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Two Lands of the Midnight SunTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
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Follow me as I visit two Arctic locations where the sun never sets to photograph the summertime landscapes of the far north. During my first week I meet up with other photographers in Greenland, then it is back to Iceland to explore the south coast. Read more
  • RobCowell

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  • Greenland Greenland
  • Iceland Iceland
  • England England
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  • 54footprints
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  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    It's a 30 minute hike from here.
    The edge of the ice. These photos are actually in colour!Adam secures the ladder.Then down we go.

    A Walk Through Harsh Terrain

    July 1, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    The track ended so we could drive no further and the scene around us was bleak and desolate. Goodness knows what this would be like in the harsh weather conditions you get in Iceland. To say we were off the beaten track is an understatement ... it was so exciting and I loved it here, though the best is yet to come.

    From here it was about a 30 minute hike to the glacier, which you can see to the left of the main photo. The walking wasn't hard but you needed to tread carefully and though there were small marker posts, I was again glad Adam was with me to show the way. I was so pleased I have the right boots and my walking pole.

    Eventually we reached the glacier and walked up onto it, arriving at a hole - that's right, no fancy entrance, just a hole in the ice. Adam immediately set about securing a ladder (photos 3 and 4) then we decended down it and into the inards of the glacier.

    I could hardly wait to see what awaited us and you know, it was just us. No-one else was around.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    My first view as I stepped off the ladder.
    Yep, we came down that ladder to get to the cave.Adam checking his photos.Ice cave Explorer. 😂

    The Ice Cave

    July 1, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    And then Wow!

    When I was last in Iceland with my friend Tony, we visited an ice cave but this one is awesome and much bigger with a river running through it. There was water tumbling through cracks in the ice above so waterproofs were essential, so you had to dodge the showers of water whilst trying not to fall in the rubble.

    It was describe as the Crystal Blue Ice Cave and indeed it was. My trip here included a portrait of me inside the cave, so you can see Adam with a camera in one of the photos - you can also see the water falling from the roof. Adam was kind enough to photograph me with my phone - the last photo in the footprint and he's made me look as if I know what I'm doing, so it's true the camera can lie. 😉

    I hope these phone photos do the ice cave justice. I do of course have photos on the big camera - it's a good job it is weather sealed because you couldn't help but get soaked in here, no matter how hard you try to keep dry.

    I absolutely enjoyed this visit and my time with Adam and though we were in the cave for quite a while, the time to leave still came too quickly. It was totally amazing.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    Adam is pointing to where the ice cave used to be around February this year. Forever changing.

    The Walk Back

    July 1, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Having climbed up from the ice cave Adam needed to sort the ladder before we could start the walk back to the vehicle. The route was the same as the way here, but in the opposite direction of course ... I bet you guessed that.

    Adam explained about the bridge in photo 3 as we looked at the water flowing under it. It was so clear, amazingly so in fact, and had a blue tint to it. If I could describe water as beautiful then this was it ... and the bridge? Apparently it often gets washed away when the water rises and it then has to be rebuilt. If you look closely you can see debris from the last wipe out.

    After arriving back to the 4x4 we then drove back to the Glacier Lagoon car park and the adventure was over. Did I say this was amazing and brilliant? I don't think I did! 😄    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    There was far more ice crammed into the lagoon that I'd seen before.
    Trying to find a photo was hard in this chaotic scene.The icebergs are still too big to move further and are stuck until they lose their size.Further inland there is less ice because it collects at the entrance to the channel.This information board shows how the glacier has receded.Here you can see the water rushing past the damn of ice on its way to the sea.This video shows the dam of ice more clearly. So many birds too.

    Jökulsárlón

    July 1, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    I love this place and spent the rest of the evening here hoping for some nice light for photography. In fact, I spent so long here I ran out of food options and ended up with an evening meal of Cornflakes, a cereal bar and coffee just before bed. Crazy.

    I took loads of photos on the big camera, trying to find interesting compositions amongst the ... wait for it ... icebergs.

    The water here is a lake at the end of a large glacier that calves ice into it then near the coast there is a channel where the bergs drift out to sea when they're small enough not to get stuck in it. Tonight there were icebergs stuck there acting as a dam which perhaps explained why the lagoon water level was a little higher than I'd seen before.

    Eventually the better light arrived so hopefully I got some good photos, then I headed back to the campsite for the night which was a 40 minute drive away. It was therefore about 12.30am when I was eating Cornflakes. 🙄    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    2The road to my furthest location on this trip.
    The Viking Cafe which is also the reception for the campsite here.An opportunity for a coffee and something to eat.

    Time Warp

    July 2, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The next morning I awoke to grey skies with a promise of rain. I was also worried that I'd run out of time to be able to get to my final planned location, which was about a two hour drive east from the campsite. If I was to go there it would mean an extremely long drive back to Keflavik, so I made the decision to not bother and start the journey back to Vik.

