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Arnarstapi, Iceland
Half-human, half-troll, Bardur Snaefellsas, is known as the area’s guardian spirit. He is represented at the entrance to the village in the form of a life-sized sculpture created by artist Ragnar Kjartansson. In Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, Arnarstapi is the last stop the characters make before entering into the depths of the mystical Snaefellsjokull glaci
An iconic tropical waterfall in Atherton Tablelands. It is famous for its perfection and beauty. ( I was quite impressed when I saw a big framed picture of Millaa Millaa Falls in Russian outback shop.)
But unfortunately it is too easy to access - it is right next to the road. So there are coach loads of tourists. To make it worse, the tourists take a plunge in the waterfall pool!
So, no more a perfect pictures. I have visited this place in 2003, and it was not so bad.
Interestingly, if you look at the map, the waterfall is located in just a small patch of remnant rainforest, surrounded by pastures.
Reynisfjara is a black pebble beach near the village Vik in Myrdalur on Iceland's South Coast. The waves at Reynisfjara are especially strong and unpredictable. Apart from the amazing cliff of basalt columns resembling a rocky step pyramid (Gardar), out in the sea are the spectacularly shaped basalt sea stacks Reynisdrangar. According to folklore, two trolls attempted to drag a ship to land but were turned to stone as daylight broke, turning them into the Reynisdrangar stacks.
This photo was taken at the level of the Yukon River where it begins its passage through Miles Canyon.
This is a single exposure taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mounted to a tripod. I also employed a circular polarizing filter for this image. It was quite chilly out and the river continues to progress towards its annual freeze, with ice forming wherever there is a break in the current, such as in the eddy just beyond the foreground rocks. You can just make out the Miles Canyon Suspension Foot Bridge in the distance.
Vik Iceland in late afternoon light in early October 2014. Captured with Olympus OEM-10.
Vik is the most southern Village in the country. Its super easy to get to as its right on the ring road.
Wikipedia says that "In 1991, the US journal Islands Magazine counted this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth. Its stretch of black basalt sand is one of the wettest places in Iceland."
It is full of beauty that is for sure.
You might be able to see some white dots in the right top area in the shadows of the mountain.
These are birds not dust or spray on the lens.
The place is loaded with them, you can hear the calling non-stop even above the roar of the ocean waves and wind.
They say puffins like to live in this area. Since I don't live near puffins, I am unfamiliar with their ways and I can't say for sure what they are.
The fingers of basalt rock out in the water are a famous landmark and of course it being Iceland they have a great story to go with them.
Folklore tells us that they are former trolls who tried to drag their boats out to sea only to be caught by the rising dawn.
Two images made into a Panorama on the desktop in Photoshop and Nik's Viveza Plugin.
"All my life my heart has sought a thing I cannot name."
-Hunter S Thompson, remembering a line from an apocryphal and partially forgotten poem in "Hell's Angels"
This photo's from a distant past winter, at Oregon's Abiqua Falls.
I've sat on this photo for years, over a decade now, always kind of on the fence about whether it deserved its own life online and off my hard drive.
As I'm wont to do, I saw this photo again recently, agreed with my past self that it wasn't quite ready, and then worked backward though my edits, then threw them all away and started over with something a little more simple and with a different crop. And then, for whatever reason, this time around I was satisfied.
I guess it was finally time.
Giant’s Causeway
The Giant’s Causeway is a geological wonder with over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns perfectly shaped into hexagons because of intense volcanic activity some 50 to 60 million years ago. In 1986, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Giant’s Causeway is steeped in myth and legend. Carved from the coastline, the giant Finn McCool left behind an ancient Celtic folklore.
Legend of Finn McCool
One of the legends is that the giant Finn McCool, who was a mythical hunter warrior, used the basalt columns forming the causeway as stepping-stones to travel from Ireland to Scotland to visit his love, a Scottish giantess, in an attempt to bring her back to Ireland. Many of the most popular versions of the tale include a link to Scotland because the same pattern of hexagonal columns can be seen from the Antrim Causeway across the sea in Staffa, a Scottish isle.
The most popular tale, however, revolves around a rivalry between the giant Finn McCool and a Scottish giant named Benandonner, known as the Red Man. Finn challenged his long-standing rival to a fight while they shouted and threatened each other from across the water.
When you walk the Causeway coastal trail, bread the fresh air from the Irish sea and use our imagination, it doesn’t take long until you feel the magic of the Celtic mythology and folklore.
