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• Post #4499781

  'E Clips March 2015, and a frustrating morning spent trying to image the partial eclipse from our home in Fife. I had a small success with a kitchen colander, but nothing I tried gave me a satisfying result. I went upstairs for a break and walked into my bedroom, where a crystal was hanging in the window. Spread across the bedroom wall were lovely rainbow crescents, dozens of them. For tomorrow, I have my telescope with a solar filter, so no worries! #eclipse #Scotland #Photography

• Post #4488848

  A slight detour for me today. One of the problems with living in Scotland is that the sky doesn't get fully dark during the summer. Last night was our first "proper" dark since May, so the telescope came out to play. I concentrated on one area for about 45 minutes, knowing the Milky Way was in that part of the sky but not expecting to get very much from it. Oh boy, was I wrong! Zwo SeeStar S30 Pro, ISO 200, f/5, 2750 sec. Portrait image. #AstroPhotography #Astrodon #AtOptics #P...

• Post #4414755

  Good morning, friends, wherever you might be! I've just published another PeerTube video for you to enjoy. This time it's Háifoss; at 122 metres it's the fourth highest waterfall in Iceland. https://peertube.wtf/w/ka57T22xjCuSh9pv65ymzz #PeerTube #Iceland #video

• Post #4371197

  Áróra Another night, another good forecast for aurora but not for weather. By 7pm we were parked in a safe place and armed with tripods and cameras, warm clothes, and our books to read, waiting to see what transpired. It was quiet until about 9pm when three things happened. The clouds began to break up, the aurora began to dance, and we quickly unloaded the cameras! Early November, Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. #AuroraTuesday #NorthernLights #aurora #AuroraBorealis #Iceland #Photography

• Post #4197727

  Splash! North-eastern Iceland in September, and a really beautiful day for whale-watching. We'd been out in the bay on a restored oak fishing trawler for a couple of hours, and were about to turn back when a mixed pod of long-finned pilot whale led by bottlenose dolphins began to race alongside us. In the background, dropping into the bay, is Purkafoss waterfall. Skjálfandi¹ in north-eastern Iceland. ¹ 𝙎𝙠𝙮𝙤𝙬𝙡-𝘧𝘷𝘢𝘯-𝘥𝘦𝘦 #WaterfallWednesday #OceanWednesday #MeerMittwoch #Iceland #Photogra...

• Post #4135838

  Cloud Cap October, and we're travelling south through the Eastfjords of Iceland. Reaching the end of Breiðdalur valley and before we climbed the steep road to Breiðdalsheiði and Öxi pass, we stopped to stretch our legs and admire the mountains around us. Heading towards Berufjörður in Fjarðabyggð. The mountain is Dýristindur. #MountainsMonday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #4110181

  Steamy Standing on a 500 metre long lava bubble with a crack along the top. This lava sheet was lifted by groundwater steam while still soft and hot, creating lava caves when it cooled. One of them - Kvennagjá - contains a pool of water and was a popular bathing spot until geological activity made it too hot. It's now closed to the public. Grjótagjá¹ in Reykahlið, north-eastern Iceland. The mountain is Sellandafjall. ¹ 𝙂𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙝-𝘵𝘢-𝘨𝘺𝘰𝘸 #SilentSunday #StillerSonntag #Iceland #Photography

• Post #4084704

  Storm Front Tornadoes in Iceland are very rare, but this strong curve of cloud connected with a distant column that seemed to be spinning. The coffee colour of the water was due to glacial flour, and the deep ripples in the lake show how windy it was. November: Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant in Fljótsdalshérað. Looking across Hálslón reservoir towards Sandfell island - which was a 678 metre mountain - and Vatnajökull glacier, south-eastern Iceland. #SaturdayScenery #Iceland #Photography

• Post #4046462

  Scale Something about glaciers that many people don't realise is just how big they are. This one is ≈ 2000 metres high and 800m wide at its terminus. If you look closely at the photo there small coloured dots in the distance. Those are cars parked at the start of the trail to the snout which is ≈ 700m walk. You can also see the debris from the huge 2013 landslide over the foot of the glacier. Svínafellsjökull outlet glacier in south-eastern Iceland. #GlacierThursday #Iceland #Photograph...

