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General => Contests => NWDA 2015 Theme Challenge - Iceland => Topic started by: Oshyan on November 03, 2014, 02:59:07 PM

Title: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on November 03, 2014, 02:59:07 PM
Hello everyone!

I doubt I'll be able to put anything together for this contest (and of course I'm not eligible to win anyway :D ), but I *did* go to Iceland myself early this past year and I took a bunch of photos. So I thought I'd share my gallery (part 1 at least; parts 2 and 3 to come) in the hopes of providing some down-to-Earth and practical inspiration for contest participants. There are, of course, a huge amount of reference photos of Iceland out there, many of which are absolutely superb and really make my own captures look quite pedestrian. But from what I have seen I do feel that the more relatable, real-world side of Iceland (as opposed to its fantastical nature) is underrepresented. So I also hope that my gallery presents a balance of that, with some fantastic sights, as well as realistic ones you can imagine seeing yourself.

Iceland Gallery Part 1:
https://plus.google.com/photos/104300081531529253719/albums/6049808465110984305

Enjoy! And feel free to ask me any questions you might have about my experiences there. I'll do my best to give you any insight I might have (note that I was there in early spring/late winter, so it was quite cold and largely icy/snowy).

- Oshyan
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: TheBadger on November 03, 2014, 08:42:29 PM
Hey Oshyan,

You didn't happen to point your camera right at the ground and get some close ups of soils and such did you? Would like to see what the little rocks and soil texture and color is... like you said, searching google revels lots of grand views, but no one seems to look at their feet.
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on November 03, 2014, 08:52:54 PM
Hehe, interesting question Badger! Of course, I did not post all my photos. Indeed I would not have posted such "boring" pictures to my main gallery, but I may have some. I'll take a look...

- Oshyan
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: zaxxon on November 03, 2014, 09:32:32 PM
Okay. How cold was it? And just a curious triviality: how was the food? I've heard that the 'Babe' factor is high in Iceland (totally sexist orientation - apologies offered in advance!), so...? The rocks and ice speak for themselves, just fishing for some additional impressions  :).
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on November 03, 2014, 10:58:30 PM
It was cold, but not as cold as when I was in Alaska a few years back. It was a similar time of year for both trips, early March basically. Alaska got down to -20 or so (in the middle of the night, Aurora watching), Iceland around 0 (both fahrenheit). In Alaska I had been up near Fairbanks; in Iceland we started in Reykjavik, of course, then explored North as far as Stykkishólmur and East a bit past Höfn, so we covered a fair bit of territory.

The food was unremarkable at best, and always, always overpriced (or rather, expensive; "overpriced" is relative I suppose, and food resources there are such that food is almost bound to be expensive). There were a few meals I enjoyed a good amount, around $40 each time for those, and then some "cheaper" meals around $20-$30 which were largely forgettable. Nothing downright terrible that I recall. Cheapest thing we got were some noodles in Reykjavik, a little less than $10 I think, hehe.

The women were attractive, but most of them are in Reykjavik (where 2/3 of the entire country's population resides), and we were more interested in exploring the landscape, where we mostly saw tourists. So our itinerary wasn't as compatible with babe watching. ;) Basically, I like the look of Icelandic women, but I don't recall being like "Wow, so many attractive women!", whereas when I was in Amsterdam more than 10 years ago it was definitely that, hehe (and no, not in the Red Light district!). There was this *one* woman who worked at our hostel though, man... :D Anyway, I suspect if you stuck around Reykjavik and enjoyed some of their crazy nightlife more than we did, that you'd probably be proven right. The Icelanders we met were all very friendly and nice people. But their night life doesn't really start until around 1AM, and our "night life" was Aurora, so...

Anyway, Badger, I didn't find much of use for your request I don't think. You might find some interesting things in Part 2 (of 3) that I will be posting soon though. I'll update this thread when I do. I want someone to do an ice cave! :D

- Oshyan
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Dune on November 04, 2014, 03:26:45 AM
Ice cave, that should be fun! Some wonderful reference available.
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: otakar on November 04, 2014, 12:45:42 PM
Wow some lovely pics. It's got to be a fascinating place. And the hot pools look very enticing, so huge :)
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: TheBadger on November 04, 2014, 08:26:35 PM
Quote from: Oshyan on November 03, 2014, 08:52:54 PM
Hehe, interesting question Badger! Of course, I did not post all my photos. Indeed I would not have posted such "boring" pictures to my main gallery, but I may have some. I'll take a look...

- Oshyan

Hope you have something in your files Oshyan.
If a Terragener did not take a pic or two like that, then there is not much hope of finding good reference on google.

But truthfully I doubt I would of thought to do it my self. Hard to think about the dirt when you are surrounded by all those landscapes. That kind of visual stimulus everywhere you go would deffintly distract me from the smaller things too.


Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on November 05, 2014, 05:33:17 PM
Well, as a Terragener (Terrageneer? :D ) I do actually pay attention to such things and often take reference pictures for myself for later use. I don't recall why I might not have taken many in Iceland, but you're right that it could easily have been that there were just too many more interesting things to look at. ;)

- Oshyan
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on December 05, 2014, 08:10:44 PM
Alright folks, Part 2 has arrived:
https://plus.google.com/photos/104300081531529253719/albums/6088425499534158033

This is probably my favorite set of the three, mainly because of the mindblowing ice caves. Iceland isn't the only place with ice caves, there are some great ones in Alaska and elsewhere, so if you have the chance to check any out near you, DO IT!

As before, feel free to ask any questions about the images, or for alternate angles, etc.

- Oshyan
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: archonforest on December 06, 2014, 11:31:21 AM
Wow great photos :)
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on December 06, 2014, 02:19:30 PM
Thanks. :) I highly recommend a visit!

- Oshyan
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: choronr on December 06, 2014, 04:09:02 PM
Inspiring photos Oshyan, such variety unique to this beautiful land - Iceland. Lucky we have someone who has  visited and recorded these wonders for us.
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: TheBadger on December 06, 2014, 04:12:41 PM
I am using the photo of the dead grasses by the stream to work from. Its one of the better close ups I have seen, so I can color and arrange/size my populations in a real way. Helpful to me. Thanks.
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: AP on December 06, 2014, 04:13:14 PM
Quote from: Oshyan on December 06, 2014, 02:19:30 PM
Thanks. :) I highly recommend a visit!

- Oshyan

Perhaps in another life.  ;D
Title: Re: One man's view of Iceland...
Post by: Oshyan on December 06, 2014, 04:23:26 PM
Glad to hear these are helpful. I'm very happy to be able to share. :)

- Oshyan