Upon hearing a great piece of music, my music guru Ramashreya Jha “Ramrang” was fond of quoting Kabir:

mann mast hua tab kyon bole?
(Why open your mouth when the mind is filled with bliss?)

I am often at a loss for words in the midst of Iceland‘s landscape and Kabir serves me well there.

Mountain Hestur and farm Eyri on Seyðisfjörður in the Westfjords
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

Wide angle
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

Note: This is Seyðisfjörður in the Westfjords, not to be confused with the more well-known fjord and village of the same name in the Eastfjords on the other side of the island.

In the lovely village of Seyðisfjörður in the Eastfjords of Iceland.

In Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland
5D Mark II, 24-105L

A Northern Lights display on a cold night at the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river in north Iceland. See an earlier post for another assay.

Northern Lights at Jökulsá á Fjöllum in north Iceland
5D Mark II, 14L II

Hallgrímskirkja was built in 1937 and is a Reykjavík landmark. Architect Guðjón Samúelsson patterned its façade after the basaltic lava columns that are common in Iceland.

The first two photographs were taken close to midnight in the beautiful light of the low summer sun. Maintaining the verticals of such a tall structure is made possible by the use of the Canon Tilt-Shift 17mm lens.

In the church compound ahead of the entrance, a statue of the legendary Icelandic explorer Leifur Eiríksson greets all visitors (the shadow it casts is seen in the first image). It was a gift by the USA to the people of Iceland. Leifur is today regarded as the first European discoverer of North America, long before Columbus.

Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Draped in the light of the midnight sun
5D Mark II, TS-E 17L

Looking down from the church tower towards Leifur Eiríksson
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

The Strandir coast of the Westfjords in Iceland exudes a melancholy air. Desolate, remote beaches lined with piles of driftwood washed up from Siberia only add to this sense of foreboding. Veiðileysa is a small inlet just before crossing the pass that leads into the next fjord Reykjarfjörður.

Veiðileysa á Ströndum
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

Fog moves in less than an hour later. Weather conditions can turn on a dime in Iceland.

Fog over Veiðileysa
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

An array of flat-topped mountains, their snouts dipped in the fjord, punctuated by valleys is the signature sight of Iceland‘s Westfjords. This image of one such mountain, Hvestunúpur (531 m), was taken on Arnarfjörður.

Light on Hvestunúpur and Vaðall beach
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 MP

A better appreciation of the scape can be had from the air, and such a view is seen below in an image taken from Iceland Road Atlas. The settlement of Bíldudalur (population 166) is in the foreground and Hvestunúpur is the second peak out. These valleys are collectively known by the name Ketildalir (Kettle valleys).

Ketildalir valleys
© Iceland Road Atlas

A tortuous mountain pass wends into the farm of Njarðvík near Borgarfjörður Eystri in the East Fjords of Iceland.

Borgarfjarðarvegur
5D Mark II, 24-105L

Few traffic jams here
5D Mark II, 24-105L

PS: There are no snakes in Iceland.

Gleðileg jól !

This shot was taken from the area between Goðaland and Þórsmörk. Seen in the foreground is the glacial plain of Krossá, among Iceland‘s most dangerous glacial rivers, and in the distance, Mýrdalsjökull glacier.

Goðaland and Þórsmörk, looking towards Mýrdalsjökull
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 100 f/2 MP

The crater lake Ljótipollur (“Ugly Puddle”) in the central Highlands of Iceland was formed in an explosion in the 15th C along the Torfajökull Volcanic System.

“The name in Icelandic has the contradictory meaning of “Ugly Pool” and could be explained by geothermal activity and murky water shortly after the eruption, of which there is no indication now.” [Ari Trausti Guðmundsson in Focus on Iceland, SALKA Publisher, 2008]

Ljótipollur, Highlands of Iceland
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

Ljótipollur
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II