Tag Archives: Iceland

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland

The blue waters of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. People are swimming in it, while the surrounding landscape is covered in snow. The Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant can be seen in the background.

In March 2012, I visited Iceland with my team from work and for our activity day we went to the Blue Lagoon for a swim. It was March and, as illustrated by the photos above, snow blanketed the ground, and it was freezing! The water was lovely and warm, and you’d be fine as long as you kept as much of your body in the water as possible!

I’m revisiting this trip today because of the concerning news from Iceland. There have been numerous earthquakes, and magma is building up, only 800m underground and very close to the Blue Lagoon and the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant. The ground has risen by 8cm because the magma is pushing it up. The nearby town of Grindavik has been evacuated as a fissure runs through it. Earthquakes have already caused serious structural damage to buildings there.

Data shows the “magma tunnel is significant, and it is approaching the surface” according to this video. The tunnel is about 15km long. It seems likely there will be an eruption very soon.

Edit on December 19th: it finally erupted. You can see it on this live cam. This video shows the vantage point from a helicopter. The erupting fissure is 3.5km long!

Flames erupting from a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
An erupting volcanic fissure with lava spewing out of it.
A map showing the eruption area

Apertureƒ/9
CameraCanon EOS 40D
Focal length18mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/200s

Windswept in Reykjavik

One of the many buildings in Reykjavik, Iceland that are battered by the harsh weather there. You wouldn’t know it by looking at the sky here but it was quite cold when I took the photo. I think it was at the end of a short photowalk around the city centre when our fingers were numb with cold.

Aperture ƒ/13
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/400s

Reykjavik Trawler

A trawler leaves port in Reykjavik, Iceland last year while I was there on a Polldaddy meetup. As you read this now I’m in a much warmer part of the world on another meetup!

Iceland was great to visit. It was cold there of course but we weren’t there in the dead of winter so it was manageable. The weather was completely unpredictable however. In one hour you’d get the four seasons; rain, sun, snow and cutting winds within minutes of each other. Quite remarkable and something I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world (says me, the world weary traveller, not!)

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 144mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/400s

A Peaceful Tree in Iceland

A tree wrapped in a woven covering with the peace sign on it in Reykjavik. Anyone know the story behind it?

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/200s

Anchors and Tools

There’s rough ground next to the Opera House in Reykjavik, Iceland and what looks like reclaimation efforts nearby. This excavator, shovel and anchor are just left there next to parked cars. The snow covers the dark volcanic earth.

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 125mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/400s
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