A few more from Iceland. I'll add some observations when I get back this evening. Off again to explore...

We went to a glacier. It was huge.

We traveled a lot today and one of the places we went to was a glacier near Vik, Iceland. It was pretty amazing. If you are traveling with a group and have constrained time schedule you could not do better, when choosing cameras and lenses, than to include a long range zoom. Something that goes from a good wide angle to a competent telephoto. I brought lots of different lenses with me but the Olympus 12-100mm f4.0 Pro lets me crop into a tight detail shot or portrait shot and then, seconds later, zoom out to include broad vistas. Not having to change lenses when the winds blowing and stuff is flying around could mean the difference between an operable camera and a dead brick.

One of my travel companions is shooting with a Sony full frame and has one of the wide to long zooms for that system and the only other lens I've seen him shoot in the last two days is the Sony 16-35mm. His images have been turning out incredibly well.

Tonight we're going out to chase the Northern Lights. I'm taking one camera and one lens but this time it's the G9 and the Panasonic/Leica 8-18mm. I'm assured by my landscape friends that the wider the better when it comes to capturing the magic of the waves of light. We'll see if they are correct.

More to come after I have additional time for post processing. Hope everyone is well. I'm loving the feedback.

Reykjavik and close by. October 29, 2018

Woke up in one of the more comfortable beds I've slept in and went downstairs in the Canopy Hilton to have a filling breakfast. Today we visited places like a church in the middle of the city. a fishing village a few minutes away from the capitol, a botanical garden, and even stopped at a Bonus grocery store (Bonus is the actual name) to compare prices with the same stuff we might buy at home. We haven't gone out to the big stuff yet, like the glaciers, the waterfalls, the Blue Lagoon or the Golden Circle. We start on the cool itinerary tomorrow. I guess the rationale was to get our "sea legs" under us and not push too hard after everyone's long travel days and the Saturday night with no sleep.

Last night, after dinner, I put on my coat and went out for a walk through the downtown area where I found the lovely display above and the fun marketing posters just below. The top is just exterior signage and props for a bar but the image below is advertising for Mink Studios. Apparently the business has many viking props and customers can choose various scenarios and be photographed in Viking Character and take home prints of their inner Viking self. I love it. It's just what folks used to do in Texas when big instant films were all the rage. Not the Viking thing but the dress up, period regalia; only in Texas it was always cowboy hats and chaps or dresses with bustles.

I don't have much else to say except that stories about the prices in Iceland being breathtaking were both true and false. A steak in a nice restaurant here will run to $50 but there are steak houses in Austin where prime ribeyes can run to $125, and a $50 (good) steak is the high average. Mixed drinks and wine are about 50% higher than what I see in good places in Austin while the price I paid for a decent mixed drink in one of the smaller U.S. towns I recently visited was about 50% lower than Austin prices, so I guess when it comes to alcohol it's all location and  context. Prices on some things in Reykjavik can be expensive but the place is heralded as the top tourist destination for international travel so I guess the Icelanders are making hay while the sun shines. Nobody seems to be complaining about it... For meals that come out of my pocket I'm not economizing and they end up being on par with what we pay at home.

But let's talk cameras for a few sentences. I could not have made a better choice (for me and my tolerance to carry and use cameras right now) than the Panasonic G9 and the Olympus 12-100mm f4.0 Pro lens. The combination is light enough to carry around and the results can be tremendous. I do find myself reaching for the Pana/Leica 15mm f1.7 when the light starts to drop. It's turned out to be a surprising lens for me because, in the past, I've never warmed up to medium wide focal lengths. The size and build of the lens just beg one to use it all the time and the results so far exceed the stuff I read on sites like that of Lloyd Chambers, and others, that I no longer believe any reviewer who hasn't put a lens on a test bench and put it through its paces. 

The other great lens for walking around at night is the Sigma 30mm f1.4. It's super sharp and the fast aperture is the difference between being able to shoot handheld after dark, or not. Finally, I'm glad I upgraded my Apple laptop for the WP Engine show I did back in late September because it's easy to pack, fast as lightning, and the retina display is making me smile every time I look at it. 

That's all I've got today on cameras and gear but I do have an observation on winter wear. I brought along a jacket that's warm and weather proof. It's funny because the brand name is: Weatherproof. I felt comfortable bringing it along instead of rushing out and buying something North Face-y or 66 Degrees because it's the same jacket I took to Toronto last year and it stood up to 10 degrees Farenheit for several hours at a time and never left me shivering. Today it handled temperatures around freezing and weather that included rain, snow and sleet all in the course of our eight hour outing. It's funny because it's a coat I picked up on a whim at Costco.com a few years back for the princely sum of $39. So much for cost as a determiner of performance.... 

We're up earlier tomorrow so we can get some driving done. For those of you who've been to Iceland I thought I'd tell you we are heading to Vik in the south part of the island and then into the interior. I just heard that one of my favorite Vloggers, James Popsys, is also here in Iceland and I hope to run into him. His YouTube channel is unpretentious and fun. And he shoots with a Panasonic G9. 