• Post #3981270

  Nitrogen Fringe Green is the most common colour seen during auroral displays. It's produced when charged solar particles collide with oxygen molecules at altitudes of 100 to 300 km. Sometimes the lower edge of an aurora will have a pink tinge, which is produced by ionised nitrogen at altitudes below 100 km. On this November night, we saw it during an intense KP7 geomagnetic storm. Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. #AuroraTuesday #NorthernLights #aurora #AuroraBorealis #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3956661

  Mountain Of Hell Whenever we're in the south of Iceland, we try to pay a visit to this lovely monster. Hekla is an active stratovolcano with a height of 1,491 metres (4,892 feet) and shaped like an upturned boat. It has erupted 20+ times between 1104 and 2000, with major eruptions in 1300, 1766, and 1947-48; the latter sent an ash cloud nearly 27 kilometres (16 miles) into the atmosphere. On this mid-February day, it was eerily quiet and brooding. #MountainsMonday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3906436

  Misty Mountains The clear night has led to a crisp morning, and the mountains are scarved with freezing fog. The still waters of the fjord are edged with a crust of rime. The colours of the sunrise are painting the sky. 10:30 in late November, and the sun is at 2° above the horizon. Berufjörður in eastern Iceland. #SunriseOnSaturday #SaturdayScenery #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3804184

  3:00 a.m. Early July, and I saw something unusual through our roof window. I dressed quickly, grabbed camera and tripod and headed for the garden. The eastern sky was full of noctilucent clouds. These "night-shining" are the highest clouds in our atmosphere, forming in the mesosphere about 80 kilometres (50 miles) above the Earth's surface during the summer months at latitudes between ≈ 45 to 80 degrees. I was so very lucky! #AstroPhotography #Astrodon #AtOptics #Scotland #Pho...

• Post #3756951

  My dear friends and fellow geeks The petition against the proposed AI data centre in Auchtertool received 399 signatures in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to ≈ 7150. I won't flatter myself by claiming even a tiny part of those people took action because of my toot, but it's put a big daft grin on my face this morning. Thank you all who signed, boosted or replied after seeing my post. You're all amazing. I feel quite humbled. Normal service will resume shortly. https://c.o...

• Post #3736102

  Help, please. 🙏 One of the world’s largest AI data centres is being planned next to the quiet village of Auchtertool in Fife, Scotland. It is estimated that this monstrosity will consume 20% of Scotland's total energy output. I've put together a few screenshots to show you how it'll impact the area. If you haven't done so already, please sign this petition. Add your voice to those who want to stop this unwanted obscenity from being built. Thank you. https://c.org/X4nGjKFSv...

• Post #3669388

  Under Ice Gullfoss is a popular waterfall, usually very busy with tourists arriving by the busful. In March, following a heavy snowstorm, we were almost the only ones there. The path down to the lower viewpoint was closed but some people had still risked it, evidenced by the footprints. Both wearing warm clothes, carrying spiked hiking poles, and fitted with crampons, we made our careful way along the upper platform. The view was simply astonishing. #WaterfallWednesday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3604163

  Road To The Fjord Late February and the weather is bright and cold. The sun will only reach about 12° above the horizon at its zenith. We're travelling south along a beautiful coast road, exploring inland a little but wary of uncleared roads and hidden ice. Turning back towards the water rewards us with this lovely view. On the right is the island of Drangey and the sea stack of Kerling. Skagafjörður in north-western Iceland. #SilentSunday #StillerSonntag #Stunday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3530798

  Mountain Shadow Late August in eastern Iceland, and the sky doesn't get darker than astronomical twilight all night. The sun does set, but it doesn't dip far below the horizon. It's 21:40 in Djúpivogur, and there's been a pretty sunset. Even now, the embers remain glowing. Above pyramidal Búlandstindur mountain, the sun is casting its last colour onto the clouds around a long shadow of the mountain peak. #TravelThursday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3445505

  Middle Earth Late November in the eastern fjords of Iceland, and we stopped at Berunes to look across Berufjörður fjord. The air temperature hovered around freezing all day, and the sun didn't rise more than 5° above the horizon in the south. Beautiful Búlandstindur stood proud and pyramidal, 1069 metres of stepped basalt looking more like something from J.R.R. Tolkien than the east of Iceland. #SilentSunday #StillerSonntag #Stunday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3397984

  Chunks Icebergs calved from the piedmont glacier Breiðamerkurjökull float in the glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón until the ebb tide takes them out into the ocean. Once in the North Atlantic sea, the wave action deposits a large amount of this ice onto the black beaches of Fellsfjara, also known as the Diamond Beach. On this day in November, a brisk wind was raising the waves and smashing them against the turquoise ice clutter. #TravelThursday#TravelThursday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3364941

  Abandoned Valley People lived here. Now, the valley is uninhabited except for the white fox and sheep in the summer. After 50 years of re-wilding, it's almost returned to the way it was before the first settlers arrived. This beautiful and tranquil place demands respect, but welcomes careful admirers. November: Flateyjardalsheiði¹ in NE Iceland. The pointed mountain is Vigga (1041 metres / 3415 feet) ¹ 𝙁𝙡𝙖-𝘵𝘢𝘺-𝘺𝘢𝘳-𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘴-𝘩𝘢𝘺-𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 #SilentSunday #StillerSonntag #Stunday #Iceland #Photograph...