Chaussée des Géants
La Chaussée des Géants est une merveille géologique avec plus de 40 000 colonnes de basalte imbriquées parfaitement façonnées en hexagones en raison de l’intense activité volcanique il y a 50 à 60 millions d’années. En 1986, il a été déclaré site du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO. La Chaussée des Géants est imprégnée de mythes et de légendes. Taillée dans le littoral, le géant Finn McCool a laissé derrière lui un ancien folklore celtique.
Légende de Finn McCool
L'une des légendes est que le géant Finn McCool, qui était un guerrier et chasseur mythique, a utilisé les colonnes de basalte formant la chaussée comme tremplins pour voyager d'Irlande en Écosse pour rendre visite à son amour, une géante écossaise, dans le but de l'amener en Irlande. La plupart des versions les plus populaires du conte incluent un lien vers l'Écosse, car le même motif de colonnes hexagonales peut être vu depuis la côte de l’Antrim Causeway de l'autre côté de la mer à Staffa, une île écossaise.
L'histoire la plus populaire, cependant, tourne autour d'une rivalité entre le géant Finn McCool et un géant écossais nommé Benandonner, connu sous le nom de Red Man. Finn a défié son rival de longue date à un combat pendant qu'ils criaient et se menaçaient de chaque côté de l’eau.
Lorsque vous parcourez le sentier côtier Causeway, respirez l'air frais de la mer d'Irlande et utilisez votre imagination, ce n’est pas long avant de ressentir la magie de la mythologie et du folklore celtique.
All images are copyright Ross Holmes, All Rights Reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
The basalt columns of Fingal bay which were a result of volcanic eruptions millions of years ago! As unique a piece of coastline I have seen in my travels up and down the eastern seaboard.
One more image from a great session at Reynisdrangar about a month ago. Endless foul weather and rain has kept me home and going through my archive. In a way it is good to go through the archive but I would rather be out there somewhere shooting.
If you would like to visit an ice cave consider join my Winter Photo Tour
The Voyages Friendship Statue, commemorating the end of the Cod Wars between UK and Iceland, and the Deep, a public aquarium. Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire (England, UK).
The statue companion in Vík í Mýrdal, Iceland:
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Svartifoss (Black Fall) is among the most renowned waterfalls of Iceland despite its small volume of water.
The narrow strand of water framed with dark and long basaltic columns in the horse shoe shaped gorge is very impressive.
The waterfall is in Skaftafell National Park in Iceland, and is one of the most popular sights in the park. It is surrounded by dark lava columns, which give rise to its name. The hexagonal columns were formed inside a lava flow which cooled extremely slowly, giving rise to crystallization. Similar well-known lava formations are seen at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, and on the island of Staffa in Scotland.
The base of this waterfall is noteworthy for its sharp rocks. New hexagonal column sections break off faster than the falling water wears down the edges.
These basalt columns have provided inspiration for Icelandic architects, most visibly in the Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavík, and also the National Theatre.
Cited from:
www.nat.is/travelguideeng/plofin_svartifoss.htm
and:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svartifoss
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This photo was taken at the level of the Yukon River where it begins its passage through Miles Canyon.
This is a single exposure taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 mounted to a tripod. I also employed a circular polarizing filter for this image. It was quite chilly out and the river continues to progress towards its annual freeze, with ice forming wherever there is a break in the current, such as in the eddy just beyond the foreground rocks. You can just make out the Miles Canyon Suspension Foot Bridge in the distance.
Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption (around 50 to 60 million years ago). Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres (92 ft) thick in places.
Sea arches and basalt cliffs of Arnarstapi at South coast of Snaefellsness Peninsula. I came back here next day when it was sunny, but I prefer the moodier overcast scene from the 1st visit. Apparently, these cliffs are also known as bird cliffs. I remember visiting this area in summer on my first iceland trip back in 2010 I think. Cliffs were covered in white guano with hundreds of birds nesting everywhere. It's a bit more peaceful in winter :)
The best season to photograph these pinnacles is mid winter when the sun rises behind them. The best location to photograph them is on the coast line nearest to the pinnacles. It sounds like an easy recipe but getting to this location in winter is tricky to say the least. Only when the right time of year, the right timing of the tide, the right weather conditions the weeks before and the right weather on the day of shooting is it possible to shoot this. This happened last Saturday and I was able to get out there. Finally! I tried it multiple times in winter without success.
But care must be taken. It was only possible on low tide, we had a window of two hours to get there and out again. Usually the sandy access beach gets washed away in winter due to stormy weather but this time the right weather patterns returned some of it back.
