{"id":7232,"date":"2016-08-29T13:56:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T13:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icelandaurora.com\/photo-tours\/?p=7232"},"modified":"2023-11-22T19:51:56","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T19:51:56","slug":"august-2016-north-iceland-westfjords","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icelandaurora.com\/archive-phototours\/august-2016-north-iceland-westfjords\/","title":{"rendered":"August 2016 – North Iceland & Westfjords"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

North and West 7 day Photo Tour<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This was a camping trip in mid-August. Night temperatures are just about comfortable for camping with a good sleeping bag. The clear advantage is the flexibility. Sure enough, as the tour got underway, it started raining. The forecast was for more rain and even a mini-storm in the south over the first couple of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we headed north with a forecast of drizzle, sunshine, and little wind. The first day was just a couple of hours after meeting at the airport and driving the #1 road northward. We stopped at\u00a0Hviserkur\u00a0in the drizzle, and apart from some reminiscing and discussion of composition, the stop wasn\u2019t very productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took a short cut to a wonderful campsite, only to find it closed (due to noise). Instead, we headed north and found a country boarding school with a campsite. They offered us sleeping bag accommodations (just a bed) in a classroom, which we gladly accepted as an alternative to camping in the rain. Also, they had a bar, so we grabbed a beer before bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"aldeyjarfoss\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next day, we arrived early at\u00a0Godafoss Waterfall. It was not raining, but it was very overcast, and there was a lot of spray from the heavy falls. We checked out some compositions and then headed off to Aldeyarfoss, which is a neighbouring waterfall. It took about an hour to drive from Godafoss. We just followed the river. After a short hike down a hill, we came upon the waterfall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a wonderful idea of a shot that I had seen down at the level of the river. I invested a lot of time getting down to the spot, only to find (at the last minute) that the falls were obscured by a huge rock. I waded out into the river a few feet, but still couldn\u2019t get my angle. Wet, exhausted, and no shots. I climbed back up to the tourist zone and snapped this with a little bit of long exposure and some magic cloth. I used the rocks to form a shape for the pool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We returned to Godafoss and continued to Stora-Laugar to shower and eat before returning to Godafoss that evening. We pitched tents at the wonderfully welcoming Fosshotel garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evening at Go\u00f0afoss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the light started to fade we made our way along the East bank, hopeful of some light and colour. It was all fairly un-appealing as we checked out some of the high compositions. Undeterred I went down to the river bank to the famous Goda-rock. I just went through the motions of setting up a shot, but to my delight this little cloud manifested right about the falls. I played around with the balance of the cloud and rock. Job Done!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing Plans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The next day we heard that there were storm conditions at Landmannalaugar. We couldn\u2019t really agree on a plan, but we all agreed to keep the tents erect at Godafoss waterfall. We would return from wherever and have another photography session at the falls with different light\u2026 hopefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a day visiting Selfoss (near Dettifoss) twice and some new remote locations, we did return to some Go\u00f0a Light at Go\u00f0afoss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Godafoss
Some sunset colours at Godafoss waterfall.\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Go West<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


The next question after checking the weather was \u201cHighlands\u201d or Westfjords\u201d. The forecast for Landmannalaugar suggested that we could be driving through heavy rain to spend two rainy days in the mountains. The Westfjords showed a mixture of weather which is perfect for the Wesfjords. So we headed West \u2013 all day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were keen to drive steady and gain the kilometers, only stopping for gas and eating. But once we were into the Westfjords, we decided that stopping regularly was a good idea. Our legs and backs were in serious need of movement as the fingers and toes of Iceland\u2019s Westfjords started to reveal themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even out in the Westfjords, if you stop and erect a tripod, bunches of tourists will also stop. In some ways it was comical, but in other ways annoying. Fact: Iceland has many boring parts and lots of boring weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many tourist find themselves wondering why they are here.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"Westfjords
Vertical scene in Iceland’s Westfjords.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally we made a stop with a clear view down Isafjardardjup and some sun threatening to come through the clouds. Following the light, I snapped this pleasant vertical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner in Isafjordur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Godfoss to Isafjordur is no mean feat. Our driver, H\u00f6r\u00f0ur from VIP Tours was feeling the strain of the driving and camping, so I fixed sleeping bag accommodation in Isafjordur so we could all get a good night sleep. We did shoot Bolungarvik before bed.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u00cdsafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur Hotels<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

These sponsored links feature hotels and guesthouses in \u00cdsafj\u00f6r\u00f0ur.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n \r\n Booking.com<\/a>\r\n<\/ins>