Photo Blog by Rajan Parrikar » Highlands 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 Ljótipollur http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/12/19/ljotipollur/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/12/19/ljotipollur/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:32:08 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7988 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

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

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/12/19/ljotipollur/feed/ 1 Bleeding http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/11/14/bleeding/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/11/14/bleeding/#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:39:58 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7773 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

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

 

PS: The red is due to ferrous oxides and other minerals. It is not an uncommon sight in this interior volcanic wonderland.

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/11/14/bleeding/feed/ 6 Sigöldugljúfur http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/14/sigoldugljufur/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/14/sigoldugljufur/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:55:47 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7184 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Tributary of the river Tungnaá fed by multiple cascades at Sigöldugljúfur (gljúfur = canyon) in the southern Highlands of Iceland.

Fögrufossar at Sigöldugljúfur
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

 

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

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/09/14/sigoldugljufur/feed/ 4 Hnausapollur http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/28/hnausapollur/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/28/hnausapollur/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:27:26 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7143 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

The volcanic crater Hnausapollur in the Highlands of Iceland.

Hnausapollur
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/28/hnausapollur/feed/ 0 Einhyrningur http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/25/einhyrningur/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/25/einhyrningur/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 00:13:34 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=7104 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

One of the most fascinating orographic experiences in Iceland relates to the direction of approach. The bare, tree-less mountains quickly change their appearance, revealing entirely new profiles as you go by or around them. A good instance of this is the mountain Einhyrningur, found in the interior along the South Fjallabak route. Einhyrningur means “Unicorn” in Icelandic, and the reason for the name is seen in the second image below.

The farm Bólstaður and Einhyrningur
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

 

Einhyrningur, the Unicorn
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50 f/2 Makro Planar

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/25/einhyrningur/feed/ 1 Alien Worlds http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/19/alien-worlds/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/19/alien-worlds/#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:11:39 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=6960 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

The barren, volcanic landscape of the Icelandic Highlands is at once forbidding and exhilarating. The scenes here conjure visions of alien worlds. These images were made in Möðrudalsfjallgarður, at the edge of the northern interior Highland region.

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

 

Alien world: Möðrudalsfjallgarður vestari
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2011/08/19/alien-worlds/feed/ 0 First Snow in the Highlands of Iceland http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/10/31/first-snow-in-the-highlands-of-iceland/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/10/31/first-snow-in-the-highlands-of-iceland/#comments Sun, 31 Oct 2010 07:21:37 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=3328 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Last week we were very fortunate to catch the first dusting of snow in the southern Highlands of Iceland. This is a surreal landscape to begin with, and in the brief window accompanying the first showers it assumes an even more other-worldy mien before settling into an all-white featureless cloak for the rest of the winter.

I owe these scenes to my fantastic guide Börkur Hrólfsson whose idea it was to head out into the Highlands that morning.

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

 

Sigöldufoss
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II + Singh-Ray 4-stop ND filter

 

Fjallabak Nature Reserve
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

'Veins' (near Landmannalaugar)
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

'Folds in the brain' (near Landmannalaugar)
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

Photographing in the first snow shower
Photo by: Börkur Hrólfsson

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/10/31/first-snow-in-the-highlands-of-iceland/feed/ 5 Herðubreið http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/09/19/her%c3%b0ubrei%c3%b0/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/09/19/her%c3%b0ubrei%c3%b0/#comments Sun, 19 Sep 2010 08:24:01 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=3082 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

The majestic table mountain (tuya) – Herðubreið – in the Highlands of Iceland is seen on a dramatic afternoon from the ancient settlement at Möðrudalur, a remote sheep farm and at 469 metres, the highest in the country. Herðubreið is very dear to Icelanders.

The bluish cast of the mountain has been untouched for that is how it looked to the eye.

Herðubreið seen from the farm at Möðrudalur
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

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

 

Are the shafts of rain seen here virga?

Storm clouds over Herðubreið
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II

 

The church at Möðrudalur was built in 1949 by the farmer Jón Stefánsson in memory of his wife.

From: One Man’s Miracle, Scandinavian Review (1997) by Lawrence Millman.

…Then, of course, there’s the tiny Modrudalur church in Iceland. It is a building I wouldn’t trade for Westminster Abbey, Chartres, or the Cologne Cathedral, not even if you threw in their crypts, too. Why I’m so fond of it you’ll learn shortly, but first let me describe Modrudalur and the man who made this farm, one of Iceland’s most isolated, his hearth for more than forty years.

Modrudalur lies under the icy eminence of Mt. Herdubreid in the northeast corner of the island. All around it is a broad highland plateau whose tundralike ground is a pale dun color barely relieved by clumps of grass. Wind devils whip up swirls of sand and blow them along until they spank against volcanic ash heaps…

 

Möðrudalskirkja
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/09/19/her%c3%b0ubrei%c3%b0/feed/ 3 Fjallabak Nature Reserve http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/08/29/fjallabak-nature-reserve/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/08/29/fjallabak-nature-reserve/#comments Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:31:13 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=3037 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Scenes from the Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the interior Highlands of Iceland.

Reflections: North Fjallabak route
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

 

Reflections, in colour
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II

 

Fingers: North Fjallabak route
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

North Fjallabak route
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Photographing in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve
Photo by: Guðmundur Eyólfsson

 
 
]]> http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/08/29/fjallabak-nature-reserve/feed/ 3 Aldeyjarfoss http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/08/05/aldeyjarfoss/ http://www.parrikar.com/blog/2010/08/05/aldeyjarfoss/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:07:21 +0000 Rajan P. Parrikar http://www.parrikar.com/blog/?p=2940 Note: To see full-size images in this post, please view the original post by clicking here.

Located in the northern Highlands of Iceland, the waterfall Aldeyjarfoss is fed by the glacial river Skjálfandafljót that originates at Vatnajökull, the largest icecap in Iceland (and in Europe).

The judge in a waterfall beauty contest in Iceland has a tough task. There are so many of these cascading beauties competing for attention that one has to guard against foss-fatigue (foss = waterfall, in Icelandic). With its striking flanks of crystallized basalt columns and a bowl-like receptacle, Aldeyjarfoss is a masterpiece of geological art, a sight to treasure.

Also seen below is Hrafnabjargarfoss (hrafn = raven, bjarg = rock), another small waterfall nearby.

Aldeyjarfoss
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II + Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter

 

Aldeyjarfoss - another view
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II + Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter

 

Closer look at the basalt columns at Aldeyjarfoss
5D Mark II, 24-105L

 

Hrafnabjargarfoss
5D Mark II, TS-E 24L II + Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter

 
 
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