Photography – Page 19 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Green Mountain Audubon Center

Posted on July 26, 2014 by geek

I came to Vermont for a conference, but I arrived a day early to do a little sightseeing. One place we visited was the Green Mountain Audubon Center outside Huntington. It is a really lovely place to wander around for several hours. It has a hemlock swamp, a gorgeous river running through it, forests full of ferns, and lots of pretty flowers. We also saw a few nice birds, and I saw some really cool looking insects, which I cannot identify.

Fern forest

Huntington River

Swamp

American red squirrel

Beetle?

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Fern frond

Milkweed

Insect

Flower

Amtrak Vermonter

Posted on July 25, 2014 by geek

I think I have written blog posts before about how much I love traveling my train. I love sitting back and watching the world go by. Train travel also sometimes allows you views you could not get any other way. I recently took the Amtrak Vermonter from Washington, DC to Burlington, VT. The latter part of the trip had wonderful views of the Connecticut River and rural Vermont and New Hampshire. It was a wonderful way to start my trip. Here are a few photos from the trip.

Triborough Bridge (East River) in NY

Crossing the Connecticut River near Windsor Locks, CT

Bridge over the Connecticut River near Northfield, MA

near Bellows Falls, VT

July 4th Fireworks on the National Mall

Posted on July 5, 2014 by geek

One of the really nice perks of living in the Washington, DC area is viewing the Independence Day fireworks over the National Mall. I set up on the Mt. Vernon trail where I could get the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol (and in a few photos the Jefferson Memorial) in the same frame on wide views. Without further ado, here are some of my photos from last night.

Flying Over Greenland

Posted on June 3, 2014 by geek

My flight back home from Iceland flew over the southern tip of Greenland. It was an afternoon flight, and it was an almost cloudless sky. Luckily I had a window seat and my camera at my feet. Actual, it wasn’t luck. I always get a window seat if I can. Also, I trust neither the TSA nor any airline with my camera, so it is always carried on the plane. Greenland is gorgeous from above. Not so sure I want to visit though, maybe, for a short visit sometime. I’ve been to Antarctica, so perhaps I should venture to the arctic also.

Ice spreading west from Greenland

Sea ice meets land

Western edge of Greenland

Ice breaking off glacier

Glacier ending at water, note water color change

The mountains in this area had little snow

Ice floating on water

Diving Silfra

Posted on June 2, 2014 by geek

Day 3 in Iceland was spent in the Golden Triangle, visiting Geysir, Gullfoss, Bruarfoss, and Þingvellir National Park. We ended the day at Þingvellir, which I later returned to at the end of our trip. While at Þingvellir that day, I dove Silfra, which is a part of Þingvallavatn (Thingvallavatn). Silfra has crystal clear water that sits between high rock walls. Those rock walls represent the spreading of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, and in one place, a diver can reach out and touch both plates, which makes for very fun and memorable photos. At the end of this post is a photo of me doing just that. The canyons are somewhat disconnected, and the route through Silfra consists of swimming between deep canyon walls then turning through very shallow portions, of less than a meter, then back to a deep canyon, then shallow, etc., until it ends with a wide open plane. There is very little life in Silfra, except some algae. Perhaps some animals are there, but I never saw any. This was one adventurous thing that I decided I had to do if I was going to Iceland, and I got my dry suit SCUBA certification just to do it because the water in Þingvallavatn stays 2-4°C year round. I dove that day with Dive.Is. All the photos below are my own, except the ones which feature me. I purchased those photos through Dive.Is.

Silfra from above water

Canyon in Silfra. In the middle of the photo is the place where a diver can touch the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Canyon in Silfra

Canyon in Silfra starts to become shallow

Silfra canyon side

Diver in Canyon in Silfra

Silfra canyon exits to a wider plane

A shallow portion of Silfra

Lava flow marks on rocks

Lava formation

Me in a deep Silfra canyon

Me taking a photo in a shallower Silfra canyon

Me taking a photo where a canyon ends. In the upper right is a diver exiting the canyon to another canyon through a shallow portion.

