say that the city is not very inspiring, so a couple of days is more than enough for a visit. Also the weather was mostly gray and rainy, and not ideal for photography.
Photos taken on Fujifilm XT5 and XE4 cameras using a variety of lenses, and an iPhone 13 Pro Max (due to a temporary misplacement of the real cameras).
Along the Rhine
Exploring the Rhine and it’s tributaries
In the latter half of November I preceded a work trip with a few days in the Rhineland-Palatinate where the Mosel and Neckar rivers join the Rhine, together with my brother Stefan.
The landscape was dominated by the rivers, beautifully lined with small towns, hill-top castles and forests in their still-colorful late autumn foliage. My favorite spot was Heidelberg, an age-old seat of learning on the banks of the Neckar which completely escaped the ravages of WWII.
In amongst all this natural beauty you also find the heartland of German industry. The BASF complex, on the banks of the Rhine in Ludwighshafen, is the largest integrated chemical plant in the world, covering 10 square kilometers. Next time I will bring a drone to take an aerial view of it.
We stayed in Koblenz for one night and Mannheim for two nights, both fairly unremarkable cities.
Photos were taken on Fujifilm XT5 and XE4 cameras using the XF16-55, XF50-140 and XF23f1.4 lenses.
Wales
Driving around Anglesey and Snowdon National Park in the fall.
For the fourth time this year I went on a trip to the UK, this time to the northern part of Wales. I’ve not been there before, but it’s easy to get there from Iceland and from what I’ve seen from others it’s a nice spot for photography. So why not.
I stayed in Caernarfon, which was an inspired choice. It’s kind of central, with Anglesey to the west and Snowdonia National Park to the east. There’s an excellent inn there I can recommend (Black Boy Inn). A famous YouTube video comes to mind, just kidding :-).
Weather was all kinds, both stormy and sunny, but I guess that’s par for the course at this time of year. I was a bit too early for the fall colors, so that’s a reason to go again.
The photos are take on an GFX50R with the 32-62mm and 100-200mm lenses, and a Mavic 2 Pro drone.
A week in Berlin
Walking and taking trains around Berlin for a couple of days
The company I work for acquired a small business in Orianenburg, just north of Berlin, which I visited as part of the integration process. Since Berlin is one of my favorite cities I tacked on a couple of extra days to walk around, take some photos and sample the beer.
The weather was glorious, very nice to be able walk around in shorts and t-shirt in the middle of September. I also got into a bit of train riding mood and travelled all over the city.
Photos were taken on an Fujifilm XT5 with the 16-55 lens, and a Fujifilm XE4 with the 50-140 lens.
Work trip to England
Work trip to England and a short weekend in London.
At the end of August I joined a customer workshop in Colchester, followed by a very short weekend in London.
Colchester, despite supposedly being the oldest town in England, is fairly unremarkable if I should be honest. For travel nerds driving on the “wrong” side of the road, it does though have an interesting/hilarious/scary feature in the magic roundabout. which I drove through. Need to bring a drone next time to photograph it. Stay tuned.
London, however, did not disappoint. So much life, and so many interesting places, it really is a photographer’s paradise. I’ve been going there for a couple of times a year for a very long time, and it’s impressive to see how the city keeps changing all the time. Need to plan the next trip soon.
US Northwest
Summer vacation in Oregon and Washington
For summer vacation I travelled with my sister and her family for a couple of weeks in the US Northwest, staying in Vancouver WA on the border of Oregon and Washington. It was a family vacation in a nice house, with lots of good food and wine, my niece’s birthday and all around fun.
In terms of nature, the area sports the magnificent Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Coast and a set of dramatic volcanic mountains such Mount Hood and Mount St Helens. Quite a large area to cover but absolutely stunning. Definitely worth another visit.
Around Manchester
Weekend in Manchester, Blackpool and Sheffield
Towards the end of May I spent a long weekend in Manchester. Booked a hotel downtown and took a couple of train trips to Blackpool and Sheffield.
These three cities may not sound very attractive, and have been going through some hard times over the last decades, but I found then all surprisingly nice really. Manchester is being transformed into a modern metropolis, Blackpool is not the cheap, run-down tourist trap I imagined it to be, and Sheffield is successfully building on its heritage of coal and steel industry to become a hub of technology and learning. What’s the fuss all about?