    Then I realised I was in some sort of time warp, my mind telling me it was a day later than it actually was. This was undoubtedly a welcome realisation such that I could in fact complete my itinerary as planned.

    I packed things away and drove east to discover that as I neared my destination the skies began to clear, raising my hopes for some great evening light. I was so excited that things may well be coming together for the photograph I was aiming to capture. I knew exactly the composition I wanted to get and this might just work.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    In winter these grasses are yellow, which I think I would prefer - another visit then? 😄
    No entry without a ticket.The first photographer I saw. There were quite a few others while I was there.I was getting tyred of the boring light. Hopefully it will improve.These grasses are all over the place amongst the black sand dunes.2"Wow!", I thought as I took this.

    The Stokksness Peninsula

    July 2, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    The peninsula here is private land so you can't just wander down there without paying a fee because there is a barrier stopping both vehicles and pedestrians (photo 2). You must purchase a ticket for 1000 Iceland Krona (about £5.75) even if you walk, then if you want to drive to the end you must pay more, plus the charge is per person, not per car. It really ought to be per car if we’re honest, but that’s the way it is.

    Tony and I didn't bother when we came here on our trip in 2018 and alwaysI regretted that we didn't just pay up. This time I was staying overnight at the campsite here and the great thing is that when you do that you get unlimited access to the peninsula for 24 hours. Perfect.

    I spent the whole evening exploring the black sand beach, including quite a bit of time at the shoreline trying to catch the water and waves just right. I love the last photo here, so hopefully you do too. It's still a phone photo though. 🤗🥳    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    4

    Vestrahorn Reflection

    July 3, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    This is the photograph I came here to take so thank you Icelandic Weather, for being so considerate.

    Of course I took this on the big camera, and more of course, though this one is from the phone, but even in this phone photo I think everything looks great, including the other reflection shots in this footprint too, all taken a little after midnight.

    I stayed out longer, just enjoying my surroundings and the evening glow and taking photographs, of course, so it was another late night. There have been so many this past couple of weeks. 😵‍💫    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    Jökulsárlón is ever changing.
    I loved the amber colours in the rocks here.You can pretty much sea the glaciers along most of the south coast once you get past Vik.I stopped at various locations along the way to just look at the views or take photos.The square thing here is a fridge magnet I purchased.The water level is a little lower I think.

    Return to Jökulsárlón

    July 3, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Having slept in a little after my late night, I had breakfast and the essential coffee, packed things away then started the drive west back towards Vik. Photo 2 is the view as I drove along the Stokksness peninsula back towards the main road then, after a quick stop for fuel I continued on.

    The next photos are various snaps along the way and as I was passing Jökulsárlón I decided I'd stop at the cafe there for mushroom soup. The sign at the counter describes it as 'Soup of the Day' but each time I've visited since 2015 it has always been mushroom soup. Evidence of my choice is in photo 8 which shows the soup, the bread roll and the coffee, as well as the view through the cafe window to a new car park.

    After I'd eaten I went to check the lagoon and noticed that the ice dam had now disappeared so in the last photo you can see the water level has dropped with slightly more beach visible. This place is constantly changing.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    Where are the diamonds? There was virtually no ice washed up onto the beach.Finding a clean composition can be tricky.I could get photos by using a wide angle shot and getting close to the ice.You would think these are quite large, but they are actually quite small.A huge car park is here now that was once just a small gravel area.

    Diamond Beach

    July 3, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    I couldn't leave here without visiting Diamond Beach. This is on the opposite side of the road to the lagoon and is made up of jet black sand. Ice that leaves the lagoon through the channel can be washed back onto the beach and the ice then looks like diamonds on black velvet, hence the name.

    Right now there is hardly any ice and what is there is small fragments. I've previously seen ice here almost the size of cars, but that was wintertime. Maybe summer is different.

    At first I thought there would be no photography opportunities but I soon realised the trick was to get a wide shot taken very close to the ice. The problem with this approach is the waves hitting the beach and the potential to get wet. The video here demonstrates this.

    In the end I've got some photos that I think work so my time wasn't wasted by any means. Once again this location has had the Tourist Makeover and looks very different to when I was here in 2018. It's still well worth visiting, but a few more diamonds would have been nice.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerTwo Lands of the Midnight Sun
    The moss which grows over the old lava.Life eventually returns.Everywhere is so green in summer.

    Travelling Back to Vik

    July 3, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I had a long drive now, to get back to the campsite at Vik. The photos in this footprint are therefore general views along the way. Yes, there are lupins of course, but I also stopped to photograph the green moss that grows in abundance over the old lava fields. You are not allowed to walk on this because the damage you cause takes many years to repair due to the short growing season in Iceland. You also have to be careful with fire because it's also pretty flammable. Who would have guessed that?

    There's not much else to say really but at least you get to see the landscape through which I was driving.    Read more

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