Photo Blog by Rajan Parrikar » Wildlife http://www.parrikar.com/blog Satyam Shivam Sundaram (Truth, Divinity, Beauty) Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:08:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Singing to the Birds http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/12/01/singing-to-the-birds/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/12/01/singing-to-the-birds/#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:03:47 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7869 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

We were driving towards the village of Þingeyri in the Westfjords of Iceland when my friend and guide Börkur Hrólfsson descried a faint movement on the route ahead. Fortunately, he decided to stop and take a look, for whatever it was was directly in the line of our superjeep’s massive wheels. It turned out that a couple of freshly hatched Golden Plover chicks had wandered away from the mother and onto the path. Börkur soothed and sang to them (in Icelandic, of course!), then entrusted them to the stressed mother.

Fragile
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

 

Börkur Hrólfsson tweets to the birds
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/12/01/singing-to-the-birds/feed/ 1 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/29/let-sleeping-dogs-lie/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/29/let-sleeping-dogs-lie/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:21:12 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7285 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Siesta, the birthright of every Goan
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 Makro Planar

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/29/let-sleeping-dogs-lie/feed/ 1 Icelandic Sheep http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/18/icelandic-sheep/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/18/icelandic-sheep/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 18:34:15 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7234 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

For over 1000 years, the Icelandic sheep has remained a pure breed. Raised wholly on natural mountain grass and without hormones, the quality of Icelandic wool and lamb meat is rated to be the finest in the world. The annual sheep roundup in September, known as réttir, is an important cultural tradition, an occasion for both work and celebration, where families and friends gather on farms all over the country to participate in the ritual to track down, corral and sort the animals.

Traffic jam on the Ring Road near Höfn
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Herding sheep on the Ring Road near Höfn
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Curious - at Núpsstaður
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Icelandic lamb - at Gerði
5D Mark II, 85L II

 

The annual autumn roundup - at Skaftartungur
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/18/icelandic-sheep/feed/ 5 Golden Light at Látrabjarg http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/09/golden-light-at-latrabjarg/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/09/golden-light-at-latrabjarg/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 22:25:01 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=6860 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

I must have accrued a small credit of positive karma when we got to Látrabjarg, for we were fortunate to spend some glorious moments in the company of the midnight sun. Látrabjarg is Iceland‘s (and Europe’s) westernmost point and one of the world’s great bird cliffs.

In the summer months at these high latitudes, the sun lingers over the horizon for quite a while around midnight, showering upon the landscape an ethereal stream of honey-dipped photons. It makes for a scene that is pure manna to just about anyone with a soul.

The photographs in this post summarize our magical night out in Látrabjarg earlier this June.

Puffins in the light of the midnight sun
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Up close in Látrabjarg
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Bathed in the magic light
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Puffin love (Note: the golden light got switched off temporarily)
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

A fellow photographer
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Future steaks on a midnight stroll
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Börkur Hrólfsson
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

View from Látrabjarg
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/09/golden-light-at-latrabjarg/feed/ 6 Heroic Rescue http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/06/18/heroic-rescue/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/06/18/heroic-rescue/#comments Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:10:43 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=6374 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

This morning on our way to Loðmundarfjörður in the Eastfjords of Iceland, we descried a hapless ewe and her lambs in distress, buried in a snowy ditch at the top of the mountain pass between Loðmundarfjörður and Borgarfjörður Eystri. My friend and guide Börkur Hrólfsson pulled off a heroic rescue with his bare two hands. Mother and lambs are reported to be doing fine.

See video of the rescue operation below.

 

Börkur launches the rescue operation
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

 

The hapless ewe in the snowy ditch
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

 

 

Update: This event received coverage in the Icelandic media. See here and here. Note that these links may be active for a limited time only.

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/06/18/heroic-rescue/feed/ 3 Horses in Langanes http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/06/17/horses-in-langanes/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/06/17/horses-in-langanes/#comments Sat, 18 Jun 2011 01:06:35 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=6363 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Langanes, the remote peninsula in the northeast corner of Iceland not far from the Arctic Circle, is the very definition of isolation. I will have more images later from our foray into this back of beyond.

This photograph was taken last night from our vehicle as the speed daemons hurtled past in the distance.

Horses at Langanes
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

PS: It all happened in a flash, I had only one shot at it, and took it with whatever settings I had on at the time. I quite liked what came of it.

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/06/17/horses-in-langanes/feed/ 2 The Icelandic Horse http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/03/20/the-icelandic-horse/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/03/20/the-icelandic-horse/#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2011 06:49:57 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=5417 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

The Icelandic horse is a unique breed and an integral part of the Icelandic landscape. You may read about this beautiful animal here. Icelanders take their horses seriously. As the Wiki entry explains, “Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported into the country and exported animals are not allowed to return.”

Near Kirkjubæjarklaustur
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Nose to the ground
5D Mark II, 85L II

 

Handsome dude
5D Mark II, 85L II

 

A stud farm near Kirkjubærklaustur
5D Mark II, 85L II

 

Backlit
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

The 'Golden Mane', near Mývatn
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

R&R, in Eyjafjörður
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Out in the midnight sun near Húsavík
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Posing for the camera
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Mare and foal in Fljótsdalur
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Horsing around - my guide Börkur Hrólfsson in Öxarfjörður
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/03/20/the-icelandic-horse/feed/ 4 Clarity http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/12/12/clarity/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/12/12/clarity/#comments Mon, 13 Dec 2010 07:24:01 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=3909 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Impressions from a morning spent in Lónsfjörður in southeast Iceland.

The farm Vík in Lónsfjörður in southeast Iceland
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Colony of swans at Lón
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/12/12/clarity/feed/ 2 Lónsöræfi http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/10/26/lonsor%c3%a6fi/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/10/26/lonsor%c3%a6fi/#comments Wed, 27 Oct 2010 02:23:27 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=3290 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

The unspoilt wilderness region of Lónsöræfi in southeast Iceland is a geological wonderland of extreme beauty. Its colourful rhyolite mountains are pure eye candy and the stillness of the environment a soul-soother.

Access to Lónsöræfi is not easy. There is no paved road leading to it. It takes days of arduous hiking or a difficult ride of 2.5 hours in a specially fitted superjeep to get there. We charted the latter. The drive first involves crossing a rough, rock-strewn glacial plain braided by glacial rivers. What comes next is not for the faint of heart: a climb up several steep gradients with little margin for error. But the effort is richly rewarded as you can see in the photographs below, taken just over a week ago.

On the way to Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Colourful rocks on the floor of the glacial valley
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Fog in the glacial valley
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Rhyolite mountains of Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Rhyolite mountains of Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Lichen-covered rock
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Reindeer in Lónsöræfi
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Wider view of reindeer on the steep mountain slope
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/10/26/lonsor%c3%a6fi/feed/ 0 Látrabjarg http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/06/09/latrabjarg/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/06/09/latrabjarg/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:13:19 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=2603 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Around 10 miles in length and 440 metres high, Látrabjarg in Iceland is considered among the world’s greatest bird cliffs. We got there a little after 10 pm last night. It is a wondrous sight.

Látrabjarg was the scene of the dramatic rescue of the British trawler Dhoon in 1947. (Hint to the curious: use Google.)

Puffins at Látrabjarg bird cliffs, Iceland
5D Mark II, 300L f/4 IS

 

Puffin at Látrabjarg, Iceland
5D Mark II, 300L f/4 IS

 

Puffin
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 
 
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