Aurora Borealis

Iceland is a scarcely populated arctic island with many wild pristine places to view the Aurora Borealis. Even though the northern lights are active year round they are only visible for 8 months of the year. Do you know why? 

This and other northern lights images will be part of "Transformative North," my fine art photography show hosted by Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The show opens August 28, 2016 and runs through November 6, 2016, with an artist reception and forum on September 18th at 9AM, where you can get the answer to this, and other information about Iceland and arctic Scandinavia.

Conversation With A Glacier

Exactly one year ago today I embarked on a trip that was transformational. I visited Iceland and arctic Scandinavia. One of the most memorable nights of my life was spent camped alone at the foot of the Fjallsjökull glacier in eastern Iceland. I arrived there at dusk and had just enough time to pitch a tent and finish a sandwich before dark. The next morning I awoke to a frozen lagoon bathed in the light of the early morning sunrise. The magic began to happen as the sun climbed in the sky and the ice on the surface of the lagoon began to melt. As it melted it began to crack and groan as if it were telling me it's story. I spent the morning walking, and listening, and photographing this wonderful place.

I have the chance to share these pictures, and the stories that go with them, this fall at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. The exhibit opens on August 28, 2016 and runs through November 6, 2016 with an artists forum and reception on September 18th. I hope to see you there!

Picture of the Week

The light and atmospheric conditions in Iceland are unusually beautiful but constantly changing. This picture was made at 10:00am this morning just outside Stykkishòlmur. The clouds hovering over these mountain created depth and a sense of motion in this image. The sun is still very low in the sky this time of year and when its out, makes wonderful lighting for landscape photography. But sometimes it doesn't stay out for long.  What looked like a great day at 10:00am today, had turned into a howling gale by noon, with winds so strong I thought it would blow my car off the road. As I write this it is gray, dull and still windy. There is a saying here..."if you don't like the weather just wait 5 minutes." There is a lot of truth in that!

Ice Caves and Aurora

The bus headed out of Reykjavik with 12 Chinese tourists and 3 Americans with the goal of trekking through a glacial ice cave. I normally try to avoid groups of tourists like the plague, because its hard to get a feel for the personality of a place when its over-run with adventure seekers and travelers. But strangely, on this trek I came to appreciate the good humor and friendliness of the Chinese people in the group, not to mention their creative genius with the selfie. And I enjoyed getting to know a great young couple from Florida who were also photographers.

We pulled into our guest house just before dinner and while waiting for our food, the guide came down and said there is an aurora happening tonight.  Immediately 15 people got up and scurried outside and sure enough, soft green waves of light were starting to swirl above the mountain peak. I had seen the Northern Lights for the first time. It lasted maybe a half hour and then dissipated...different waves of greenish color dancing in the sky. Here are a couple of the nicer images from that night. I have no idea how I got them!