The only downside of the trip so far? I miss Studio Dog. I've been looking for souvenirs to bring back for her. Haven't found anything yet but it's early times. 

All the people on the photo tour are really nice and we've had some great meals together. They are also not too, too chatty in the van. A nice quality all around. 

Big socks and tough boots tomorrow! Be well and keep reading. Comments always welcome.

yes. I know. I'm not a landscape shooter but I'm learning, honest.

Just in case you were worried... I made it in one piece and we landed ONE HOUR early. Hello Reykjavik.

It's pretty typical for inexpensive flights to arrive in Reykjavik first thing in the morning. Nowhere near the crack of dawn; instead, think 6:00 am. The KEF airport was abosutely packed with people coming in and going out at that hour. Customs and immigration was quick, easy and good natured. I stopped by the duty free shop (taking advice read on many, many websites...) to get a bottle of very good Icelandic vodka. It's called, "Volcanic Vodka" and it's really good. The idea is that if you are a person who wants an occasional nightcap or a quiet drink while typing a blog post you might want to take advantage of the low prices at duty free as the per drink price at a nice hotel in Reykjavik might run to $20 USD per drink at the bar. Or about the price of a bottle of premium vodka from the airport shop...

There are about 8 eight people in our group, not counting the tour director and the driver/guide. We have our own Mercedes Sprinter van to travel around in but everyone's first day obstacle in an early arrival is what to do after the plane arrives (6 am) but before your hotel room is available for check in. We visited Viking World to see a replica viking boat. We visited the Perlan Museum to mostly go up to the observation deck for great views of the city then we toured the city and had a great lunch.

But you can only go so far on no sleep and we were all quite happy when we finally checked into the Canopy Hilton (a wonderful hotel, one of the my favorites from the last 30 years!!!) and collapse onto a bed. I bucked the tradition of trying to power my way through the day in hopes of sleeping through the night. I hit the bed as soon as I checked in and unpacked. I set an alarm for three hours, got up, showered, shaved and headed downstairs to one of the better dinners I've had in a while. We started with an Arctic char, headed on to a grilled lamb with vegatables, and finished up with a nice chocolate mousse. The group was lively and the discussions about photography were first rate.

I shot a bit today but was exhausted from both my last two weeks of shooting non-stop and my 24 hours of sleeplessness.

The child in the image above was throwing a tantrum and trying to incite his (very calm) parents by taking off his gloves and forcefully throwing them away. I smiled at him and he started showing off. I asked his parent if I could photograph him and they agreed. I love the image. It's my favorite one of Iceland so far. (Lumix g9, Olympus 12-100mm). Who needs glaciers who you have toddlers in snowsuits?

Off to sleep. Tomorrow really starts our big adventure.

Now that it's too late to add or subtract gear, what did I end up packing?

from "Hairspray" at Zach Theatre.

Unless you are much, much more brilliant than I'll ever be the process of packing seems always to be fraught with regrets and misgivings. I wish I could be a modern photographer (equipment wise) but have the travel services of the golden age of travel, when people could travel with giant "steamer" trunks and be followed through train stations and airports by legions of baggage handlers. If that were the case I'd take along everything photographic that I own in case I had a passing whim to pull some esoteric lens out of its velvet lined case and use it once or twice. Sadly, this is a possibility only for those with deeper pockets than mines, in current times.

After using the G9s for the past two weeks, on a daily basis, over and over again, it was a foregone conclusion that I would be taking them as my primary shooting cameras. There was a bit of hesitation last night as I looked fondly at the GH5S and it's lovely color palette but my newly acquired, intimate knowledge of the G9s pushed them to the front of the line. And, of course, batteries....

Now, here is where you'll probably disagree with me but I decided to leave the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 at home. It was a tradeoff between how much I could carry and how much use I thought I might get out of the longer selection of focal lengths. I know, I know, it's an exquisite lens and I'll regret not having it at some point but there are times I also regret not having a 100 megapixel Phase One system as well.  I'm sure I'll get over it....

Since I forfeited the longer focal lengths that helped me get off the fence on my primary zoom lens. I decided on the Olympus 12-100mm f4.0 Pro over the Panasonic/Leica 12-60mm f2.8-4.0 because the Olympus lens gives me an extra 40mm of reach, is a known super star and has proven itself to me in many more situations than I've been able to cover with the Panasonic/Leica. The new guy gets left behind until it shows me some aspect where it's the better choice. The one thing that kept the new lens in the running was the lower weight...

Once those decisions were made everything else fell into place. I needed the Panasonic 8-18mm because wide is good for landscape stuff and near/far effects. 

After I pulled in the heavy hitters I added a few lenses for play. My choices for this adventure? The Sigma 30mm f1.4 and the Panasonic 42.5mm f1.7 (small, light and dual I.S.+ sharp) and finally, the Sigma 60mm f2.8 DN. 

