Fading light in Iceland september?

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Merlijn53

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Hi,
I'm planning a trip to Iceland in the second half of September. We stay in Reykjavik and make some excursions from there.
I'll keep it simple, a Rolleiflex F 3.5, a Veriwide 100, a light tripod and enough bw film.
It' s the film I doubt about. My first thought was most of it FP4 and some HP5, but I wonder if the fading light doesn't make the use of only HP5 neccessary. Don't want to use the tripod all the time.
Anybody experience with that?
Frank
 
What would you shoot at home in late September? As it is there, it will be in Iceland. The equinox is in late September. There's twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of night all across the globe and the northern hemisphere moves into fall and the southern into spring.


Merlijn53 said:
Hi,
I'm planning a trip to Iceland in the second half of September. We stay in Reykjavik and make some excursions from there.
I'll keep it simple, a Rolleiflex F 3.5, a Veriwide 100, a light tripod and enough bw film.
It' s the film I doubt about. My first thought was most of it FP4 and some HP5, but I wonder if the fading light doesn't make the use of only HP5 neccessary. Don't want to use the tripod all the time.
Anybody experience with that?
Frank
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the quick replies. The link is helpfull. As you both live more to the north than I do, you must know. FP4 and some HP5 it will be.
Frank
 
Is there a specific reason why you stay in Reykjavik? As the countryside is beautiful and travelling through it you can stop at unexpected places. Just a thought.

The others already pointed out the light. I was there in May and the light is stunning at times - and in November you you can see the northern lights with a little luck. You'll enjoy it!

Edit: come to think of it, the northern lights is another reason to get out of Reykjavik.
 
Addy101 said:
Is there a specific reason why you stay in Reykjavik? As the countryside is beautiful and travelling through it you can stop at unexpected places. Just a thought.

The others already pointed out the light. I was there in May and the light is stunning at times - and in November you you can see the northern lights with a little luck. You'll enjoy it!

Edit: come to think of it, the northern lights is another reason to get out of Reykjavik.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean and travelling through the country on your own is certainly the best way to see it. Point is, we have a week for this trip, we both don't drive, so it's a compromise. We found out you can make very nice excursions from Reykjavik and see a lot of things we don't have in our flat and densely populated country. And we do not try to see "everything", just a good impression is enough. I travelled a lot in my life but never had a chance to go there. Just a few bw landscapes with the Veriwide would be nice :)
Frank
 
You might regret having no color film if you bring none. Though you could get some in Reykjavik. I like black and white as much as anyone but you may well find yourself inspired by either the bright colors of Reykjavik or the muted gradations of color in the landscape outside the city. And aurora are not out of the question. I've seen them a couple of times in the past few weeks though it only barely starts getting dark enough at night in August.
 
+1 on jHutchins' comments.

The subtle colours in Iceland's lights are very interesting when you are out in the country that you cannot capture with B/W film.

Also, for out-of-town excursions, if you can get a party of four, you'll have the flexibility to set up your private tour, as they use jeeps to get to most places in the country side. There are only a few standard tours that use mid-sized buses.

There are also jeep tours that cater to photographers. When I visited Iceland a few years ago, our drive/tour guide/photographer had his set of equipment, even though he didn't find it interesting enough to take those out. And yes, he also loaned me his heavy duty tripod at one site.

There are also jeep tours that take you around the island. However, these as well as the photography tours need to be booked online ahead of time. For the bus tours, you can book those at the hotel.

Tin
 
Hi Frank,

Just a couple of suggestions on clothing. Even though Iceland is not that cold temperature-wise, it often has very high winds. So a good wind-breaker with hood is a must. Also rain gear, wool hat and gloves. I experienced sunshine, clouds, rain, snow, and ice pellets in a single day when I was there in an April day. I'd say September should be the equivalent of April weather-wise.

If you plan on taking aurora pictures, bring a small red LED flashlight and wool socks. It is no fun standing in a cold night with cold feet for a long time. The red flash light is needed to preserve your night vision while in the dark.

