ICELAND
Backpacking and the Geology of Iceland
Yep, the grass really was that green... I was in Iceland for few weeks during a study abroad class for my undergraduate degree in 2018. While on that trip, one of my friends began teaching me about different components of my camera and of photography. At the time, I was shooting with my Nikon D3400 (DSLR) and only knew the basics. It was the first camera that I was using that was not an old point and shoot (RIP my OG Nikon CoolPix). I backpacked some of the country and got see (and take photos at) some incredible sites. This trip was memorable for many reasons, but stands out to me because it was the first time that I jumped into the deep-end of "real" photography.
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
A KEY park to visit if you find yourself in Iceland! The Golden Circle was one of the first stops in my class. Its unique history and placement along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge makes for some incredible site-seeing and geology. The waterfalls were the location that the Vikings threw their idols from after declaring Christianity as their new religion. The Golden Circle is also the location of the country's oldest standing church.
GEOTHERMAL ANDÂ HYDROTHERMAL ACTIVITY
Iceland is covered in geysers, hot springs, and other hydrothermally active spots. The island state is powered almost exclusively by geothermal renewable energy. Some of my favorite spots were hydrothermally active areas, because the resulting colors of the chemically weathering and changing rocks was hypnotizing. The disclaimer here is that, every time you see steam from springs and hot spots, you get blasted with the smell of rotten eggs because of the high amounts of sulphur present.
WATER IN ACTION
Glaciers are one of my FAVORITE focuses in the field of geology. Getting to see them up-close and in-person was one of the most exciting parts of the class, for me. The Glaciers in Iceland move quite rapidly, as seen by the island's rock morphology. These pictures are a series of snaps I took of several different glacial moraines, rocks and beaches where it is common to see icebergs that have detached from glaciers, and of course, some of the incredible glaciers of the country. One of the neat ones that I got to see was a filming location for the movie "Interstellar".
WATER IN MOTION
During my course, I had the opportunity to see many different bodies of water and streams. One of the realizations that I quickly had was that water is POWERFUL. I know it's obvious to say, but I found myself in awe (CONSTANTLY)Â of how much force water has in any setting. Every time I do the math for how much water is moving in a given setting (groundwater, streams, even city water grids...) I always struggle to wrap my head around the quantity of it. It is so easy to look at a small stream and be underwhelmed, but I am still always blown away when I think about how much water is moving through the given space at a certain time.
THE BACKPACKING
Backpacking 50-something miles of the Laugavegur trail in the southern part of the country was one of the coolest backpacking trips that I have taken. The diversity of the topography and depth of the many views was incredible, and I am so happy that I checked off this bucket list packing trip (at the time, I did not even know that it was on my bucket list!).
VOLCANIC ACTIVITY
Obviously, one of the major appeals to tourism in Iceland is the country's active volcanoes. While I did not watch one erupt first-hand while I was in Iceland (fortunately?), I did get to check out the geologic footprints of much of the island's volcanic activity. One of these locations included Heimaey, an island off of the south coast, and the site of the famous 1973 eruption of the volcano Eldfell! Spots at the top of the volcanic cone were still warm, and the view from the peak was incredible.
VIDEO
While in the country, I filmed much of the backpacking as well as the views because I always have cameras on me (even when they cause obnoxious extra weight). I shot this little amateur video using my GoPro cameras as well as my DSLR. (I
