Blog
A blog about photography and travel.
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).
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.
Netherlands and Germany
Last work trip before summer vacation
In early June, I travelled to the Netherlands for one final work trip before the summer vacation. I was there for two weeks and for the weekend I decided to go to the Ruhr area, which I’d not visited before.
The Ruhr’s claim to history was being the center of coal mining and steel production in Europe. That’s mostly gone now, but the Ruhr has evolved into the most densely populated area in Europe. A bit of a monstrous urban conglomeration that’s not that interesting to visit. Something to do with the area being built around coal mines and factories instead of city centers, and, of course, having been destroyed in the war.
Århus and Netherlands
Back in the saddle
Finally It looks like we are back to a normal work environment after Covid. Having face-to-face meetings with people again is so much more productive and fun. You get things done in a day that can take weeks over e-mails and conference calls. I also work with an excellent bunch of people that are committed to their work and have a good sense of humor, in a way that only engineers have.
For a photographer, a change of scenery and new places to visit really gets the shutter-pressing juices flowing. Being around people that I don’t meet every day also gives me the opportunity to sneak in some portraits, which I enjoy a lot.
For the trip I brought my Fujifilm XE4 and set of prime lenses (XF16F1.4, XF23F1.4, XF35F2.0, XF50F2.0 and XF80F2.8). Let’s just say that I changed lenses a few times!
First stop was Århus for some project meetings. I like Århus and half-lived there for 2-3 years to support the acquisition of a company. It’s not a large city and but it has everything and is very easy to be in, which is kind of Denmark in a nutshell.
The week after I had meetings in the Netherlands so instead of going back to Iceland. I flew over there on a Friday and stayed in Groningen for the weekend. I’ve never been to Groningen before as it’s way up in Friesland, but I can confirm that it lives up to its reputation as a lively city full of young people. I also drove up to the Friesland coast, which is an interesting place with wide open skies and mud flats that extend into the distance.
I then spent a couple of nights in Enschede before going to familiar Nijmegen, which is near to our main office in the Netherlands.
Australia
A relief from the Icelandic winter down under
Mid-February I had the opportunity to go on a business trip to Australia. For the first three weeks I stayed in Brisbane, where my company has offices, then went on customer visits in Queensland, Sidney and Warrnambool before finally ending up in Sydney for a long, relaxing weekend.
Shortening the Icelandic winter by 5 weeks is a godsend, especially this terrible winter. It wasn’t all sunshine though, as for 3 days there was a biblical downpour in Queensland that caused massive floods, loss of property and deaths. Never seen anything like it in my whole life.
For the trip I took the Fujifilm XE4 along with the 10-24 f4, 16f1.4, 35 f2, 50 f2 and 80 f2.8 lenses. It would have been much easier to have a couple of zoom lenses, but always good to try something different. My favorite was the 50f2, which I haven’t used that much so far. It’s a compact lens that fits the XE4 body well and is extremely sharp.
Amsterdam
I stayed in Amsterdam overnight on the way out. As the pictures show It was a supremely dreary day, but still good for a walk.
Tamborine Mountain
My colleague, expat and gourmet cook Þórir Sandholt lives on Tambourine Mountain, about an hour’s drive south of Brisbane. On our first weekend in Brisbane we were invited for dinner and stayed over for the night. Walked some trails and had an excellent dinner.
Along the trail to Witches Falls there are some examples of the Moreton Bay fig tree (fourth photo below), a fascinating type of tree that germinates in a host and then strangles it.
Noosa Heads
The resort town of Noosa Heads is a couple of hours north of Brisbane. It’s got a nice beach, a national park that is good for a days hike and a small lively town center. For a couple of Europeans escaping the winter back home, it was very nice indeed to stay there for the weekend. As a bonus, there was a surfing competition so we we could witness some first class surfing.
Gold Coast and Cape Byron
Next weekend I drove down to the Gold Coast and Byron Bay. There’s a long stretch of beaches from Surfer’s Paradise south to Tweed Heads with plenty of people enjoying the sun and the sea. I loved the lifeguard stations on the coast, of which there are about 30 . They would make a great subject for a photobook, I think.
Further south is Cape Byron, the westernmost point of Australia. It’s an interesting spot for photography and my favorite photo of the trip is of the fisherman with the seabird watching over him. The nearby town of Byron Bay is very lively, down to earth and a lot of fun.
The Great Ocean Road
After a customer visit to Warrnambool I drove back to Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road, staying overnight at Port Campbell. The area’s most iconic feature are the 12 Apostles, a set of sea stacks just off the coast. A lot to take in over a day and half.
