Iceland Day 1: Reykjavik . Geysir . Gullfoss . Storinupur

This is the first in a series of blog posts about our Aug. 2007 trip to Iceland. All posts can be found by typing "Iceland" in the search bar.

I figured it was about time I blogged about Iceland.

We tried to sleep on the flight to Iceland because we knew when we arrived it would be morning and several hours off of our schedule of when morning was, so we wanted to be as rested as possible. But, honestly, it was hard to sleep beyond all the normal reasons it's hard to sleep on a plane. I was excited.







We picked up our rental car at the airport and headed to Reykjavik, where we had breakfast. It was the most expensive meal of our entire trip and consisted of what we'd consider a pretty normal breakfast buffet of eggs, sausage, potatoes, breads, jams, butter, milk, juice, cereal and apples and oranges. Iceland, you have a beautiful country, but your food, frankly, stinks. It isn't really your fault, though, because only 1% of your land is tillable soil and you're far away from everything else.







As we left Reykjavik we wandered down a long street that bordered the bleak sea, dark rocks and road made from those dark rocks separated us from the sea. We realized we weren't going the right way and Joe stopped to ask this woman walking her dog for directions. They chatted for quite some time. I think because she really didn't know which way to tell us to go.




We headed out but quickly grew tired, so pulled onto a large gravel parking area and took a nap in the car. Finally, we headed to Geysir, the geyser after which all others are named. Now elderly, Geysir erupts only about twice a day and sits watching over the much more regular, Strokkur.


(view large for full effect)







Then, with little sun left to light our way we headed to Gullfoss, a large nearby waterfall.










There was a long path to a visitor center where we found this diagram that explains how the falls was made:






We used the final shards of sunlight to find Storinupur, the farm where we were staying. Though it was only one family's farm it had its own road sign, just like larger towns. There was also a church nestled into the short hillside with it.



We ate something, pushed our twin beds together and went to sleep.

Spellbound Web

The photography website is now up and running at www.spellboundjungle.com. Enjoy!

I suppose this means my maternity leave has official ended.

Self Portrait

Believe it or not, this was not staged. Truman simply wanted to nurse and there I was in front of the dairy barn at the State Fair. It seemed intensely appropriate, so I asked Joe to take this picture.

Clocky, I Am Your Father

This is a continuation of the saga of Clocky, the mascot of the newspaper I used to work for. If it sounds crazy, try reading the first post.

When two mascots fall in love they sometimes create a baby mascot. That baby is Clocky. Today, I met Clocky's father, Mr. Minuteman in St. Cloud. He was casual, as usual:




He was representing an extremely small copy shop (there were only two copiers in the place) and leaning against the M in the shop's sign as if to say:

"Oh, Clocky, what have you gotten yourself into now?"

You see, he let me in on a little secret. Clocky is a little slow.

Oddly enough, Mr. Minuteman has a tag line as awkward as Clocky's:




I guess the gear doesn't fall very far from the clockface.

Teenage Mutan Ninja Turtle Savers

My mom was in town visiting the last few weeks. While we were out checking out a garage sale in the country I spotted what looked like a turtle on the edge of the road about 1/4 mile from a small lake.

My mom with the little guy:




So we turned around and picked him up and released him back near the lake.






Is there such a thing as a turtle saving badge? If there is, I think I've earned one.

Wildflowers

I took these in the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Zimmerman today. All of them were taken along the side of the road on the Wildlife Drive. It's amazing how many things you notice when you take a nice slow drive down a road of prairie. To get the full effect, click on the images to view a larger version.














This strange grass flower stood atop a long stem:

My New View

We've relocated to Princeton, Mn and I look forward photographing people and places in the area. I caught this dragon fly snuggled against the screen outside my office.

Birth

I was honored to photograph the birth of Sarah and Dean's baby boy, Khai Liam June 20 and 21. The images made during the intensity of labor encapsulate such pure emotions. In the above photography I cannot avoid seeing the most intense expression of love I've ever seen. Not only the love between husband and wife as he supports her in a time when she needs support more than ever, but the love of a mother bringing her child into the world. In that photograph there is anticipation and pain — not the kind of pain to be feared, but the kind to be revered. It was one of those images that I knew was remarkable the moment I took it.

Toward the end of labor she asked me why it had to be so painful. I told her it was to teach us how much we can love someone.

Sarah + Dean + Baby

I shot some maternity portraits for my good friends Sarah and Dean a few weeks ago. We took them at Dean's parent's house where the two of them were married. I can't wait to meet their little one. More can be seen here.

It's Turtles All the Way Down

We spotted these turtles on a walk a few days ago all lined up, sunning themselves on this log. I was excited to see the little one standing between two bigger ones on the right. A few weeks ago this lake was still frozen and Joe and I were walking along it trying to get labor going. When we saw these turtles it was our first time taking the walk with Truman out and able to look around and feel the breeze.

I love spring.

Newborn Portriats of Truman

Truman Time

Things are little slow over here because I've been on Truman time. For the next few weeks keep up with us at my other blog as I enjoy my babymoon with my new son.

In a few months I hope to be back to taking photos of things other than my little man. Feel free to contact me if you're looking to head out for some portraits this summer.

For Those Sick of Being Tricked Today, a Comic:

Catch-Up, It's Not Just for Hamburgers: My Birthday

I'm playing a little blog catch-up this week, so stay tuned.



Who's that strange looking fellow snuggled up to Joe, you ask? Why, it's me, of course. We headed to Osaka (a Teppanyaki restaurant where they cook food on a griddle in front of you; similar to the chain Benihana) for dinner on my birthday. They not only sang a spirited and very odd song to me and brought out tempura-fried bananas (interesting), but also plopped this fine mask over my head.

Alright, I actually kind of thought the mask was cool and wanted to wear it, as you can see below:


(photos by Nikki)






James, Nikki and Kellie joined us.