After our long journey around Hekla we took a well-deserved break at a local restaurant. They also had some power available, so while waiting for our food, we took the opportunity to charge some of our gear. Those with laptops had a look at some of the photos they had gotten so far. The storm kept on pounding; and while there were occasional gaps in the rain, it was still quite windy, so we stayed inside for a few hours.
At around eight in the evening we headed out again. The rain had mostly stopped (at least at the restaurant), so Thor and Thomas decided we'd go to a nearby waterfall, followed by the crater we saw earlier, to see if we could catch some of the moody storm clouds. While not the most picturesque waterfall in the world, being able to shoot anything was welcome at this point.
Black and white, of course.
Another angle.
Unfortunately, the wind was still very strong at the crater, and there was still occasional rain; we didn't really want to spend a lot of time there. A few of us walked around the complete rim of the crater (two-three hundred meters maybe) to try to find some compositions, but it was tricky. The views were nice, but the weather and light made everything look flat and wet. I tried to concentrate on the colors and lines, but didn't get anything super special sadly.
Red rock is the crater, black is a nearby hill. The red gravel was super weird.
Almost the same spot, but looking left down the slope.
The first weather forecast had said that the storm would let up during the evening. It hadn't. On our way back to the camping area the rain kept coming. On the plus side, the wind had let up slightly, so at the camp site we had a choice; either go out in the rain and wind and set up the tents in the dark (it was around one o'clock in the night at this point), or cuddle up in the camper van for the night. I have to say, I've never seen people setting up tents so fast.
Even though it rained through the night and the wind was flapping the tent around, I slept like a baby. Good thing I had earplugs and a sleeping mask. After waking up late in the morning (the forecast said no chance for a nice sunrise, and it was right) we walked around a bit to survey the damage to the camp. It was bad. A lot of tents were ruined. There was water everywhere. People were sleeping on the floor in the smelly showers/bathrooms. As an upcoming video of Tom's will say: 'Welcome to hell'.
Photo from the relative dryness of the van. Didn't take pictures of the carnage itself, it just felt wrong. By the way, the camper in front? The rain got into both sleeping alcoves, meaning Tom and Thor both had a wet night. My tent was excellently dry.
Sigh. Can't this just stop, please?
Luckily for us, Thor knew exactly what the situation called for. After a late breakfast (would have been a late lunch, even), we packed ourselves into the van again and headed for a swimming pool. With hot tubs. The pools were outside, and it was raining slightly, but no one cared. The water was hot, so were the showers, and the pool had big floaty devices that we responsible adults had a lot of fun with.
Still, the fun had to end, so we exchanged one type of hot water for another. We headed to the geyser called Geysir. Yes, this is the one that gave all of them their name. I've never seen a geyser before, so I had really no idea what to expect. It was quite something, though.
Those people got wet as the geyser shot up about 15-20 more meters.
Good compositions were hard to find.
The geyser was the smaller of two, but was still quite impressive. The bigger one has been quiet for a few years; this is normal when volcanic activity shakes the area and closes some vents for the water. It might start erupting after the next volcano, it might not. The smaller one kept us entertained, however. It erupted every 6 or 7 minutes, plenty of time to walk around, re-position, and try different shots.
I found that the nicest shots were from the early eruption; just after the water bubble forms, becomes turquoise, and explodes upward. Catching it was tricky though, and I missed a few eruptions because I was looking at other things. After the bubble forms on the surface, you have less than a second to take your shot.
Probably my favourite.
Just a tad closer... (with a longer lens, obviously. You don't want to get physically closer).
The whole area was covered in hot vents like this.
I think we spent more than an hour at the geyser before deciding to move out once again. And when we did, an amazing thing happened. The clouds started to part. We were all mesmerized by the cloud formations while Thor and Tom desperately tried to find a place we could stop and shoot the stunning cloud formations.
Pic from inside the van. The clouds were moving very, very fast, and this only lasted for about five minutes.
Stopping at the roadside to take a quick (and terrible) picture of Hekla.
As fast as the gaps appeared, they went away. We hadn't found a place to get a good image. I'm sure that I speak for everyone in the group when I say we were disappointed. But to be honest, there wasn't much we could do. The clouds only lasted for a few minutes, and we were in a very flat part of the scenery with nothing except the clouds. It would have taken a miracle to find a good spot. Sometimes, shit happens.
After the cloud gaps had disappeared, Thor took us to a waterfall just in case we'd get a nice sunset. The same waterfall we were at the first day, actually, so you get to compare images. I'm not sure, but I think I prefer the earlier one. We didn't get a sunset, of course.
First, the obligatory panorama.
A bunch of landscape photographers in a line. Note the wind and rainproof clothing...
The day was pretty much done, but there was a bonus; on the way to camp, there was a tiny unnamed waterfall that we stopped at. It was almost midnight, but photographers be photographers...
We got back to camp around an hour after midnight. But this was no time for sleep, oh no. We fired up the barbecue(s) and made ourselves some dinner. The plan was to see if the clouds would clear for sunrise, only three hours later. With nothing else to do while Tom and Thor cooked, I decided to take a picture of the riverbed next to the camper.
01:11 am.
The dinner was amazing, it was exactly what was needed. We sat around in the camper discussing random things and having fun. As for the sunrise, Thor had an ace up his sleeve for the location if everything would work out. And boy, did it. Ever seen waterfalls with a pink sky? We did. And in the next post, so will you :)