The Traveling Widower

Tag: travel

Default category for all travel 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

  • Iceland Historical Sites – Easy Walking

    A scenic view of traditional Icelandic turf houses and a church with a red steeple, set against a cloudy sky and green grass.

    June 27th, 2026

    This is the other story I did not post while in Iceland. 

    —————————————————————————

    It has now been a week since I left home….seems like I’ve been running non-stop for a month! I’m not complaining (for once) – there are just so many things to see here, and our trip lead is doing his best to cover as much as he can. Today is the first easy day I’ve had since arriving – I had a good night’s rest, a good breakfast and an unhurried departure from the hotel. And it was raining again. Blah.

    We had a long bus ride ahead, so I planned to catch up on my writing (I’m doing that right now). We did have a stop planned early on – another waterfall. Hard to believe that there are some we have not seen yet. Just kidding. 

    But before we hit the waterfall, we did a quick stop at a hot water generating plant, where hot water is pumped from a geothermal spring (Deildartunguhver). The water is literally boiling out of the ground – the spring area is fenced off since regardless of the many warning signs, there is always some idiot who has to see how hot the water really is. It’s actually boiling…no kidding, it’s really hot. Don’t do it!

    A geyser erupting water and steam in a misty landscape with rocky terrain and sparse vegetation.
    Steam rising from a rocky hillside, with water splashing against the rocks in a geothermal area.

    The next stop was the Hraunfossar waterfall and as advertised, the trail was short and easy. And yeah, the waterfall was absolutely beautiful. There are no mediocre waterfalls in Iceland. Too bad it was raining again. It was a quick stop, snap a few photos with the phone, and then we were off to the North coast. During the ride, our trip lead spent time to immerse our group in Icelandic music, most of which I muted by wearing my ear buds. Not that it was not interesting – I just wanted to enjoy the incredible scenery and maybe catch a few winks. Which I did. 

    A scenic view of a river cascading over rocky formations, with lush greenery and hills in the background.

    Our stop for lunch was for a bit more than food and a bathroom break. This area was known for a famous outlaw from the Iceland highlands who lived in a cave. The second floor of the restaurant (B&S Restaurant) had a replica of the cave with cave-like displays. Really. We toured that before lunch. Sort of like Casa Bonita in Denver, without the cliff divers, dancers and music. But the food was pretty good.

    An interior view of a rustic dining area with wooden tables and chairs, surrounded by rock-like walls. The ceiling has a natural stone appearance, and there are small plants on the tables. Soft lighting illuminates the space, creating a cozy atmosphere.
    A narrow cave-like passage with rocky walls, featuring a white fox positioned near a rock, illuminated by a soft light from the left.
    A cozy living room with a brown leather sofa adorned with fluffy throws, a decorative vase filled with dried flowers, and wooden walls. A rustic wooden table sits in front with a candle.

    I have this strange habit of photographing interesting bathroom signs or interiors. This one caught my eye.

    A wooden sign featuring a stylized figure with a sad expression, holding itself in a desperate posture, indicating a restroom.

    We continued our drive on to the next stop, the Glaumbær Folk Museum – sounds boring but it exceeded my expectations. The settlement dates back to the 1800’s, and the turf (sod) houses were in pristine condition, with each room filled with original items from the period. The buildings were very large, with thick turf walls and roof. They were probably nice and warm in the winter. Not that I want to live in one. A very interesting stop. 

    A scenic pathway lined with grass and stone, leading towards mountains under a cloudy sky, with a tree partially framing the view.
    Traditional turf houses with grass roofs, set against a backdrop of rolling hills and cloudy skies in Iceland.
    Interior view of a rustic kitchen with wooden beams, a table with pottery, and shelves displaying plates and cups.
    A scenic landscape featuring rolling green fields, mountains in the background, a weathered stone monument, an old wooden cart, and a bench for viewing the surroundings under a cloudy sky.
    A long, narrow hallway made of earth and wooden beams, featuring a dirt floor and a thatched roof, leading to a lighted entrance.
    An old rustic interior of a storage room with wooden shelves filled with various kitchen and farm tools, including barrels, a grinder, and lanterns.
    Interior view of a room featuring a window, framed by historical portraits on the walls, overlooking a green landscape with mountains in the distance.

    The buildings do look a little like hobbit homes. 

    There was one more stop at a famous old cathedral in Holar – built in the 1700’s. I’m burned out on visiting old churches after a couple of visits to Italy, but the history of this one was interesting , and the location was beyond gorgeous. We motored on to our hotel in the beautiful little village of Siglufjordur. Home of the Herring Museum. And a normal meal for dinner – pizza. Definitely an easy day.

    A scenic harbor view featuring colorful buildings in red and yellow, moored boats, and a calm water surface, set against a backdrop of mountains under a partly cloudy sky.
    Harbor scene with several boats docked at the water's edge, surrounded by a steep mountain covered in snow and mist.
    Scenic view of a harbor with a white fishing boat docked beside green and white buildings, surrounded by mountains with patches of snow and cloudy skies.

    There’s a local artist who makes strange wooden status of people – some of his work was scattered around town, and turned up in another stop as well.

    A wooden sculpture of a seated figure with arms crossed, made from various pieces of wood, set against a bright yellow wall.
    A wooden sculpture depicting a figure sitting on a bench, made from various pieces of reclaimed wood, set against a bright yellow wall.
    Three metal sculptures of women interacting around a barrel on a wooden pier with a ship in the background.
    A wooden sculpture of a woman in an orange dress and blue headscarf, seated beside a barrel of fish, displayed in a maritime setting.

    That last one was from the Herring Museum – a Herring Girl

    Peace