LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
I almost went to Iceland in 2012. Almost. I was planning to go with an attorney/photographer
friend who had already been there twice but just as we were about to schedule the trip my
friend suddenly got tied up with lawyer stuff and that was the end of that. Two years later I
thought I had convinced another photographer friend to go but he got it in his head that Iceland
and New Zealand were about the same as far as photo opportunities were concerned and since
he had already been to New Zealand he nixed the Iceland idea. Then later, after he had done
some research, he told me that Iceland would have actually been a great trip. But at least he
finally agreed with me about Iceland being a great photography destination.
MY FRIENDS IN OSLO
By baseball friend Ken and his Norwegian wife split their time between homes in Florida,
Maryland and Norway. About four years ago or so they extended the invitation for me to fly
over there and hang out with them at their Oslo house. They may have invited me just to be
polite and probably thought I’d never take them up on it, but the long and the short of it
is that my plan now is to visit both Icland and Norway on the same trip. Iceland would be
first, spending 8-10 days there before continuing on to Oslo for another week.
WHY ICELAND and Norway?
It is a photographer’s paradise, that’s why. Even though I already knew how spectacular
Iceland is, further research on Google, Google Earth, YouTube, Flickr, and you name it sealed
the deal. The scenery in Iceland is unique and second to none with countless waterfalls, ice
fields, glaciers, volcanoes, seascapes, landscapes and, of course, those little birds called puffins.
Iceland is also known as one of the safest countries in the world and the people are considered
to be the world’s friendliest. Mix in the Reykjavic’s music scene and it’s a can’t-miss
proposition. And, as an added bonus, the Blue Lagoon might cure my psoriasis. Norway
because I have friends there, I was invited, I’ve never been there, it’s beautiful and photography
opportunities abound there as well.
IN CONCLUSION
A few years ago I dabbled in creating travel posters out of my photos of places I’ve had the good
fortune of visiting. The idea came to me as I was walking through an airport one time and I saw
big posters which featured a variety of destinations served by the airlines. There would be a nice
photo of, for example, pyramids with the words “Fly XYZ Airlines to Egypt” underneath. So I
figured I’d do a series of poster designs featuring my own photos and travels. A few of them are
accompanying this blog. Thanks for reading.
Next blog target date: February 20.
I can’t wait to see photos from your trip! What an amazing experience. So jealous!