Tin
 
JHutchins said:
You might regret having no color film if you bring none. Though you could get some in Reykjavik. I like black and white as much as anyone but you may well find yourself inspired by either the bright colors of Reykjavik or the muted gradations of color in the landscape outside the city. And aurora are not out of the question. I've seen them a couple of times in the past few weeks though it only barely starts getting dark enough at night in August.
Click to expand...

I have a Lumix LX100 as backup, so colour is no problem.
Frank
 
Tin said:
+1 on jHutchins' comments.

The subtle colours in Iceland's lights are very interesting when you are out in the country that you cannot capture with B/W film.

Also, for out-of-town excursions, if you can get a party of four, you'll have the flexibility to set up your private tour, as they use jeeps to get to most places in the country side. There are only a few standard tours that use mid-sized buses.

There are also jeep tours that cater to photographers. When I visited Iceland a few years ago, our drive/tour guide/photographer had his set of equipment, even though he didn't find it interesting enough to take those out. And yes, he also loaned me his heavy duty tripod at one site.

There are also jeep tours that take you around the island. However, these as well as the photography tours need to be booked online ahead of time. For the bus tours, you can book those at the hotel.

Tin
Click to expand...

You don't need a jeep to go out of town and see good locations but it's much more fun to have your own car and your own private tour. But you'll definitely want to shoot some colors if everything isn't covered in snow.

Which locations where you planning on going to?
 
tomken said:
You don't need a jeep to go out of town and see good locations but it's much more fun to have your own car and your own private tour. But you'll definitely want to shoot some colors if everything isn't covered in snow.

Which locations where you planning on going to?
Click to expand...

No, you don't need a jeep to drive on the highways. But for a lot of the fun places you need a jeep---e.g., traversing on ice fields and glaciers, fording streams to get to your destinations.
 
I wouldn't be concerned about being based in Reykjavik, as there is a huge amount to see there. The docks area, in particular, is very interesting and you can have access in a way that is impossible in more densely populated and more crime ridden countries.
 
tomken said:
You don't need a jeep to go out of town and see good locations but it's much more fun to have your own car and your own private tour. But you'll definitely want to shoot some colors if everything isn't covered in snow.

Which locations where you planning on going to?
Click to expand...

I'm planning to do the "golden circle" , a tour along the southcoast and a walk outside Reykjavik, on which we still have to decide.
Frank
 
Tin said:
No, you don't need a jeep to drive on the highways. But for a lot of the fun places you need a jeep---e.g., traversing on ice fields and glaciers, fording streams to get to your destinations.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of something I experienced long ago in Afghanistan. It took me almost a day in an afghan bus to get to Bamyan. Stood on the head of the huge buddha's that still existed then. Then it took me some 6 hours icecold on an old russian truck through the mud and melting snow to get to the lakes of Band-i-Amir (one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen) and six hours back.
Back in Kabul I met a guy, who said "did you go there by bus? I went on horseback! You should have done that."
So, no matter where you go or what you do, there will always be someone who knows a better place to go or a better way to go there.
 
GeorgeH said:
That's what we did, but I wasn't aware of the reference. We stayed in Reyjavik for a few days, then rented a vehicle and drove around the southern ring road for a few, staying at a couple of pensions and a hotel. We went as far east as Jökulsárlón before doubling back. We were there around this time and all of the major attractions were jam packed. Obviously, it's still very beautiful but you need to get off the ring road if you want to feel like you're not in a theme park.

We only spent a week in Iceland, in August, but during that time, there was only one spot along the southern road that we had all to ourselves, that was at Dverghamrar (dwarf cliffs), near Foss á Siðu. It was so windy that day, I didn't bother with my tripod. Still, I got my best photos of the trip there.
Click to expand...

That's why we choose to go there late September. Hope it' s just a bit less crowded then.
Frank
 
There's more daylight there then in Wisconsin in Sept., I wouldn't worry about the film. It's always good to have some fast and some slow just in case.

Mike
 
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