Sydney
I ended the trip by staying 3 nights in Sydney, my first time there. I haven’t really made up my mind on what I think about the city. It’s got famous landmarks like the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge. The city is in a spectacular setting around a harbor area and it’s got a lively restaurant and bar scene at Circular Quay, The Rocks and Darling Harbor. Very attractive, but perhaps a bit dull compared to other large cities. Definitely need to investigate further at some point.
Seattle and Bellevue
Back in the US of A for a bit - and a new lens
Mid November I travelled to Seattle for a week of work at our company’s office. I flew in two days early to spend the weekend in Seattle, and to take the edge off the jetlag, before going to Bellevue where the office is located. At the end of the trip, after my flight was delayed by 24 hours, I spent one more night in Seattle.
Not much going on in Bellevue in terms of photography but I did manage to spend a couple of days walking around Seattle taking photos. There was a definite change in the atmosphere from the last time I was there with lots of homeless people about, stores and restaurants closed and even Macy’s is closed. Especially the area around Pioneer Square has really gone to the dogs. On the positive side the double decker highway on the waterfront has been pulled down and the area is being re-developed.
The morning after I arrived I picked up the GF80mm F1.7 lens for my GFX50R at Glazer’s Camera, a wonderful camera store close to the city center. The GF80mm is a magnificent lens, one that I’m really looking forward to use in the future. It’s incredibly sharp and has very pleasing, soft bokeh when wide open.
The photos are taken with the GFX50R using the 50mm and 80mm lenses, and with the XE4 using the 16-55mm lens.
Working in the Netherlands
A couple of weeks in familiar settings
In the middle of September I went to the Netherlands for a couple of weeks to work on some projects. This was my first normal business trip since before Covid hit so it was really nice to meet the people again, work face to face, have a conversations over drinks and dinner and just get out of the country for a while.
The place where I work is in Brabant, close to the German border. As usual I stayed in Nijmegen, a lively city with a large student population. Nijmegen is situated on the river Waal (Rhine) and is supposed to be the oldest city in the Netherlands.
For the trip I took my XE4 and a selection of primes (16mmf1.4, 23mmf1.4, 35mmf2.0, 50mmf2.0 and 80mmf2.8). Not the lightest camera bag, and many lens changes, but good to try something different.
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is a seaside town close to the Hague. On a warm summer day the beach is probably packed with sun lovers but on this September evening there were only a few people there, doing their best to enjoy the last rays of summer. I drove there directly from the airport and managed to catch a couple of hours of photography as the sun was going down.
Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
The Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery is located near Nijmegen on top of a hill overlooking Germany. The cemetery contains the graves of 2619 soldiers, most of them in their twenties. It is a beautifully solemn place, and, like other war memorials in the Netherlands, impeccably maintained by young Dutch volunteers. I was there all by myself on a foggy Saturday morning and was touched by the experience.
Street photography
The Dutch are a good subject for street photography, being affluent, colorfully dressed and very much determined to have a good time. The Dutch cities are great for walking around with a camera, having a good combination of old and new architecture, canals, bikers, walkers, tons of restaurants and no cars.
Rotterdam and Hook of Holland
Rotterdam is a modern city with wide open spaces, very much not the typical Dutch city. You could say the same of Eindhoven, but unlike it I’ve always enjoyed Rotterdam’s lively vibe and modern architecture. On the other side of the Maas is the massive Europoort industrial and shipping complex, which stretches from the city of Rotterdam to the Hook of Holland.
Hook of Holland is an interesting place. There’s a beach with restaurants and holiday homes and on the nearby Maas you can watch an endless stream of cargo ships coming and going.
Odds and ends
I did take an awful lot of pictures during the trip :-)
Working in Germany
Germany in the depths of Covid
At the end of February I travelled on business with two colleagues to Germany through the Netherlands - my only business trip during Covid. Things have been relaxed in Iceland compared to other places so it was a bit of an experience to be in Europe where everything is closed. Quite a depressing atmosphere to be honest and a good reminder of how privileged we have been in our country.
We took a flight from Keflavík to Schiphol and from there we drove to Dinklage, a small town in the state of Lower Saxony. The town itself is not interesting but there is a nice woodland area and an old monastery on its outskirts which is well worth a visit. We also managed a day trip to nearby Bremen and a short stop in Amersfoort on the way back to Schiphol.
I brought along my trusty Fujifilm XT2 and the XF16-55 and XF23f1.4 lenses. If you need one lens for a Fuji X camera I can recommend the XF16-55. Good image quality, covers the most useful focal range and is built like a tank. I don’t agree that the XF18-55 kit lens is good enough, the XF16-55 is far superior in my opinion.
It was nice to get out of the country for a bit and I did get some good snaps here and there, my favorites being from a walk through the woods in the fog.