So, there you have it. Lenses for personal work that fit in a small bag and won't tweak my back. When you get tired and haven't slept in a while every pound makes a difference. Go lighter to go further.

I'm happy with my choices and writing about them allowed me to while away the waiting time. Now it's time to check a bag. Happy days!

Ah. The JF"catch-22". Making waiting akin to punishment.

I hate waiting but I hate being late even worse. It's one of those personality quirks. So, I got to the Austin airport and approached a SkyCap to curb check my luggage (I'm heading to Iceland today) and get everything squared away.

The guy behind the counter gave me the sad news. Since my layover exceeded six hours in JFK he could only check the bags to there. They'd have to be collected in baggage claim, re-checked for my next flight, and I'd have to go back through security again. No problem.

But when I got to NY I asked an agent to check my bags and he informed me that they have no way to store baggage for longer than..... six hours....and that I would have to wait from 12:30pm till 3:05pm before I could check my (one) bag. I'd have to drag my suitcase around with me until then.

But where's the Catch-22? Well, all the seating and good food is inside the security perimeter but until you check your checked luggage you can't go through security. But all the seating and decent food is inside the security zone/departure area and you can't go through there until you check your bags and we're right back to the six hour exclusion period.

In 25 minutes I'll (theoretically) be able to check in the bag and proceed to the TSA check point.

It's gray, cold and murky in NYC. Instead of standing in a giant, crowded ticketing area (absolutely bereft of seats) I decided to take the Air Trans tour of the entire airport. I dragged the bag along and got on the Air Trans, which is mostly intended to take travelers to connecting terminals. Pretty bleak for tourism, but then airport tourism was never high on my bucket list.

I think from now on I'll try to make my own travel arrangements rather than leaving it up to someone else. After two weeks of tight schedules and (Yikes) eighteen flights across the Southeast U.S. my tolerance for schedule slop is pretty minuscule.

Looking for a little silver lining, I did bring along the cookies they gave me on my last flight. I think I'll eat them now......

And, by the way, today is my birthday. Happy to have made it to 63 and hoping to get a few more good decades in..... I'd like to end up setting the record for the oldest working photographer. But not if I have to spend those decades waiting to check my luggage....

Kirk finds out just how much impact it takes to kill a Godox AD200.....

Well. I'm not as smart as I thought I was and now I've gone and destroyed one of my favorite flashes. I had my Godox AD 200 attached to a 2x3 foot softbox and the assemblage was sitting on top of a light stand, about ten feet above the ground. We were in an equipment yard using giant earth movers as backgrounds for a series of environmental portraits.

There was a very slight breeze so I made sure to weight the light stand with something heavy. I always bring along a bungee cord in my light case so I used my Think Tank camera backpack as a sandbag. I figured the 15 -20 pounds would make a good anchor; a hedge against the random wind gust.

I was also using a 4x4 foot diffuser to keep direct sun off my subjects. That was weighted down with a 30 pound steel pipe. It wasn't going anywhere. But I missed my guess with the lighting unit's safety.

Of course accidents always seem to happen in slow motion if you aren't fast enough to get to the spot and grab the light stand before it hits the ground...

I was too far away when I noticed it's acceleration toward hard dirt covered in more powdery dirt. The light hit squarely on the back end where the little control panel lived. It's a spider web cracked piece of dead plastic now. Amazingly, the flash still worked and we used it for another 400 or 500 images before I was finished at the location. I tested the light today and it still fires and still receives commands and triggering signals from the remote in the hot shoe. I just can't use it without the remote.

Sending it back to the manufacturer for repairs probably makes no sense at all since I'd have to pay shipping in two directions and it will probably take a lot of time to get everything done and turned around.  I guess I'll hop online when I get back in town and get another one. They pack down well and put out enough power to go toe to toe with the full sun. They also do HSS with the remote and my Panasonic cameras. That's a nice feature to have.

Maybe they'll have a sale....... just a bit of wishful thinking.....

Here's the main light with the backpack as ballast. I was working out of the rental car; 

A Nissan Rogue. I put 4.5 miles on it yesterday....

Here's the standard configuration for my use of the AD200.

If the sun is out then my Chimera diffusion scrim is along for the ride. Gotta keep the harsh 

shadows off the "talent." 

It's impractical to fly with enough sandbags so you get into the practice of finding 

good substitutes at your locations. Two days ago we used a bungee cord and a log to 

secure a stand with a diffuser on it. Today it's a metal stanchion. 

I should have used a metal stanchion or big steel pipe on this set up but I thought 20 pounds of backpack would do the trick. I was wrong again....

Here's the basic set up. Just add the talent and you are good to go. 

I usually try to construct short lighting. It's the most flattering.

Stuff wears out. Sometimes gravity wears it out a lot quicker.

But when everything goes well it's a nice, quick field technique...

©2018 Kirk Tuck. Do not reproduce.