The Traveling Widower

Tag: photography

Top level category for photography related posts

  • Travel Photography – A Slightly Different Focus

    A man with gray hair holds a smartphone and a camera near a shoreline, surrounded by wildlife including a brown bear, a moose, a puffin, and a bald eagle. A sign indicating 'Alaska Coastal Wildlife Refuge' is visible among the trees and mountains in the background.
    Phone or camera….which should I use?

    July 14, 2026

    I’ve been back for a couple of weeks now, and I’m finally over the cold (or whatever) I caught on the Iceland trip. I’m glad the worst of it came after I got home. That would have been miserable on the trip for myself, and everyone else on the trip. Yuck – sharing a bus with someone performing volcanic sneezes would not have been pleasant. 

    Since I’ve been home, I’ve managed to go through all the photos and videos I shot on the trip, and I’ve been giving some thought on my approach for upcoming trips. I did have a plan of sorts for Iceland photography – I brought only one of the Sony A7’s, along with just two lenses, the 25-200 for everyday/landscapes, and the 50-400 for wildlife. I knew that there would only be a limited number of opportunities for wildlife, and that most of the photography would be landscapes and waterfalls. There were also two underground activities – the volcano and lava tube, and was planning to just use the Pixel phone and GoPro for those. That was the plan at least…seemed pretty good.

    As it turned out, I used my phone for the majority of the images I captured. It rained quite a bit, sometimes very hard, and it just did not make sense to use the Sony with the rain cover, especially if there was hiking and scrambling involved. I came close to a bad fall while trying to pick my way through some slick rocks, while holding the camera in one hand and my phone in the other. That was one close call too many 

    I did carry the camera along on most hikes in the new (and wonderful) Think Tank sling bag that I bought before the trip, but quite frankly, I still used my phone most of the time – it was a lot easier to pull it out of my pocket to snap a shot when we stopped for a breather. I also used the new GoPro camera quite a bit since it fit in my jacket pocket. The only times I relied on the Sony camera were for wildlife related activities, as I had planned. 

    Fast forward (forward or backward…I’m not sure which direction) to a week or so ago – I had a photo club competition coming up, and started going through my most recent photos to find something to submit. I reviewed the collections I made from Iceland, and came to a rather depressing conclusion – I had a lot of really nice shots of puffins and whale tales, interesting ones from the volcanic related features we visited/hiked, and some fantastic images of waterfalls but nothing that would be judged favorably in competition. I wound up submitting a penguin colony image, and one from the birds of prey workshop I attended a few months ago – neither one did particularly well. What really bothered me was that one of the competition winners was a beautiful, perfectly composed shot of a church in….. Iceland. What am I doing wrong?

    No, I did not sell my cameras, and take up a new hobby. I did think about it for a minute though. What I realized instead, was that I need to spend even more time setting my expectations for each trip – for example, am I just focusing on capturing photos to support the blog stories – composition and perfect settings are not as important, and in most cases, using the phone makes more sense. Did I really need to lug the Sony along on the “Inside the Volcano” hike? Nah….lot’s of strange and spectacular pictures, great for the blog or a travel slide show, but nothing worth spending time curating for competition. So where should I have been more serious about capturing competition worthy images? The Heritage Museum would have been a good choice – the old church with a great background, or spending more time looking around the sod houses. Maybe the old cathedral at Holar, or some of the buildings on Hrisey. There were a few spots where I could have worked on composing a better image. I really do  need to learn more about city photography – there were probably a lot of opportunities with the interesting buildings and murals in Reykjavik, and I had plenty of time on my own before the group arrived. And I did have some wildlife photo opportunities – birding in Myvatn, and the whales and the puffins. But one thing I have learned is that static “portrait” shots of animals do not do well in competition. Judges are looking for images that tell a story. It is not always so easy to work on photo composition in the field, especially when you are jammed into a small boat, or rushed on a hike. I guess the bottom line is that I have to make up my mind as a trip progresses, on whether I’m taking photos for blog stories or to share on Facebook and Instagram, or to create images to curate for competition. 

