What I Use
- Hyperdrive Card Backup Devices -Fast and Reliable. I’m a fan of the “Space” model. The Space has a simple interface and no battery sucking color LCD.
- Photomatix – Hight Dynamic Range software that does not require that the final product resemble a scene from an animated science fiction rendering of life on another planet. No, I generally don’t like HDR but thanks for asking. Using Photomatrix tone mapping can tame a huge number of stops and result in an image that still “looks real.” The plugin for Aperture works flawlessly.
- Aperture – While I have no specific problems with Adobe Lightroom (it may be Adobe’s best product) I have come to like Photoshop / ACR less and less. I’m a huge fan of Aperture. Great two monitor support (from day one), solid organizational tools and excellent RAW development make Aperture the place that I do my work. Each update has made substantial improvements in this very capable digital photographic tool. Yes, it only runs on Macs. How could that ever be a problem?
Photographers Worth Your Time
- Carr Clifton – Large Format Landscapes
- Jeff Gnass – Large Format Landscapaes
- Jack Dykinga – Large Format Landscapes
Specific to Iceland
Unabashed Plugs
- Iceland Portfolio – William Smithey Jr.
Photographing Iceland
- Iceland. A Photographers Paradise -Luminous Landscape
- The Iceland HDR Collection – Stuck In Customs
- Iceland Portfolio – by Sigurgeir Sigurjónsson
Iceland – General Information
- Iceland Review Online - Daily News & Commentary
- Iceland Tourist - Loads of Tourist Info
- Iceland Travel Guide - New York TImes
- Start here… - Camping in Iceland
- Iceland Meterological Office - Weather and Earthquakes
- IceTrans… - Road Conditions
- IcelandAir - Getting There
- Iceland Customs - Getting In and Out
- OurFootPrints - Free Garmin/Mapsource GPSmap
- Statistics Iceland – Lots of basic information on Iceland. Example: For the year 2007 Iceland had the lowest infant mortality rate in the world. In contrast, the United States does far worse with middling 33rd – flanked by New Caledonia at 32nd and Croatia at 34th.
Getting Around In Iceland
- Geysir Car Rental – Renting a car in Iceland can seem like buying a car in the U.S. That said, Geysir seems to have the best prices for an indigenous rental company.
- Auto Europe – A rental car consolidator (with rentals throughout Europe) this is the place to start when looking for a car rental in Iceland. Again, the prices are a shock. Hint – the prices are less of a shock when the rental prior ends on or before to July 4th
- Iceland’s Comprehensive Bus System – Includes Cities, Villages, much of the Coast and the hard to get to (without spending lots of money on a tour company) Inland Region.
Iceland National Parks
- Introductory Page – Iceland has four National Parks.National Park Vatnajokull is the largest National Park in Europe
- National Park Thingvellir – Close to the capital Reykjavek, Thingvellir includes the most important historic site in the country – the Parliamentary Plains. This is the site where the oldest parliament in the world was founded in 930. Also, includes Thingvallavatn, Iceland’s largest natural lake and plenty of other spectacular scenery.
- National Park Skatfafell (now part of National Park Vatnajokull.) The Glacier Vatnajokull, waterfalls and hiking make this a great place to spend some time. The famous Glacial Lagoon, is located nearby.
- National Park Jokulsargljufur – This seemingly unpronounceable park is noteworthy for the lush Asbyrgi Canyon and, up a primitive dirt road, Europe’s larges waterfall, Dettifoss.
- National Park Snaefellskokull – Located at the tip of the Snaefellsness Peninsula, this park preserves some spectacular coastline and the place the Jules Verne chose to start his “Voyage to the center of the earth.” The most accessible of the National Parks.
Iceland Review – Columns of Special Interest to Tourists
- Páll Stefánsson, Lists His Favorite Icelandic Places, Car and Restaurant. The man knows of what he speaks.
- On Camping in Iceland. As of this date you can camp just about anywhere. This writer is a huge fan of camping near geothermal pools.
Iceland – The Current (Late 2008) Economic Crisis
- John Carlin in The Gardian - The Happiest People on Earth
- Where Have All the Good Times Gone? - An Essay on the Icelandic Financial Collapse by a Native Icelander
- Iceland Reveiw – Icelanders More Pessimistic than Other Nations