As many of you may already know, getting out to Staffa is very much weather dependent and although this was my third attempt to actually get onto the island in more than 35 years, this was the first time the little ferry boat got there, but the swell was too big to get off the boat and onto the island. Hey ho, that's how it goes, next time maybe, but at least I got a few shots from my point and shoot and was able to enjoy the views and those heaving and gorgeous, turquoise waters
Translation of the name is "waterfall of the Gods". The waterfall was named when the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði made Christianity the official religion of Iceland in the year 999 or 1000. Upon returning home from the Alþingi (Icelandic congress), Þorgeir supposedly threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall.
First adventure with my new LEE filters. 82 second exposure. LEE 0.9 hard grad and LEE Little Stopper.
Many basalt columns lie broken in front of Devils Postpile.
This shows the shape of a broken basalt column close up. Many of the columns are hexagonal or pentagonal.
The columns average 2 feet (0.61 m) in diameter, and many are up to 60 feet (18 m) long.
See previous photo for a view standing on top of Devils Postpile.
This image was taken while I was on a photoshoot with my Flickr friends Deb Snelson and Stonemason.
We went along the North coast and, unfortunately for them, it rained in torrents most of the one day they were here! Between the downpours we got a few shots.
The Giants Causeway is a wonderful World Heritage Site and is a completely magical place with its hexagonal basalt columns and fascinating anatomy.
The cliffs to the right are known as The Chimney Stacks.
This is not HDR as some people seem to think!!
Deb and Stonemason take beautiful pictures and it would be well worth your while visiting this streams if you like landscape photography.
www.flickr.com/photos/debs_best/ (Debs Stream)
www.flickr.com/photos/stonemason/ (Stonemason's Stream)
Thank you both for a wonderful day out.
Please dont leave any Invites as I am pretty busy but I would love your comments if you have time!
Une plage rocheuse du Giant's Causeway, sur la Causeway Coast, comté d'Antrim, Irlande du Nord, Royaume-Uni.
Située à 3 km au nord de la ville de Bushmills, le Giant's Causeway ou la Chaussée des Géants forme une spectaculaire masse en nid d'abeilles formée de 40 000 colonnes de basalte de 30 à 60 cm de large, allant jusqu'à 13 m de haut, parfaitement ajustées presque hexagonales (entre 4 à 10 faces) nées d'éruptions volcaniques il y a 60 millions d'années.
L'ensemble, érodé par l'action de la mer, évoque un pavage qui débute de la base de la falaise et disparait dans la mer. Les colonnes sont visibles sur l'estran mais aussi dans la falaise haute de 28 mètres, qui constitue la bordure du plateau d'Antrim.
Bien que connue par la population locale, la Chaussée des Géants resta inconnue du grand public jusqu'en 1693, année où Sir Richard Bulkeley, membre du Trinity College de Dublin présenta à la Royal Society de Londres un article s'intéressant au site. Celui-ci est aujourd'hui inscrit sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO depuis 1986 (WHL- 369bis).
Le site a inspiré une légende.
Selon celle-ci, deux géants ennemis vivaient de chaque côté de la mer, l'un en Écosse, appelé Benandonner, et l'autre en Irlande, nommé Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Le géant écossais parlait de son rival irlandais comme d'une personne négligée et froussarde jusqu'au jour où celui-ci, piqué au vif, dit à l'Écossais de venir se battre pour lui prouver qu'il était le plus fort ! Mais comment franchir la mer ? L'Irlandais jeta des pierres dans l'eau pour construire un chemin praticable, une « chaussée » entre l'Écosse et l'Irlande. Mais quand il vit approcher son adversaire, l'Irlandais fut pris de panique car il était beaucoup plus petit que son adversaire ! Il courut demander conseil à sa femme, qui eut juste le temps de le déguiser en bébé avant l'arrivée du géant écossais. À ce dernier, elle présenta son « fils », qui n'était autre que son mari déguisé. Le géant écossais, voyant la taille de ce « bébé », prit peur. Affolé à l'idée de la taille du père et par conséquent de sa puissance, il prit ses jambes à son cou et s'en retourna dans ses terres d'Écosse en prenant soin de démonter la chaussée pour que l'Irlandais ne risque pas de rejoindre son île. Tiré de fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauss%C3%A9e_des_G%C3%A9ants
View of the waterfall from the approach trail; located in the Skaftafell region of Vatnajökull National Park.
The rocky basalt formed isle of Staffa, off the West coast of Mull one the Treshnish group of Islands, a strange landscape of hexagonal basalt columns as found in the Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland, I've been trying to get onto here for ages, previous visits it has been too rough to land so today saw an early trip out with favorable conditions for landing, finally managed to get it done, an amazing place, and even more amazingly totally dry with a nice overcast sky for long exposures......
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