Easter in Munich
A very long Easter weekend in Munich
Easter is a good time for Icelanders to travel abroad. It’s a 5-day weekend and spring has started to arrive in Europe while in Iceland it’s almost winter still. So for Easter I usually go somewhere abroad. This time it was to Munich, where I stayed for a full week.
Munich city center was restored after WWII to a degree I’ve not seen elsewhere in Germany. Take for example the Residenz palace: unlike Versailles where you visit a handful of rooms, the Residenz not only has a number of breathtaking galleries but you can also walk through the complete palace, where everything has been restored. You can literally spend hours there.
Munich is a city of attractive public spaces, with beautiful historical buildings, an excellent public transport system, the Olympic Park, the Englischer Garten, and so on. An obviously affluent city, very German, with a stark reminder to the past in the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site just outside the city.
A short train ride from Munich you find Ulm, Augsburg and Nurnberg, and the foothills Alps are not far to the south. I did not visit all these places so there’s room to go again.
I was happy with the photography overall but, as usual, street photography in Germany was difficult.
Weekend in Brussels
I’ve visited Brussels on a number of occasions, both privately and through work. The city is easily accessible from the Netherlands, where I frequently work, and there’s also a direct flight from Iceland. The vibe is a bit in between Amsterdam and Paris, with excellent food and beer, relatively easy on the wallet, and a quirky and touristy atmosphere - great for street photography. There are also a lot of interesting cities easily accessible by train: Ghent, Brugge, Antwerpen, Leuven, Mons, and Liege, to name a few. All of them easily worth a day trip.
Towards the end of April I went on a short weekend trip there with my brother Stefán, from Thursday to Sunday. We stayed in the city for the most part, only went on a short trip to Leuven (the beer capital of the world, as it turns out). There were only occasional glimpses of good light but it was still a nice photography weekend.
Two gentlemen (brothers?) enjoying life at the Grand Place. Fujifilm XT5+XF50mmF2.
Wannabe skater near the skateboarding area at Rue de la Chapelle. Fujifilm XT5+XF35mmF2.
My brother Stefán at the Moeder Lambic Fontainas, having one of many beers. Fujifilm XT5+XF35mmF2.
Influencers at the Grand Place. Fujifilm XT5 + XF50mmF2.
Young lady without a happy face at Rue des Bouchers. Fujifilm XT5 + XF50mmF2.
Hipster ladies? at Rue des Bouchers. Fujifilm XT5 + XF50mmF2.
More hipster ladies at Rue des Bouchers. Fujifilm XT5 + XF23mmF1.4.
The extravagantly ornate city hall in Leuven. Fujifilm XT5 + XF23mmF1.4.
Two blokes in Leuven, one sitting uncomfortably. Fujifilm XT5 + XF23mmF1.4.
Just behind the guys above, this one was much more comfortable. Fujifilm XT5+XF23mmF1.4.
At the market in Leuven. Bike repair shop in an O Transit. Fujifilm XT5 + XF23mmF1.4.
Sharp dressed guy, with onlookers. Fujifilm XT5 + XF35mm F2.0.
Two blokes at Rue de Charles Buls. Fujiflim XT5 + XF23mmF1.4.
Hipster ladies at the Grand Place. Fujifilm XT5 + XF35mmF2.
Le Chat Déambule, in-the-rain version. Fujifilm XT5 + XF35mmF2.
Place Sainte Catherine. Fujifilm XT5+XF23mmF1.4.
Grown up hipsters at the Grand Place. Fujifilm XT5 + XF23mmF1.4.
Colorful guy happy at being photographed. Fujifilm XT5+XF35mmF2.
Color-coded tourists neear Gare Central. Fujifilm XT5+XF35mmF2.
Scotland, Isle of Skye
A birthday trip to the Scottish Highlands and Isle of Skye
I celebrated my 60th birthday in the middle of February. There was a great family dinner in a nice restaurant, and then, as a present to myself, I went on a week-long trip to Scotland. I just booked a flight and a car, and then accommodation for the next day, as I went along. This being February, the route I took was determined by the weather forecast. For the first couple of days, I stayed on the east coast, then made my way westwards towards the Isle of Skye, where I stayed for a couple of nights. The last two days I spent in the Highlands around Glencoe.
Scotland is, of course, fantastic for photography. A lot depends on the weather, so for good results, a lot of time needs to be spent. I almost consider this a scouting mission :-).
Now for the photos.
