In this blogpost I want to give a short summary what happend photograhpy related in 2017. In the Spring of 2016 I bought my first film camera the Nikon Fm2 and that had such am immense inpakt in my life that I only shoot film since the mid summer of 2016. Shooting film is such an amazing thing, it´s so relaxing and so exciting. I can only recommend it to every photography to try it. But I will write about that in a future post which I want to write since 2016. I hope that I find some time for that in 2018 but I´m sure I will because photography is such an important thing in my live that I will spend more time with it.
]]>That was our last morning in Iceland. We packed all our stuff back into the suitcases which wasn’t so easy. We hadn't bought anything but we had many things with us because of the weather. We parked our car near the shopping street Laugavegur. The parking there was the most expensive but we only paid 15 € for the complete day. That was okay. Our first stop was at the Hallgrimskirkja church. We drove up with the elevator to get a great view of the city. Up there I took the image I saw months before on the internet. The weather was really nice that day so the images look really great. The church is really simple inside which my sister and I really liked. On the way to the Cathedral of Christ the King we come along the town hall which is by a small lake. The Cathedral of Christ the King looks on the outside and inside like a typical church. There we sat down on a bench because we had our big backpacks with us and our shoulders hurt and we had so much time left that we didn’t have to stress. After a few minutes we went to the harbour. We looked at the many ships and took images. We walked along the sea and came to the Harpa. The Harpa is an opera and concert hall. The front of the building is completely out of glass blocks. We used the free Wifi to look what we can do the rest of the day because it was 3 pm and we already saw everything we wanted to see that day.
]]>After the breakfast we talked about what places we want to visit that day. We decided that we drove to the Þingvellir National Park and then to Reykjavik to our last hotel. We packed all our stuff and drove down to Selfoss to buy some food for the day. After a really nice car ride we reached the National Park. Fortunately there was a big parking place because we weren’t alone there. We had to pay 500 ISK for the parking which are about 3.70 € and that was for the complete day. So that was completely okay. We tried to walk on smaller ways to get away from the many people. In the park are some houses with a small church which looked really nice with that great landscape. We also found a small waterfall which I photographed with a longer exposure than the other waterfalls. Thanks to the great vibration compensation on my Tamron lens that was possible without a tripod. We drove to Reykjavik where our first stop was at a washing box. Our car was really dirty inside and outside. The front of the car was full of flies and the back full of dirt. The dirt was also inside the car from our shoes. We also used a vacuum cleaner for the inside of the car. The cleaning was not so easy because the descriptions at the washing box were only in icelandic. So we tried with the offline translation to find the right things. For the washing and vacuum cleaning we payed 15 € but the car was really clean after that. It wasn’t as clean as when we got it the first day of our road trip but we thought that it was enough.
]]>We stayed two days at the Fosshotel Hekla so we didn’t have to pack all our stuff together that morning. Our first destination was the waterfall Gullfoss which is around 45 minutes away from the hotel. Gullfoss is a really wide waterfall. It looks really nice. Luckily there weren’t so many people when we arrived so I could take a long time exposure. That time there was no problem with the water spots on the lens because we weren’t so close by the water. On the way back to the car a few busses come and so many people come against us. We drove to the Geysir which is near the waterfall. Because this are tourist spots there always stop bus tours and so there were many people. We were able to take good images of the Geysir. Google Now found a great waterfall near the Geysir but we couldn't find it. So we drove to another one which was also a recommendation from Google Now. This waterfall was called Faxi. We were the only one who were there so we had time to take pictures. When you are not at an tourist spot you are often alone. We forgot our food in the hotel room so we drove back to get it. The next spot on the schedule was the waterfall Haifoss. We drove around 1 hour there (60 km). Unfortunately we had to give up around 5 km before we would have arrived our destination because the road there had big rocks in it and our car wasn’t very high. We didn't want to destroy the car so we turned around and searched the last waterfall called Hjalparfoss which was on the way but we couldn't see it. We hoped that we find it. Thanks to Google Maps we found it because it was hidden in a small valley and we couldn't see it from the road. There were only a few people so I got my camera and started shooting. I got out my favorite lens the Nikon 50mm 1.8 Ai-S. Because this is a complete manual lens and I’m not so fast focusing manual I needed a little time for the pictures. But it was really nice and there were no other people so it didn’t matter because I didn’t disturb anyone who also wanted to take pictures. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a viewpoint at a small hill. From the top we had a really nice view to take pictures. Also there were little flowers which were everywhere on the island. With my Tamron 15-30mm I could go really close to the subject so I could fill the frame with the flowers. Back at the hotel we looked on the Internet what we could eat. We found an KFC in Selfoss. I have never been to a KFC but I always wanted to go to one. The food was good as expected. We got a Skyr from an supermarket and drove back to the hotel.
