Iceberg at Jokulsarlon, Iceland
I love how these photos turned out, but this was an absolutely miserable, god-awful day. The weather was not good when we left the guesthouse room and it got much worse as the day progressed. When we arrived at Jokulsarlon it was drizzling and windy. We stayed outside for a few minutes but my wife was freezing so we retreated to a warm car.
Jokulsarlon is an interesting place - it is a big glacial lagoon with a small outlet canal that connects with the Atlantic Ocean. Icebergs float about 500 yards to the open ocean or end up on Diamond Beach. Initially the tide was coming in, so none of the icebergs were moving, but it was like someone flipped a switch and the tide reversed. Slowly at first the icebergs started moving to the ocean. Pretty soon a bunch of them were racing in the channel. It was fascinating. The rain and wind had also picked up. I would spend 5-10 minutes in the car, make a mad dash to shelter under a bridge, hiding behind a support to get out of the wind and rain. I have good rain gear but it was miserable.
I told Heather that it might sound stupid, but if I didn't go to Diamond Beach I would always regret it, so I headed to the beach. I was being blown backwards, couldn't see anything since the rain was now horizontal and stinging. My camera was tucked inside my rain jacket. I made it to the beach and it was amazing. Some chunks of ice had washed up already and were laying on the black sand beach. Wow. Others were being tossed in the waves and came crashing in. I was snapping pictures but had no idea how, or if, they would come out. I lasted about 15 minutes until I couldn't feel my fingers so I headed back to the car. What a great experience but we called it a day by about noon and headed back to the nice, warm room to thaw out.
I took these photos in mid-September 2021. I am so jealous of the people that hit this area in good weather!
Iceberg at Jokulsarlon, Iceland
I love how these photos turned out, but this was an absolutely miserable, god-awful day. The weather was not good when we left the guesthouse room and it got much worse as the day progressed. When we arrived at Jokulsarlon it was drizzling and windy. We stayed outside for a few minutes but my wife was freezing so we retreated to a warm car.
Jokulsarlon is an interesting place - it is a big glacial lagoon with a small outlet canal that connects with the Atlantic Ocean. Icebergs float about 500 yards to the open ocean or end up on Diamond Beach. Initially the tide was coming in, so none of the icebergs were moving, but it was like someone flipped a switch and the tide reversed. Slowly at first the icebergs started moving to the ocean. Pretty soon a bunch of them were racing in the channel. It was fascinating. The rain and wind had also picked up. I would spend 5-10 minutes in the car, make a mad dash to shelter under a bridge, hiding behind a support to get out of the wind and rain. I have good rain gear but it was miserable.
I told Heather that it might sound stupid, but if I didn't go to Diamond Beach I would always regret it, so I headed to the beach. I was being blown backwards, couldn't see anything since the rain was now horizontal and stinging. My camera was tucked inside my rain jacket. I made it to the beach and it was amazing. Some chunks of ice had washed up already and were laying on the black sand beach. Wow. Others were being tossed in the waves and came crashing in. I was snapping pictures but had no idea how, or if, they would come out. I lasted about 15 minutes until I couldn't feel my fingers so I headed back to the car. What a great experience but we called it a day by about noon and headed back to the nice, warm room to thaw out.
I took these photos in mid-September 2021. I am so jealous of the people that hit this area in good weather!