Me taking a photo as the canyon ends in a wider, shallow plane. I’m taking a photo that is featured above.

Me touching the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates

Iceland’s Moss and Lichen

Posted on May 31, 2014 by geek

Iceland has very few trees, yet it is incredibly lush due to all the moss and lichen that cover, well, everything. Most of the lava rocks are covered with soft green moss, or possibly lichen. I have yet to identify the actual kingdom, much less species, of the “living stuff growing on the rocks” that I photographed. Whatever the stuff is, it is gorgeous. It also gave me a great reason to play with my new macro lens. If anyone who reads this can identify what I photographed, even if only to narrow it down to fungus, plant, or lichen, I would be grateful if you would leave me a comment. I would really like to know what they are. Edited to add: Here is a link to an interesting article about the ecosystem consisting inside glacier mice.

Glacier Mice

Rock covered with moss and lichen near Svartifoss

Moss near Skogafoss

Red and Purple Moss near Skogafoss

Orange and black Lichen

Lime green Lichen

Moss near Blue Lagoon

Reykjavik

Posted on May 30, 2014 by geek

Our trip around Iceland ended with a three night stay in Reykjavik. Reykjavik is the largest city by far in Iceland, but it is still a small town. It is a small town with charm though. Old and brightly colored houses mix with modern buildings. There are cute little churches that contrast with the famous and daring architecture of Hallgrímskirkja. The Harpa dominates the Old Harbor area while the lovely Tjörnin and all its waterfowl dominate the center of the city. The streets are narrow, walkable, and seemed designed to slow traffic, especially in places where the one lane street curves for no discernible reason. There are many parks and open spaces which give the city a relaxed feel. It is just a lovely town to visit.

Austurvöllur

Narrow streets with brightly colored buildings

Brightly colored houses

City Hall

Domkirkjan (Reykjavík Cathederal)

Alþingishúsið (Parliament House)

Ingolfstorg

Old Harbor with Harpa in the background

Perlan (it’s a restaurant on top of hot water tanks)

Hallgrimskirkja

Sun Voyager

City Hall across Tjörnin

Tjörnin with views of Fríkirkjan and Hallgrimskirkja

Reykjavik’s Harpa

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geek

Every so often I encounter something that as a photographer I become completely obsessed with and can’t stop taking photos of. Recently, it was a glacier that I hiked. Sometimes it has been a building of very unique design. Reykjavik’s Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre is one building I became obsessed with while in Iceland. While walking around Reykjavik, I took a few photos from the exterior, and then I went inside and took many, many more. It is a real interesting building of unique design, and it is a fantastic subject for photography.

Harpa

Harpa wall from exterior

Harpa wall from interior

Harpa wall and ceiling from interior

Harpa walls from interior

Harpa wall from interior

Harpa wall and ceiling from interior

Harpa wall from interior

Þingvellir

Posted on May 27, 2014 by geek

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) National Park is one of those places that you must go to if in Iceland for good reason. It is historically significant as the place where the original Iceland government met, and it is amazing and beautiful site to see. It is also geologically fascinating because it sits where two major tectonic plates are spreading apart. Also, if you watch Game of Thrones, you will evidently recognize it. The very tall rock wall you can walk along side is known as Almannagjá, and it is just one of things you need to do in person to really grasp the awe of it. I found this to be a good source of information on the geology of the area.

Þingvellir view from visitor’s center

Almannagjá

Top of Almannagjá

Drekkingarhylur

Þingvellir

Moss on Þingvellir wall

Þingvellir Church

Þingvallabær

Þingvallavatn

Westfjords

Posted on May 25, 2014 by geek

Between driving up to the Westfjords on Day 10 in Iceland, exploring on Day 11, and leaving on Day 12, we drove up and down numerous fjords, numerous times. The fjords are gorgeous, but driving up and down them can get quite tiring. We didn’t have the best weather while we were there, so we couldn’t really see the tops of the mountains. Of course, the low clouds sitting on top of the mountains did help to demonstrate their height.

View of Gilsfjordur

Low clouds falling down glacier valley

Vigur Island in foreground

View from Hnífsdalur

View of Onundarfjordur