]]>On day 9 we had a lot of places we wanted to see. Like yesterday there wasn’t so much to see on the first half of the route so we drove directly to our first stop the black sand beach. The beach completely consisted of gravel so I have no idea why this place is called black sand beach. We walked along the beach and took many photos of this beautiful place. Unfortunately the wind blew very strong and so it was really cold. After we saw everything we drove to a cliff which was on the black sand beach but not reachable from where we were before. From there we saw down to the beach and also saw the cliffs called Dyrhólaey. Our next stop was the waterfall called Skógafoss. The parking place place was directly in front of the waterfall so I took my tripod with me to take long time exposures. I used my ND filter to get a longer exposure. Afterwards I saw that I had many water drops on the filter. I tried to remove them but there were too many so the images aren’t perfect. That’s the problem I had at many waterfalls. I had to clean the filter or lens after every picture but with the strong wind the water was always on the camera. Then we stopped also by the waterfall Seljalandsfoss where you can walk behind the waterfall. We had our cameras with us so we didn’t do that because all the people who walked behind the waterfall got completely wet.
]]>That day we had to drive the second longest route between our hotels (300 km). It was no problem because on the first half of the route wasn’t much to see. When we were on a gravel road we mounted the GoPro on the hood of the car because we wanted to film the roads while we drove. I have the suction cup mount which is made for that so it was really easy and safe. Fortunately I used the underwater case because after a few kilometers filming it started to get really foggy and the GoPro was really wet. There were big drops on the lens so you can’t can see anything on the video. The first real stop of the day was at the Jökulsárlón - Glacier Lagoon. This is a big lake with icebergs in it which have the color blue. After a few kilometers on the road we found a second ice lake named Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon. There is was quieter because the big busses stopped only at the other one. There I took this really nice image of the ice reflecting in the water. The scene there was really nice for taking photos. We reached our hotel and then drove to the waterfall Svartifoss which is in the Skaftafell National Park. Because I learned from the last day I only got my DSLR with the 15-30 wide angle lens. This set also ways 2kg but it is lighter than my tripod and the backpack. From the parking place to the waterfall we had to walk 4 km. On the way we passed the waterfall Hundafoss.
]]>The last night wasn’t the best. I couldn’t sleep really good because the curtains let too much light in the room. We started our day as every day at around 10 am. We drove to Myvatn. Our first stop was the crater Hverfjall. That is a big gravel hill. The way up wasn’t so easy because of the gravel and it was really steep. On the top we took a few photos and decided that we don't want go around the crater because that would have lasted around 2 hours. So we went down and drove to a parking place which was nearby the crater to walk by the sea. But that day it was really warm so the flies were really annoying. We would have been able to buy a net but they also sat on our arms so that wouldn’t have been better. We took a few photos and decided that we drive around the lake and than to our next hotel. On the way the view out of the front window got worse because there way so many flies. When they flew against the window it sounded like it would rain.
]]>Our first stop on that day was the waterfall Godafoss. That was only 30 minutes away from our hotel. As we reached the waterfall we noticed that we are at a tourist place. There were many busses and so many people. I got my tripod and my ND Filter and took some long time exposures of the water. Our next destination was the canyon Asbyrgi. As you can see on the map we drove up through Husavik to the canyon because later we drove to the waterfall Dettifoss. By the canyon we parked our car and walked a little bit in the canyon. It was really nice there. As you can see on the pictures there were many small birches all over the place. There are two roads from the canyon to Dettifoss. We wanted to drive the left one (862) because there would have been a cave on the way but unfortunately the upper section of that road was only for 4x4 cars. So we had to use the right road (864). We said if the view from the right side isn’t so good we would drive down the road and up the “862” to the waterfall. As we reached the waterfall we saw that the view is way better from that side. I took many long time exposures of the waterfall. We discussed if we should drive to Myvatn that day or the next one because on the next day we had a long drive but there wasn’t so much to see on the way. We decided that we would go to Myvatn the next day and that was a good idea. The last section (30 km) from Dettifoss to the road number 1 was the worst road we drove in Iceland. We needed 1.5 hours for 30km. There were many big rocks, deep sand on waterholes on that section and we only had a normal car. Driving there was a real challenge.
]]>The destination of that day was Akureyri. On the way there we stopped at the “Torf House Museum” in Glaumbaer. In Iceland one can find a lot of these museums. In the houses there were furnitures and tools the old icelandic used. These museums are free. Only if you want a guided tour you have to pay. We arrived in Akureyri in the afternoon. On the day before we searched for restaurants. We found the “Bryggjan” which is and pizzeria. We ate some really good pizzas there but the prices are a little bit higher that in Austria. We paid 45€ for 2 pizzas, a coke and a water. After our great dinner we walked through Akureyri. We went to the church where you have a good view over a part of the city. Compared to the days before there were many people but when you compare it to home (I live in Wiener Neudorf, Austria) there weren’t so much people. Akureyri is the second biggest city of Iceland. We got some food for the next day and a dessert for later. We drove the 15 minutes to the hotel (Hotel Natur) because it is a little bit away from Akureyri. From the hotel we had an great view to the sea. We decided to go down to the beach. We walked on the beach but there were many birds and we didn’t want to disturb them so we went back up and sat down on a bench. This day the water was really nice. The sun shined and the temperature was over 20 °C.
