Iceland in 16 Days: South Region, Day 3-4, Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon

The feature image above was taken at sunrise, standing in the lagoon, with a Canon 24-105MM F4 L lens at ISO 125, F/11 at 1/100 second at 45mm.

Sunrise was a couple hours of so after sunset. It was cloudy at sunset, but the sky broke a bit at sunrise for some dramatic images.

The Jökulsárlón lagoon and ice beach is one of the world’s most magical places.

It was featured in 007 – James Bond A view to a kill (1985) and 007 – James Bond, Die another day (2002) according to the Iceland Travel Guide 8 places in Iceland you will recognize from famous movies.

These images and the ones in my prior post Iceland in 16 Days: Day 3-4, South Region, Jökulsárlón Ice Beach were taken on our second day at Jökulsárlón.

Our first day at was uneventful. The wind was blowing offshore, it was cloudy, and the water was calm.

The answers to the three questions you are most likely to ask (the same questions as yesterday) are as follows: Yes, Yes, Yes.

  1. Yes, the ice really is that blue. Glacial ice is compressed and has a different crystal structure that makes it look blue.
  2. Yes, the water is cold.
  3. Yes, I got wet (for the second consecutive day, just hours apart).

Here is a gallery of images taken at sunrise from the Jökulsárlón Glacial Lagoon.

I used my Canon 100-400 MM F 4.5-5.6 L lens for all of the shots except the feature image.

I did not use a graduated neutral density filter on any of these shots. Instead, I applied a digital graduated neutral density filter inside Lightroom.

The key to these shots was “be there at sunrise”. For the feature image, I also had to get wet.

We are returning in March hoping to catch the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). You cannot see them in the summer when Iceland is  never dark.

I will bring waders on the next trip. I got wet at least two more times.

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Up Next: Jökulsárlón Arctic Tern Nesting Site

Mike “Mish” Shedlock.

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