The Aberdeenshire coast is interesting, with lighthouses, fishing towns and a lot of empty coastline. I particularly liked Aberdeen, with its unique dark grey stone buildings, and Fraserburgh, which has a proper fishing harbor. Even my father would have been impressed with all the boats there.
Crovie is a small village on the north Aberdeenshire coast. A remarkable place, just a single row of houses facing the open sea. How they survive the North Sea storms is a mystery.
I spent an evening and a morning in Inverness, and the following morning I drove to Fort William along Loch Ness. Inverness is a nice medium-sized city but Fort Williams is *ahem* not very interesting, something I knew from having been there for work about twenty years ago. Its surroundings are, however, breathtaking, with Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, towering right above it.
Driving to the Isle of Skye was the highlight of the trip, both the island itself and the mountain passes and lochs you encounter on the way. The good weather forecast i had for the couple of days I stayed did not pan out, which, according to the lady that rented my the cottage, is par for the course. Skye is barren, mountainous, sparsely populated and surrounded by lochs and islands. It has some magnificent sights, such as the Quaraing, a massive landslide that is apparently still ongoing. Much depends on the weather though.
For the last two nights I stayed near Glen Coe and spent a day exploring the area. On the way from Sky I spotted a waterfall and rapids in the River Shiel close to the road. Could have spent the day there.
Berlin
Short trip to Berlin squeezed in between Christmas and New Year’s
Between Christmas and New Year I travelled with my brother to Berlin on a photography and city trip. Lots of walking, taking photos and having beers. We also took a day trip to Leipzig and Wittenberg, places I’ve not been before, now off the bucket list.
I like Berlin. It’s a bit scattered and disjointed, having been two cities for a long time, but it manages to be both down to earth and bohemian at the same time, which is an interesting mix. Its turbulent history is visible everywhere, and some places are quite emotional to visit. This still sits badly with many people, but at least you can give the Germans credit for not trying to hide what has happened. A case in point is the Neue Wache, a powerful testimony to the horrors of war.
Photos are taken with the Fujifilm XT-5, with XF10-24mm, XF50mmF2.0 and XF80mmF2.8 lenses, and a GFX50R with the GF80mm lens. We got good light a few times, and the GFX50R is just marvelous when that happens.
Highgate Cemetery
Discovery of a magical place in London
After having visited London countless times, and having explored the city extensively, I was amazed to discover a new location: Highgate Cemetery. I learned of its existence from the newest Cormoran Strike audio book, where the cemetery features heavily.
Not only is the cemetery extraordinary, but I happened to go there on a frozen and foggy Sunday morning, with every frozen strand of cobweb highlighted. The atmosphere was magical. I even met a fox, which posed just long enough for me to take a photo.
Otherwise I have to say that London was not at its best, so the trip was pretty dull in terms of photography. But I did spot, and take a snap of, a Zelensky lookalike!
This was the first outing with my new Fujifilm XT5, which I really like.
Paris
Solo trip to Paris
On short notice I booked a flight to Paris for a long weekend in November. I went by myself, with little plans other than to take photos and walk around. I stayed at the CitizenM hotel in La Défense, the kind of big-scale city redevelopment that is destined to be horrible but actually succeeds.
Like the last time I was in Paris, I was very happy with the photos I took. There’s such a vibrancy to Paris that you don’t really experience in other large European cities.
The photos are taken with the Fujifilm XE4 using a variety of lenses: XF16mmF1.4, XF27mmF2.8, XF35mmF2.0, XF50mmF2.0 and XF50-140F2.8. Quite a bit to carry around, and a lot of lens changes, but I try to mix it up so that every time I go I bring different equipment.
Weekend in Copenhagen
An autumn weekend in Copenhagen
I attended a three-day management meeting in Copenhagen from Monday to Wednesday, so I took the opportunity to travel out on Friday and spend the weekend in one of my favorite cities. Just walking around with the camera, dropping in on interesting restaurants and bars, and not thinking about much. There was not a lot of good light, so I focused on photographing the autumn colors, and visited the Botanical Gardens, which are always good for a few shots. I also took the train to Malmö, on the other side of the water.
The photographs are take, on a Fujifilm XE4, with various lenses, and a GFX50R with the 80mm f1.7 lens.