• Post #3337846

  The Night Is Dark But Full Of Light Early November, and the weather forecast is clear skies. High KP is also expected, so we find ourselves a safe off-road spot to park, set up tripods and cameras, and wait. It isn't long before we're rewarded for our patience. From the north and east, ribbons of green stream overhead, dancing around the wheeling stars. Egilsstaðir, eastern Iceland. Canon PowerShot G3 X, f/2.8, 15 sec. at ISO-800 #NorthernLights #aurora #AuroraBorealis #Iceland #Phot...

• Post #3325337

  Black Road Mid-February, and we're crossing the north of Iceland for a 16 day tour. The weather has been kind to us; cold and snowing, of course, but we expected that. What we didn't expect was how stunningly beautiful the landscape can become when covered in snow and ice. The ever-changing light adds to the appeal. Even the storms are spectacularly beautiful, if properly respected. Vatnsdalsfjall in Húnabyggð, north-western Iceland. #MountainsMonday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3189498

  Lentoid Mid-August, and a lovely warm day with a brisk wind coming in from the southern ocean. The moisture-laden wind was lifted by the coastal mountains and met the glaciers, head-on. The rapid cooling and strong air movement created huge lenticular clouds all along the south coast. Very brief, but absolutely magical. Miðfell on the right and Vestrahorn - known erroneously as Stokksnes - near the centre, in south-eastern Iceland. #WeatherPhotography #MountainsMonday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3164324

  Lake Of Light 10:00 in early November, and we're on our way from Akureyri to Mývatn as the sun is just rising. We stopped for a while to watch the soft golden light kiss the face of the lake. Magical. Ljósavatn, the eponymous "lake of light" in Suður-Þingeyjarsýsla, north-eastern Iceland. #SilentSunday #StillerSonntag #Stunday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #3093564

  Phenomenal You might have hear of wind shear, but have you ever seen it? Late October, the maximum sustained wind speed was 75.9 kph (47.2 mph), a Beaufort scale force 9 - a "strong gale." We were hurrying back to our hotel, breaking no speed limits but not hanging about. I spotted this strange cloud formation and took a few shots. It wasn't until I had chance to look at them properly that I realised what I had. Rangárþing eystra, southern Iceland. #WeatherPhotography #Iceland...

• Post #2990798

  The Volcano, The Elf Rock And The Rainbow On a clear day such as this one in late October the view from Dyrhólaey is astonishing. In the distance is Eyjafjallajökull, the volcano which disrupted air traffic for a week in 2010. The steep-sided mountain is Pétursey; good elves live on one side and evil elves are on the other. Be quiet and respectful near their home and they will leave you in peace. And the rainbow? Just serendipity! #SilentSunday #StillerSonntag #Stunday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #2662107

  Golden Crown 15:30 late afternoon, mid-November in eastern Iceland, and the sun is setting in the south-west. Looking north across Berufjörður, the mountains behind us are casting shadows onto the peaks on the opposite side of the fjord. Gradually they have crept up the faces of the mountains, and I have watched, spellbound. A bizarre mountain named Stöng has a strange spiked pinnacle. For a perfect moment, only the very tip of it is sunset-lit. #MountainsMonday #Iceland #Photography

• Post #2518469

  Picture-perfect A beautifully sunny February day and we're driving towards Seyðisfjörður in the east of Iceland. Away from the road, the scenery is pristine. The blown snow partially hiding the peaks, the exposed black vertebrae defining the mountain ridges, the frozen lakes, the tall snow-poles following the road's edge. Dazzling white snow, blue shadows, and clear, bright sunshine. Here's a link to view this scene in pano 3D: https://peakvisor.com/panorama.html?lat=65.2378566579...

• Post #2495467

  Ice Shine Mid-February, and we drove north along the coast of Eyjafjörður in north-eastern Iceland. We took a detour through Ólafsfjörður, a lovely place to stop for coffee and to stretch our legs. To the south-west of the town is a large tidal lake, Ólafsfjarðarvatn. The quieter waters freeze over in winter, and the clear sky gave us lovely reflections. At the foot of Ósbrekkufjall is a red-roofed building. In the green months, this is a golf course. #TravelTuesday #Iceland #Photography