In Iceland

[ahbian]

Finally completed a long-waited trip to Iceland.

Spent about 2 weeks and $4 K. Will update later with a breakdown of locations and costs for those interested.

It has been nearly a year since my last trip, and thus nearly a year since I used my camera. Not surprisingly, it started to give me problems on the second day onwards where the AF motor on my 17-55 failed and the LCD on my 40D decided on work only on alternate days! .

Taking photos using manual focus and the tiny viewfinder was quite a challenge to me in the cold weather, but I guess it did give me more time to put down the camera and enjoy the trip as it was.

Processing pictures slowly, don't see much keepers from this trip. I suppose this thread is more to help provide information for those planning trips to Iceland. Just as I have benefited from CS-ers like Asterixsg, Giantcanopy and Kazeee.

 

[ahbian]

Rough estimates of trip costs, with some cost savings tips.

Airfare
Emirate and Icelandic air $1500

Car Rental
Cars | Hyundai Tucson 2.7 (automatic) for 14 days + insurance + GPS rental $500 (per pax for 3 people)
Petrol $300 (per pax for 3 people). Based on the odometer, we drove 3000 km, which was twice the circumference of iceland!

http://www.bluecarrental.is/
These guys are one of the cheapest around, car was well maintained and delivery/collection was punctual. Recommended.

Accommodation
We drove around the ring road in anti-clockwise manner.

Hotels are expensive, so we went for guesthouses. Campsites would be much cheaper, but are not opened during winter.
Since we were traveling in winter, many accommodations were discounted.

There were also added discounts if you opt to use your sleeping bags instead of their bed linen; it turned out that the rooms were well heated enough to sleep comfortably in sleeping bag liners on its own.
The single rooms I stayed in ranged from $35 to $70 per night.

There were shared cooking facilities, but often it turned out that we were the only group at the place, so we have it all to ourselves.

Below is the list of stops and guesthouses we stayed at, for people who might want a shortlist.

Keflavik-B&B Guesthouse

Grundarfjorour-The Old Post Office

Akureyri-Countryhotel Sveinbjarnargerdi

Myvatn- Elda

Seydisfjordur- Post Hostel

Hofn-Hali

Vik-Hvoll Cottages

Hella-Guesthouse Nonni

Hella- Brenna


Meals
Meals at restaurants are relatively expensive, with main courses around $40 per pax.
We bought groceries and prepared our own meals at our accommodation, $100 worth of groceries can comfortably last 3 people for nearly 2 days (i.e. 6 meals).
So self catering definitely brings the cost down.

 

[ahbian]

#1

Jökulsárlón on a gloomy day.

Admittedly, I was shooting blind for this shot, the AF motor had failed and the viewfinder was fogged up, but I had to go with it before the person shifted from the position.

Wiki info on Jökulsárlón

 

[ahbian]

#2

Þingvellir national park, listed on the UNESCO world heritage sites.

Wiki info on Þingvellir.

 

[ahbian]

#3

Seljalandsfoss is one of the more famous (and photographed) waterfalls in Iceland. It towers at a height of 60m and is also unique in that visitors can actually follow a path and walk behind it.

Wiki info on Seljalandsfoss

 

[asterixsg]

Ah, so you went !!!

Pity about the camera problems. Love all three photos posted. When I went, I missed #2 altogether...

Please share more.

Cheers...

 

[ahbian]

Ah, so you went !!!

Pity about the camera problems. Love all three photos posted. When I went, I missed #2 altogether...

Please share more.

Cheers...

Thanks for dropping by. Been really busy to sort out the photos and update the thread.

Another one from the Ice Lagoon, where fragments of the glacier would be found rolling around in the surf.

#4

 

[ricleo]

very impressed with the pics so far considering the condition your gear was in. proves the point that it's the human behind the camera that matters.

 

[ahbian]

Thank you.

Ironically, it was soon after photo #4 that my tripod toppled and the camera took a bath in the icy waters. The much abused workhorse died and recovered the next morning.
So sometimes its the weather, sometimes its the carelessness of the owner.

 

[soulFLY]

#3

A beauty...great sense of scale in this capture....looking forward for more...

Hope you enjoyed the trip... *camping*

 

[Janetleeyj]

Vry vry nice wor, I love this foto :heart::heart: got the color version?

#2

Þingvellir national park, listed on the UNESCO world heritage sites.

Wiki info on Þingvellir.

 

[JacePhoto]

more pictures and sharing pleaseeeee.... thanks!

 

[ahbian]

A beauty...great sense of scale in this capture....looking forward for more...

Hope you enjoyed the trip... *camping*

Hi Thomas, glad you liked it. Photos wise, it one was actually quite a lean harvest. Trip wise, it was thoroughly enjoyable.

I'll dig around the pile and see if there are other nice ones to work on.

 

[ahbian]

Vry vry nice wor, I love this foto :heart::heart: got the color version?

Hi Janet, thanks! It was actually a merged of a long exposure shot (on right) with a "normal shot" (on left).

The colour cast caused by the ND filter made it difficult for me to achieve a consistent colour between the two sides, so this is the only version I could come out with.

more pictures and sharing pleaseeeee.... thanks!

Thank you. Still looking around for potential ones too process, not too many keepers this trip. But if you have questions on arrangements on the trip, I'll be happy to help.

 

[ahbian]

#5

The charming town of Grundarfjörður under twilight.

 

[ahbian]

#6

On hindsight, I realised that I was too preoccupied with waterfalls and mountains, I should have spent more effort in getting pictures of the Icelandic horses, they really are photogenic creatures.

 

[lkkang]

nice trip.. beautiful pictures...

thanks for sharing them,
Billy

 

[Redsun]

very very beautiful!
im planning to go in Oct
Your links will be helpful

Thanks!

 

[ahbian]

nice trip.. beautiful pictures...

thanks for sharing them,
Billy

very very beautiful!
im planning to go in Oct
Your links will be helpful

Thanks!

Thanks guys. If need any further info on trip planning, feel free to ask, I'll help if I have the information.

 

[rosewood1969]

nice album! yes, agree, the horses are indeed photogenic!