    So with my latest self-appraisal and plan for refocusing my photographic efforts, what should I be looking for on my next trip to Kodiak Island and Anchorage? The town of Kodiak has a lot of potential photo ops, just by wandering around the two harbors – wildlife (otters!! ) and a lot of interesting buildings and fishing boats. It might be a good place to work on my street photography, so I may just pack the long lens in my sling bag, and be more selective on what I shoot as I wander around. I’ve got a full day on my own before the tour group shows up.

    The Grizzly Bear trip will be all about wildlife – I will be focused on getting action shots of the bears, landscape shots from the boat, and whatever other wildlife we see – Bald Eagles, Otters, Puffins (yay!!!!), and maybe even whales. This will probably be four days of using the Sony A7, and the phone will stay in my pocket. I probably will not bother with the GoPro on this trip.

    The three days in Anchorage will be a mix of wildlife (moose!!!) and extreme landscape photography – I’ve scheduled a small plane tour around Denali. I’ll probably be taking some shots with the phone, but the Sony with a wide angle lens will be my primary. I’ve seen some spectacular photos taken from these flights, but that all depends on the weather and lighting. I’m going to do some research before I go so I have some idea on what to focus on, and the best way to photograph from a small plane.

    So once again I have a plan. This trip will also be way different than the Iceland trip, since it is targeted towards photographers – no rushing to grab a camera and fire off a few images. We will be setting up in a group for safety, sitting on our orange buckets, while the bears do their thing. It’s not like I’ll be asking them to pose for a shot. Hopefully they will be cooperative….and not get too close. Or too hungry. 

    And speaking of my upcoming trip to the land of giant bears, I decided that I absolutely, positively need to enlarge my collection of outdoor gear, and need to travel to what is arguably the adventure outfitter mecca of the West – Denver. Aside from having the second largest REI flagship store, which I have written about in the blog, most every major manufacturer has a store there – Patagonia, North Face, Arc!teryx, Kuhl, Black Diamond, Fjallraven and many smaller companies, are in one or two locations around Denver.  I’m planning to bring a large suitcase. I’ll stay away from the camera stores though – I’ve done enough damage this year.  

    Peace

  • The Last Waterfall (and Hike)

    A serene landscape featuring a river flowing through rocky terrain, flanked by tall cliffs under a partly cloudy blue sky.

    June 30th, 2026

    All things must come to an end, and that was today  – we boarded the bus this morning for a day of hiking, and then heading to Akureyri for our last two nights in Iceland. Tomorrow we visit a whale museum and then go on a whale tour. Woo hoo. Just what I need. Maybe I’ll see some breaching or lunge feeding this time. So today we are heading off to a huge waterfall, requiring a long hike to see it, followed by a hike to see some interesting volcanic features and cliffs, followed by a picnic lunch, followed by another hike to see a huge horseshoe valley. All this before 2PM, since we have a long drive to the hotel. I’d better speed up my hikes to 2nd gear.

    We are currently in the Iceland Highlands, which are not as heavily visited by tourists as Southern and Western Iceland, so the roads were fairly empty, and there were fewer tourist buses  to deal with. Unfortunately, the midges were still there in force. But, the weather was the best we had all week, with enough wind to drive the bugs away. I asked our naturalist where the midges go when it’s not windy. I’m probably the only person who has ever asked that – my mind works in very strange ways.

    The first stop was for the Dettifoss falls (foss by the way, means waterfall in Icelandic, so that was the Detti waterfall waterfall) – one of the largest based on the volume of water that flows through it. The viewing points are reached by another 2km hike, which gets you to a point close to the top of the falls. There is a trail going down to the water edge, which has been closed since a large fault was discovered running through this area. It may eventually collapse into the river. And of course, there were idiots who went down there anyway. It looks safe, so what could happen?

