Photographer in Colorado

Returning to Vik. Passed this farmhouse near the Skaftafell National Park.

Farmhouse Near Skaftafell

After arriving at Vik, made a trip near Dyrholaey to view the sun setting.

Sunset At Dyrholaey

Followed by the moonrise.

Moonrise Near Dyrholaey

Meander in lagoon at low tide.

Lagoon At Vagnasstadir

Abandoned farm buildings along road to Hofn.

Abandoned Farm Buildings, Iceland

Finally, this iceberg washed up on the beach.

Iceberg On Beach, Jokulsarlon

About 12 inches in size!

Leaving Vik, I headed to Dyrholaey, a few kilometers away. The wind was really pumping here, as can be seen from the waves.

Dyrholaey

Heading east, the road crosses a plain of volcanic boulders. Among the moss covered landscape, I found a bush adorned with autumn foliage.

Volcanic Boulders, Moss And Autumn Colors

At Holmur, where there are rolling hillsides covered with long grasses, I turned into a farm road.

Farm Road, Iceland

Close by, the main road crosses this river.

River Flowing Through Farmland

Traveling on… The main road passes very close to these waterfalls.

Waterfall Along Roadside, Iceland

There are many waterfalls in Iceland. In the image below, there are at least two waterfalls tumbling over the cliffs behind the farm house.

Farm Overlooking River

This same river valley has grasses that contrast nicely again the black volcanic sands.

Riverside Grasses In Autumn Colors

Finally I reached Jokulsarlon, where the glacier flows into a lagoon. The glacier is in the background under heavy cloud in the background. The icebergs are mainly pale blue in color. However, as the glacier flows, it picks up black volcanic sands that result in black stripes in the ice.

Icebergs At Jokulsarlon

Leaving Reykyavik, I stopped at the geothermal power generating station for a tour.

Hydrothermal Cooling Towers

Iceland is volcanic by nature, with boulders covered by bright green moss.

Volcanic Rock And Moss

Along the roadside, the grasses and bushes were in their autumn colors.

Autumn Colors Along Roadside

Iceland has thousands of waterfalls. Many are a short trip from the main circle route.

Skogafoss, Waterfalls

Finally, I arrived at Vik at the end of a busy day.

This morning I arrived in a rain-soaked Reykyavik for a vacation in Iceland. It was a welcome change to see rain after several weeks of dry weather in Colorado. After arriving in the city, I checked into the hostel that is located near the harbor. Soon afterwards, I took a walk around the city center. At the harbor, I encountered this rain soaked bench.

Wet Harbor Bench, Reykyavik

Reykyavik has many colorful houses. I waited for lady pushing pram with her baby to enter the scene, to complete the composition.

Mother And Orange House

Further along the street, this bar window had a line of six identical figurines lined up along the ledge.

Six Figurines

Along one street were several bicycle racks. The incomplete reflection of the wheel in the puddle made this image for me!

Bicycle Reflection, Reykyavik

In the harbor area, I encountered another bright red bicycle. This bike was part of the advertisement for a bike rental business located in the harbor.

Red Bicycle, Reykyavik Harbor

There a many bright colorful murals in Reykyavik. This chicken was just waiting to be captured!

Reykyavik Chicken Mural

That’s all from Iceland for now.

For three or four weeks every fall, our aspen forests in Colorado wear their fall colors before the leaves drop. Yesterday I made a trip down Shrine Pass. On a steep east-facing slope, these were the first aspen that are encountered.  Most aspen trees that I have photographed in previous years were on relatively flat ground. At this location, the steep slope allows for an interesting composition.

Aspen Forest, Shrine Pass

Climbing up the slope, I made several images. The following image was made close to the edge of the aspen forest, adjacent to the pine forest. I like the way the backlit leaves against the pine forest.

Aspen, Backlit By Afternoon Sun

Most aspen trees have branches near their crowns. Lower down the branches break leaving behind triangular shaped scars. Here is one where some moss has settled on the scar.

Aspen Trunk Scar

Looking down Shrine Pass we can see the magnificent fall colors on the east facing slope.

Fall Colors At Shrine Pass

Earlier in the summer I made a similar image from this location — under rainy, overcast skies with green forests.

Boulder And Aspen, Shrine Pass

Looking towards the sun, the aspen trees light up with cheerful yellow and green leaves. I included the backlit foreground grasses to complement the trees.

Aspen And Grasses

I made my way down forest road 709, where it meets the creek. Here is the view back across the bridge over the creek.

Forest Road 709

The light on the aspen trees only lasted a few minutes longer before the slope fell into the shadows.

September is the time that the aspen trees adopt their fall colors for a few weeks before shedding their leaves. It is also a time that I enjoy the experience of the bright yellow foliage against the blue Colorado skies. With all the dry weather and lack of rain this year, I did not know how the aspen would look. Yesterday, I made a trip to the mountains, stopping at Boreas Pass. This pass was the site of the old narrow gauge railroad that connected Como and Breckenridge in years gone by. This is one of the first locations that usually gets a good covering of the modern “Colorado Gold”.

At the first location where I stopped, I setup below the aspen trees. Most aspen trees change colors from green to yellow. However, there are a few trees that change to an orange/red color. I selected this location because of the orange/red tree among the green and gold.

Aspen On Boreas Pass

After making a few images at this location, I made my way back down towards Como. Descending the pass, I noticed this island of aspen among the pines in the forest. The dry weather did not disappoint!

Aspen And Pine Forest, Como

From here I made my way back home by way of Guanella Pass. The road up the pass follows beside Geneva Creek. I stopped at a location where I have previously made images at some waterfalls.

White Waterfall At Geneva Creek

In previous images that I made in later winter and spring, there was a greater volume of water flowing over the falls. With the low water levels, the rocks exposed pale colors, almost white, in the rocks. I had not noticed these pale colors at these falls before.

Geneva Creek Waterfall

Proceeding up the pass, I stopped at a parking lot located beside the creek. As I approached the creek, the fall colors were reflected in the creek.

Aspen Reflections In Geneva Creek

Here is a second image at this spot.

Boulders And Fall Colors In Geneva Creek

This light did not last for long as the sun dropped below the clouds and the mountain ridge to the west of the creek.