Icelandic Memories ...

Something about a "MID-ATLANTIC FAULT LINE" ... You know, like in SCIENCE class, or something like that ...

Out in front of THE CHURCH!

"Window Art" in one of the local stores ... True fact: More sheep than people. Really.

Christmas in Re .... Well, you know!

Hey! I was there, they were there, what can I say?

Yes, some BARN thing, built around, and INSIDE, this rock thingy. Again, it's ICELAND!

Hey, I just photograph what I see. I love just walking around and looking! You never know.

Day

Night

True Icelandic Art.

Icelandic Design. I couldn't come up with a better title, if I tried.

"Fill-Flash", used on the local ducks around a pond in the Park. Love the "Catch Light"!

My FAVORITE building downtown ... Oh! And yeah, that Icelandic LIGHT Show going on!

Art, ahh, everywhere!

The Blue Lagoon ... Worth the trip! Really.

An example of how the country heats EVERYTHING! Yeah, miles and miles of underground "Geothermal Pipes".

The BLUE FEATHER "caught my eye"!

Iceland Natural Art. It's everywhere!

True Icelandic Heritage

Oh! And then, yeah, the reason I went there on, ahh, Christmas Break (I was still teaching at that time!), in the first place ...

Yeah ... And then the REAL REASON I went there in WINTER!

The NORTHERN LIGHTS!

Or, for all you "SCIENCE" people out there, yeah!

Let me try this ... Ahh, The AURORA BOREALIS!

Nailed it!

Gotta love "GOOGLE"! I'm not going to lie!

And for all you CAMERA people out there: The DATA! Now remember, this is, ahh, OLD SCHOOL!

Like, TEN YEAR OLD, Digital Data form way back!

Here you go!

Nikon ahh, D90 (I told you!)

f8

8 Seconds.

ISO 1600

-1.0 (you know me!)

Oh! And, yeah, NO FLASH (that's what The DATA mentioned)!

Duh!

And ...

Yeah, like I said, OLD SCHOOL.

21Dec16 ... You know, as in CHRISTMAS BREAK, ahh, back in 2016, like the YEAR before I retired! Perfect!

What a trip! A week (I think it was!) in a hotel, right downtown in, ahh, you know, the Capital of Iceland, that starts with an "R", and ends with a "K", say it with me ...

REYKJAVIK. That's "RAY-KA-VICK".

Of course!

The capital of this small, beautiful, European, island, country!

Unreal.

It's off the East Coast of Greenland ... A pretty "Cool" place, no matter what time of year you visit! But yeah, I went there in winter, for one reason, and one reason only, ahh, yeah, I wanted to experience ... Wait for it!

The Northern Lights!

Period.

So yeah, I did my "homework, and yeah, CHRISTMAS in ICELAND worked for me! Remember, I was a school teacher back then!

Kind of CRAZY, seeing that I grew up in Northern New York, up there on to Lake Ontario, and then moved down South, to North Carolina, you know, to get away from the ICE, and SNOW of a Northern Winter!

Remember, I drove motorcycles for YEARS, and yeah, I fell in love with The Blue Ridge Parkway, that I drove every year (it seemed!) to get down to Florida, to visit my mother, and younger sister and brother, down there in Clewiston, for all those years (since, ahh, 1974)!

So yeah, Christmas in Iceland?

Who would of thunk it?

I kept my eyes open every night, but yeah ... Then, finally, we got the call! And off we went in some van, or something! Drove around the city looking for a place ... Tried a couple of "Spots", but nope ... Nothing.

Off we went looking for another!

And another ...

And another!

Then, after a few more attempts, yeah! We found our place!

Like, what?

In an old Car Dealership, or perhaps a junk yard place, hey! It was DARK!

There were cars ... We were in the largest city on the island, for Pete's Sake!

Work with me here people!

Anywho ...

After standing around, yeah! Oh! Wait a second ... "Flickers" of GREEN light started to show up through the clouds!

Out came the tripods, and the "giggles" (Yes! I swear I remember hearing some)!

Then, BAM!

Just like that! The clouds parted, and there they were! In all their GREEN GLORY!

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!

Right there above us! Glad I had my tripod set up, and was ready to go ... Yeah, I would say we had a good, what? FIVE minutes, maybe SEVEN (probably way less, you know, in REAL TIME! I wasn't keeping track!), and then, just like that!

POOF!

Gone!

Yeah, that QUICK (or so it seemed at the time)!

I did mention clouds, right?

Come on!

It was CHRISTMAS BREAK, in Iceland, work with me here people!

But yeah, a pretty "COOL LIGHT SHOW" after all ... No matter how "SHORT" it seemed, that was for sure!

A "Once in a Lifetime Experience", you know, for someone living in, ahh, say, Hudson, North Carolina ...

Worked for me!

Now true, a CITY wasn't the ideal place, you know, with all the city lights, so I did take a little Tour outside the city, and headed South along the Coast, you know, Iceland is an island, so yeah, there was a LOT of coast to explore ... It was a GREAT Tour, we did stop at a few "cool" places, and I'm glad I at least tried, but yeah, the weather (those darn CLOUDS!) hindered the attempt, in the long run! Oh, and yeah, that SNOW STORM, that "covered", and cancelled, like, everything!

Crazy!

I could swear I saw some "washed out green color stuff" out there somewhere ...

Hey! You know I kept looking! As did everyone else!

But yeah, back we headed, after we saw a cool waterfall, or two, or three ... And I got to experience that whole "Blue Lagoon" (a MUST!) thingy, that was all the rage on the island!

LOVED it!

That was, ahh, "COOL" in a very HOT way! Well worth the time, and effort, and whatever it cost ("PLAY MONEY"!), to get out there in the middle of WINTER, in ICELAND, that was for sure!

A "NATURAL", ahh, like, really BIG HOT TUB, out there in the middle of nowhere (it seemed to me)! Unreal.

Sweet.

So yeah, LOVED the trip. I got to experience the wonder of THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, and yeah, even spent time in The Blue Lagoon, what more could I ask for?

GREAT "Christmas Break"! Best I ever had, no doubt.

And one I hope to remember for a very long time! With the help of these OLD images, of course!

Get out there, and see what MEMORIES you can come up with TEN years (this Christmas!) from now!

I'm telling you this now, you know, so you can make your plans!

I do what I can, when I can, and how I can ...

Enjoy.

See ya!

Time for my, well, you know ...

Oh! And good luck with that, you know, whole "R word" thingy!

You got this!

See ya!

And yes, time for my ....

Again ... You know.

Oh!

FOUND IT!

Yeah, "Playing with my WIDE-ANGLE (12-24mm) ZOOM LENS", and getting in closer there at 12mm, yeah, I liked how the lens "distorted" that front section, you know, up there at the closest "tip" to the lens!

And, I also noticed that they were taking a "selfie" ... Or trying to, until I showed up! Once I moved out of THEIR spot, hopefully they got up there in FRONT of the statue, and got their image!

No problem!

I asked if I could help them, and yeah, I used THEIR camera to take THEIR picture up in front of the statue!

Worked for me!

I like THIS one!

And them!

Perfect!

I LOVE getting out there, ahh, with a camera!

YOU NEVER KNOW, what will "pop up" in front of your camera at any given moment!

Enjoy your Photographic Journey, wherever it takes YOU!

You know I have!

See ya out there ... I hope.

You know, say, at some statue, somewhere ...

AGAIN, say it with me!

"YOU NEVER KNOW".