    The next viewpoint required a bit of careful hiking up and down a rocky stretch, which eventually leads to a boardwalk under construction. It did not look too hard, so I VERY CAREFULLY tipsy-toed through it – it was a fantastic view, so I’m glad I did that.

    A wide view of a powerful waterfall cascading over rocky cliffs, surrounded by a rugged landscape and dramatic cloud-filled sky.
    A barren landscape featuring large rocks and patches of grass under a partly cloudy blue sky.
    A dramatic view of a waterfall cascading over a cliff, surrounded by rocky terrain and green moss. The sky is partly cloudy with sunlight reflecting off the water mist.

    The second photo shows a black basalt layer that the trail climbed – it was not that high, but was still impressive.

    The next stop was a cliff hike, to see some amazing basalt cliffs and rock formation. This hike was a bit shorter, but also with a tricky section to negotiate. I”m getting pretty good at hiking through the rocky trails – the new Black Diamond collapsible hiking sticks are fantastic. Very slender, but very strong. The big volcanic feature was a lot like Devils Tower, but the basalt columns were bent and horizontal – looked like a bee hive honeycomb. Definitely worth the hike.

    A rocky mountain peak under a blue sky with scattered clouds, surrounded by rugged terrain and green vegetation.
    Scenic view of a large rock formation beside a river, surrounded by green vegetation and a blue sky with fluffy clouds.
    A serene stream flowing through a lush green landscape with scattered shrubs and trees, under a partly cloudy blue sky.

    The next stop was a picnic lunch (very small hike) – a nice sandwich, seasoned with more midges. It’s hard eating with mosquito netting covering your head but we all managed. The site also had very nice restrooms….that were free. A welcome change from the day before.

    The very last stop, Asbyrgi Canyon, is a huge, horse shoe shaped valley surrounded by gigantic basaltic cliffs, which according to legend, were created by a hoof print of Oden’s horse. Must have been really big. The trail head had an Icelandic name that is not pronounceable by an English speaking person. Utsynisstadur.

    I think it means viewing point. The hike was fairly easy and did lead to a boardwalk viewing area. Absolutely stunning. This valley at one point had a huge river flowing through it, and the end of the valley was a waterfall. So this I guess would our last waterfall for the trip. A fossilized one. There was also an huge island in the middle of the valley. Well, it was an island. Very strange geology. We walked up the trail to a second view point, also very nice, and had options for one a bit higher up the trail. There were caution signs at the start of this section which warned of dangerous rock fall. I decided to heed the warnings and headed back down on a beautiful flower lined forest trail back to the parking lot with most of the group. I figured I made it through 11 day of hiking without injuring myself. That’s almost a record for me. Time to call it quits while I’m ahead.

    A serene landscape featuring a calm, greenish lake surrounded by rocky cliffs and lush vegetation under a blue sky with clouds.
    A rocky cliff with a small waterfall, surrounded by green moss and a clear pool of water at the base, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

    The ride back to Akureyri was beautiful, running along the coast. We were just short of the Arctic Circle. Amazing glacier covered mountains across the fjord. The town is fairly large, with a small airport (we fly out to Reykjavik from here), and a lot of shopping, bars and restaurants.

    A large, humanoid puppet resembling an elderly woman stands outside a souvenir shop, with a shaggy fur coat and tattered clothing, looking down as if in thought.
    I’m not really sure what this was…

    A nice place to visit for a few days. I got to see some of it on a very long walk to buy some cough drops. I had a choice of walking up hill for a half mile, including a 100 step staircase which starts in front of the hotel, or take a leisurely stroll to a shopping mall, also a half mile away. I chose leisurely over steep. I’ve done enough of that the past 11 days.

    I probably will not post anything else until I get home….hopefully, I will have some photos of whales breaching and lunge feeding, but my expectations are low for the trip. I’ll just be happy to be out in what technically is the Arctic Ocean. 

    Peace.