Photo trip to Iceland

Hi all
I am planning a 12 day holiday to Iceland in the beginning of April, hiring a car and planning on driving the ring road all the way around Iceland. The reason I was thinking of April as there is around 15 hours of daytime and 5 or 6 hours of complete darkness so still a good chance off seeing the northern lights. I was wondering if anyone has visited Iceland before and if they could give me any useful information on.

Places to visit (planning on staying in hostels most of the time as the girlfriend doe not like the idea of camping in cold weather)?

What filters I should take with and if 10 days is long enough to do the ring road?

What is Iceland like in the beginning of April?

My Camera equipment is a Nikon D300, Sigma 50-500mm for birds and wildlife and a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 for landscape and of course a tripod
Thanks in advance
Paul

I'm thinking of going there and Greenland this summer. I picked summer because I want to see the big waterfalls. It's harder (not posssible?) to get into the interior during winter. I also want to see some of the geo-thermal features and the great rift. Northern Lights aren't as big a deal for me since I live in the North anyway. I'm guessing that April will be pretty bland for photos as there will be old snow, something I find unattractive. Upside might be rooms are cheaper etc. because that's not really the tourist season there. I would also suspect it would not be a "hot' month for birds, but on that I could be wrong depending on migration.


Kent in SD

Haven't been in spring or summer, but plan to in the near future. The weather is not as cold as you would think (it's much colder here in Maine), I have been during the winter and it was spectacular. Some photos of mine are at www.pbase.com/bmccarthy9/iceland . I think you will have a fantastic time.

Bill

Hi Paul, I've driven the ring road around Iceland and walked across the interior from the northern tip to the southern (check out www.phlumf.com and hit the Iceland tab). I went in mid-June and late-June both times and the inland roads were still closed (great for hiking, not for driving). Near Reykjavik there are some spectacular waterfalls and geysers. As you drive along the southern coast there are some great waterfalls and bird life (puffins perch here in early July). Skogafoss is a nice waterfall on the ring road, but the 12km hike up the trail along the canyon will give you views of many more spectacular ones. Skaftafell National Park will give you nice views of the mountains and the 100 mile long glacier cap. Hike up to Fartifoss here for a great view of a waterfall with columnular basalt cliffs. Also there are a lot of icebergs in the bay and beach nearby. In April this may all still be frozen - not sure. In the north you must stay in the quaint town of Husavik (very photogenic and it also has a penis museum, yep there is a guy there that's collected them from many species from all over the world). Lake Myvatn is nice, the area has recent lava flows, tons of birdlife, cinder cones, geysers, fumerals, calderas - cool place. Asbyrgi in the north has a great canyon with the largest waterfall in Europe (Dettifoss). Not sure if the road to Dettifoss will be open in April, but there is a 75km trail which follows this canyon and it is spectacular. I this was part of my route across Iceland in 2006 and when the trail ended I took off cross-country. The upper NW is also spectacular with some great fjords and birdlife, not sure how the roads will be in April. Also part of the ring road is dirt, and the winds here can be fierce (campers routinely blow off the road), so it's sometimes hard to drive and look at the scenery. There's much more you'll find in a guidebook, Iceland is a cool place. If the roads to Thorsmork and Landmaunalauger are open, take a bus or hitch a 4wd to them. These are great spots for photography.

Hope this helps, and have a great trip.

David M. Cobb

David, the website you mentioned was spectacular, and it felt like I was on the hike. I'm exhuausted just following the trip, but the landscape and photos were rejuvenating and great! The writing kept me moving from one image to the next.
Paul, hiring a car (or 4X4) should get you pretty close to a lot of fantastic photo opportunities. With 12 days, you will want to do a lot of planning to select just what you want to see.
Bill

I don't have much to add, but if you get the chance, I thought Gulfoss was pretty spectacular. (There's a path to an overlook on the far left of the image in the link for scale.) From the upper overlook you can see a long way up-river.