22 June 2016, continued:

This was taken on the black sand beach near Vik. For some reason, my right knee, which I had surgery on, suddenly started hurting badly for no apparent reason while I was walking on the cold, windy beach. Was it the weather or all the mileage? Regardless, I kept on walking, albeit much slower, and suddenly, it stopped hurting. And yes, yes, this photo is really crooked. I'm not always the smoothest with iPhone panorama photos. But it looks cool, so hey....

The black sand beach here reminded me a bit of Black Sands Beach in the Lost Coast of California...except for those amazing rock formations, including Dragon's Teeth shown prominently here. Crooked iPhone panorama photo.

This was a long day, but I felt great, seeing all these amazing sites. But I did have to get to the next destination, Dalshöfdi Guesthouse, which was difficult to find. Or maybe, actually, it wasn't. I did somehow miss the sign because I was too enamored with the sites. I passed it by a fair margin, and had to circle back. It was in an out-of-the-way area which involved crossing lava fields and driving on a black lava road to get there. I got there extremely late. I don't think the person was too happy with me. But I had had a beautiful, full day.

In The Glow Of The Long Setting Sun (2016-06-22 21:36)

Route 1, or Ring Road, has many scenes with fantastic beauty. When I saw how the sun was illuminating this mountain and the beautiful meadow of lupines, I immediately pulled over and set up my camera. The beautiful lighting went away, but I thought I would remain there, hopeful that the clouds would part and this would be cast in a beautiful, buttery glow again. The golden hour. And thankfully, that happened. Most of the time I was in Iceland, it was overcast. But at this moment, magic occurred. And when these moments occur, I want to give it a big giant hug and a kiss and savor it.

Throughout Iceland, there were many beautiful fields of lupine, whether here in the south part of Iceland or in the Westfjords. Being from California, this made me feel quite at home. Nikon D610/Nikkor 28-300mm. 1s f/8 ISO 100.

23 June 2016:

Lava Field 2016-06-23 08:23)
Waking up from my short sleep at Dalshöfdi Guesthouse near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, (locally known as Klaustur because it's a tongue-twister) in South Iceland, I left, driving through this fascinating lava field toward Skaftafell/Vatnajökull National Park, driving on a black lava road in a rented Renault Clio. D7000/Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. 1/500 f/8 ISO 200.

I had glacier lagoons to see. And Svartifoss, a waterfall with basalt columns bracketing its fall.

Tyler and Lance had given me the directions to drive right up to the glacier. I tried, but found that there was a lot of water, almost a river, running across the dirt road. There was no way I would have risked going over that with any vehicle, and definitely not a Renault Clio. I ran into a couple from India who were also admiring the view. That is them in the photo.

Admiring The Expanse (2016-06-23 16:05)

The beautiful expanse of Fjallsárlón Glacier. Although noticeably smaller than Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, one is closer to the glacial tongue (here, it is Vatnajökull Glacier). The lagoon is ethereal in nature, and very quiet and peaceful. 1/640s f/11 ISO 100. D610/Nikkor 28-300mm.

I drove back to the main road, and continued driving back in the direction of Reykjavik, doubling back from the Glacier Lagoon, and saw glimpses of another glacier. Curious, I drove up a dirt road to see if I could see it more. I was rather pleased when I found that there was a smaller lagoon, and that largely due to that, I was also much closer to another glacier. I found this to be more photogenic than the other glacier lagoon in many ways.

Closeup of blue iceberg and mountains/glacier in back.

Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon (2016-06-23 16:43)
The beautiful expanse of Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoon. Although noticeably smaller than Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon, one is closer to the glacial tongue (here, it is Vatnajökull Glacier). The lagoon is ethereal in nature, and very quiet and peaceful. 1/640s f/11 ISO 100. D610/Nikkor 28-300mm.

Lupine Meadow (2016-06-23 21:00)

Route 1, or Ring Road, has many scenes with fantastic beauty. This one had extreme contrasts, so this is one of the few HDR photos you'll see me do. It worked well here, fortunately.

Throughout Iceland, there were many beautiful fields of lupine, whether here in the south part of Iceland or in the Westfjords. Being from California, this made me feel quite at home. Nikon D610/Nikkor 28-300mm. 1s f/8 ISO 100.

I was once again rather late at getting to the guesthouse. But I did get there. I always called ahead to let them know that I was going to be late, and this seemed to help.

24 June 2016:

Waking up the next morning, it was rather overcast. It would stay like this for the whole day. I drove from Reykjavik to some of the most popular tourist destinations. After all, these too were worthwhile seeing, beautiful and historically important areas.

Þingvellir anglicised as Thingvellir, is a national park in the municipality of Bláskógabyggð in southwestern Iceland, about 40 km northeast of Reykjavík. Þingvellir is a site of historical, cultural, and geological importance and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Iceland. It lies in a valley created by the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. It's rare that you ever see such an obvious division between tectonic plates. And yes, this means that Iceland is on both the North American and European tectonic plates.

Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand, Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines, websites, and galleries.  Visit the Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be purchased through his Imagekind Store.

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