]]>That day we had to drive the longest way between our hotels. So we started our drive directly after the breakfast. On the road we saw the beautiful landscapes of the Westfjords. For me the Westfjords are one of the nicest places of Iceland and a must see if you visit the country. After some time we saw some seals directly beside the road.All tourists stopped there to take pictures of them. My 70-300 mm lens unfortunately was not long enough to fill the frame. But you can see the seals on the photo. After the long drive we were happy to reach the hotel (Hotel Gauksmyri). In the hotel we saw nice images of tourist spots nearby the hotel. One of the pictures showed a big rock on a black sand beach and we decided to drive there. On the map we also found another rock but we weren’t able to find that. After an 1 hour drive we reached the 15 m high basalt stack (Hvítserkur). We packed our backpacks and “climbed” down the hill to reach the beach. With my complete photography equipment that wasn’t so easy. We took many photos on the beach. The black sand was really fascinating. After we climbed back up the hill we noticed that there was also an easier but longer way to go down the beach. We need to look better in the future.
]]>After we finished our nice breakfast we stayed in the breakfast room because this was the only place with WiFi. Then we went back to our room to pack all our stuff, loaded everything into the car and started our drive to Isafjördur. The greater part of the route were gravel roads so we had to plan more time than Google Maps suggested. The roads were in good conditions so we were able to drive 60 - 80 km/h (80 km/h is the speed limit on gravel roads). On the way we stopped many times to take pictures. On Google Maps we saw that we only had a few more kilometers to Isafjördur our destination but to get there we had to drive through a tunnel which was around 5 km long and only had one lane. This was a new experience for me. We got lucky because we could drive through the tunnel without any stops and the cars from the other direction had to wait. We checked in at the hotel (Hotel Isafjördur) and searched on the internet what we could do the rest of the day. On the way in the city we saw a waterfall with a small forest. We decided to drive there take some photos and walk through the forest. It was the first time we saw trees and a forest in Iceland.
]]>As described in the last article we had to reach the ferry at 9:00 AM. So we got up at 6:00 AM, packed all our stuff and drove away from the hotel at around 6:30 AM. It was to early in the morning so we couldn't eat breakfast there because that would have started at 7:00 AM. So our breakfast was only a Corny (granola bar). We took the longer way but it had an amazing view and we wouldn't have to drive the way back we took the day before. Unfortunately after a few kilometers it started to get really foggy so the view wasn’t so good anymore and it got difficult to see the street. This was also the first time we drove on a gravel road which was in really good condition so it was no problem. On the whole way to the ferry we saw only one car on the road. Okay it was early in the morning but only one car drove by us that was kinda funny. On the ferry the view was also really bad because it was extremely foggy. We drove about 3 hours until we arrived in the Westfjords so we had time to take a look on the map and plan the remaining day. We decided that we drove a longer way to our next hotel so that we can see more of the Westfjords because on the next day we had a long way ahead of us and then we would have driven the road from the ferry to the Hotel two times. Afterwards this wasn’t the best idea. Some sections of the road were really really bad. We only drove 10 km/h and the car wobbled around like a small boat on the sea. An 4x4 car would have been better for this road. But the view and the landscapes on this road were gorgeous and we took a lot of great photos.
]]>Our first morning in Iceland. After the breakfast we packed all our stuff and checked with the Wifi available at the hotel the route to our first destination the “Bridge America Europe”. When we were on the road and had no internet connection we used the offline navigation function from google maps to navigate. After the “Bridge America Europe” we drove towards Reykjavik because it was on the way to our next Hotel which was near the ferry. There it was not so easy to drive because of the roundabouts with two lanes. After the city it started to get quieter on the road. On the way we stopped to buy some food for the day and also got some really great cinnamon rolls from a bakery. We stopped many times to take pictures because the landscape was so great and everything was new to us. At the end of the trip the stops for photos were less because you can’t photograph everything. You can’t capture these impressive landscapes on photos that it looks like real life.
]]>My sister and I started our journey on the 2nd of June at 7:30 PM at the Vienna International Airport. Our plane should have departed at 9:30 PM but it was delayed by 50 minutes because of bad weather conditions in Vienna. The flight usually takes about 4 hours but the plane couldn't land in Keflavik because it was very foggy. So we circled around the airport for about 1 hour until we could land. This was my second flight and my first long one. At my first flight I felt not so good so I was a little bit nervous because this one was a longer flight. But the flight was okay for me. At the airport we grabbed our luggage and got our car. It was a Hyundai i30 which was a really good car.
]]>In this blog I will write about photography for example about my gear, travels to other countries, a shooting or an event. But who am I. I´m Philipp Keschl. I was born in 1994, I'm a passionate photographer and I love photography gear. In this blog I will write about that because it's so much fun and a really important piece of my life. I want to transmit my knowledge in this area to help other people. I will write about my photo tours or single photos that I can tell the story behind the pictures. Because the website is complete self developed I will also write an article when I update it to describe the new features and improvements. I know that currently (June 2016) a few things are missing such as comments or likes but I work on that and I hope that I can add this soon to the page. That’s it for now.
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