South Iceland
Short weekend trip to South Iceland
My brother and I had a spare weekend, so of course we wanted to go and take some photos. Unfortunately the weather forecast was not great, but we decided to take a chance on the south coast. We stopped at the usual places on our way east to Fosshótel Núpar, where we stayed for the night, and then drove back to Reykjavík. For myself, I had only one destination on the agenda: the two waterfalls in Djúpá. These are fairly close to the ring road (but not visible from there), although it’s not obvious how to get to them. Hint: park before the old bridge over Djúpá (63°56'55.7"N 17°39'17.2"W) and walk northeast from there.
Kvernárfoss
Kvernárfoss is just east of Skógarfoss, hidden in a short canyon. Very easy to get to and much less visited than its more famous neighbor.
GFX50R + GF80 @ 63°31'43.3"N 19°28'49.1"W
Dyrhólaey
Home to one of the best view-to-effort ratios. Drive to the top and admire the endless coastline to the west , Reynisfjara, Reynisfjall and Reynisdrangar to the east, and Mýrdalsjökull glacier to the north. Straight south, on the other side of the world with no land in between, is the Antarctic. There’s a picturesque lighthouse, and of course Tóin, the gigantic stone arch.
GFX50R + GF80 @ 63°24'10.9" N 19°7'47.5" W
Reynisdrangar
At the east edge of Reynisfjara (Black Sand Beach for the tourists) there are three ancient volcanic crater plugs being continuously battered by the seas. The middle one is variously called Háidrangur (High rock) or Skessudrangur (Troll rock, of the female type).
GFX50R + GF100-200 @ 63°24'9" N 19°2'25.2" W
Arnardrangur
Just south of Hjörleifshöfði there are a couple of big rocks sitting calmly in the sand. Their origin is uncertain but perhaps the massive glacier floods from when Katla erupts have carried them down the sand? The larger one is called Arnardrangur (Eagle’s rock).
GFX50R + GF100-200 @ 63°24'45.7" N 18°44'50.8" W
Gufufoss in Djúpá
The name of this waterfall (gufa = steam) refers to the large amounts of spray and mist it throws up. It’s quite magnificent in good water, such as we had,
GFX50R + GF32-64 @ 63°57'29.6" N 17°38'26.3" W
Bassi in Djúpá
Just below Gufufoss there is a second waterfall with the unusual name of Bassi (bass?, like in a deep voice). It’s difficult to photograph, but the setting is spectacular with beautiful basalt columns flanking the west side.
GFX50R + GF80 @ 63°57'12.7" N 17°38'11.7" W
Ireland
A roadtrip with an optimistic plan
To finish off my vacation, and due to a temporary frost in the relationship with my employer, I decided, on short notice, to take a trip to Ireland. I’ve been to Northern Ireland a few times, for work, but never really been to Ireland proper.
I booked a flight and a car, and accommodation one day at a time. The rough idea was to drive around Ireland and photograph the lighthouses on the coast. This turned out to be wildly optimistic, both because of the size of the island and the fact that the lighthouses are not generally accessible. I thought I could walk right up to them like in Iceland, but it turns out that they are mostly closed off to the public and therefore quite tricky or impossible to photograph. I managed a few lighthouses though, and made it around half the coast, from Dublin to the southwest tip, and then to the Cliffs of Moher.
On first visit I find Ireland to be not so spectacular to photograph, but a very comfortable place to be in. Perhaps a bit insular, like Iceland.
All the photographs are taken with a Fujifilm XE4 camera, using various lenses.
My favorite place on the trip was the area around Mizen Head. A remote place with winding, narrow roads, impressive cliffs, and beautiful seascapes. Mizen Head itself was a well organized place for tourists to visit, highly recommended.
The religious heritage is visible everywhere.
I found the Cliffs of Moher underwhelming, but nearby there’s a geographical formation/area called The Burren, which is very interesting.
Some street photography was also had, and odds and ends.
Iceland roundtrip
A quick camping roundtrip around Iceland
Like last year I undertook a roundtrip of Iceland (maybe this will be a yearly thing?). Doing a roundtrip (“fara hringinn”) means driving road #1 which goes all the way around the island, mostly, but not completely, following the coast. The ring road is officially 1321 km but with all manner of detours, I estimate that I drove 2000 km in five days, of which 700 km from Borgarfjörður Eystri to Reykjavík were done in one go (almost, one nap had to be taken halfway).
I camped as there was absolutely no hotel accommodation available. But to be honest, camping and photography in Iceland do not go well together as camping requires good weather, while photography works best when there is at least some drama in the weather. So I was only moderately happy with the results.
My favorite photos from the trip were of the fog leaving the small island of Skrúður, off Vattarnes.
