Seljalandsfoss is one of the most iconic waterfalls in Iceland. I have seen so many photos of this place that I was very excited to see it first hand and it didn’t disappoint.
It’s definitely on my list of places to return to when I visit Iceland again (surely, I must!) and hopefully I’ll have more opportunities under different lighting conditions.
While there, I had an opportunity to master the technique of cleaning my lens under the shower cap and learning to use the 2 second timer in conjunction with the shower cap 🙂 How’s that for putting a positive spin on it?
Seriously though, it is a good technique to learn! A little wind mixed in with the mist from the falls means that you only have the possibility of one clear shot before you have to clean the lens, and you might not even get that. I had to try many, many times before I got a shot without water droplets on the lens!
Here’s a view from in front of the falls. I like this perspective too!
I had a rain cover for my camera, but I found that the shower cap technique was easier and faster. The shower cap is just the right size to cover the camera and lens without a lot of extra material like the rain covers have.
I left the shower cap on while I got ready, choosing my composition and selecting my exposure. Then I would typically take the cover off to focus, and then set the camera to manual focus so it wouldn’t try to focus again. Then clean the lens and put the shower cap back on. Then wait for people to walk by. Then hit the shutter with the 2 second timer, count to 1 and lift the shower cap from the front of the lens, wait for the shutter to close and put it back. Then clean the lens again and repeat.
It was actually a lot of fun!
One thing I forgot though is what a hassle my glasses are when shooting in the rain, or in windy mist. Not only do I have water drops on my lens, but on my glasses too! It’s a loosing battle. I think I’ve finally given up on wearing my glasses when shooting! It’s just so much easier without them and unless I have to read some signs in the distance I don’t miss them very much.
Very Beautiful Anne
Hi Doris, great to see you here. Thank you very much for your kind comment 🙂
Very nice Anne
Thank you very much John!
Awesome Anne Great photo’s many thanks
Thank you very much Les!
Love the shower cap idea! You should see the falls as they were last week. You would never have been able to reach your shooting position let alone set up your tripod! It was dripping with spectacular ice and icicles.
Oh icicles!! I would love that. Maybe I need to return in winter 😀 Thanks for your visit and comments Tony!
I made my second visit to Iceland in June/July last year and must admit that I finally gave up on shooting misty waterfall scenes with my DSLR. The tiny lens on my iPhone seemed to do a much better job of avoiding those water drops!
You get extra points if you learned how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull. 😉
Oh, and trust me, you WILL go back. 🙂
Hi Laurie, yeah, the mist is hard to work with. I found that using the lens hood makes a big difference. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Love your photos if Iceland. I have to go sometime soon.
Yes, you really do. I can’t wait to go back. Thanks for your comments Elizabeth!
Hi Anne,
I happened to drop by while searching for info regarding GND filters.
Just wondering, are you still using your Singh Ray GND filters for shots such as the one above? Or are you making more use of software correction lately? The contrast seemed to be balanced perfectly.
Many thanks.
Hi Gnohz, I do use my grad ND filters, but I didn’t on this particular photo because of all the mist from the falls, it would have been impossible to keep it dry. It was already tricky enough keeping the lens dry with the shower cap so I didn’t even try the ND filter. Thanks for your question!
Been following your newsletters for a while Anne. I admire your choice of lifestyle and enjoy looking at your photography as well as picking up a hint now and then. A big thank you!
A question: When using high ISO, eg ISO400 as in the above two images, are you cleaning them up of noise with Topaz DeNoiser or LR or a bit of both?
Hi Sally, In the case of these two, I used Topaz Denoise. If I have a photo where I want the same amount of noise reduction throughout, I might just use LR. But that usually isn’t the case. Most photos have areas of detail and areas with less detail (where the noise shows) so I usually use Topaz Denoise since it analyzes the image and reduces the noise only in the less detailed areas. I hope this helps! Thanks for your visit and comments.
I’m going to Iceland in May, and while the lighting and waterfalls will be very different, as in 23 hours of sunrays, I’m probably not going to get anywhere near the shots you have. I so enjoyed seeing them. So thank you!
Hi Sharon, I’m sure you’ll come home with some good shots because the landscape is simply amazing. My suggestion is to study natural light so you understand how to work with various lighting situations and then you’ll know what to do when you’re on the scene. Have a fantastic time! Thanks for your visit and comments.
Hi Anne,
When I was there last summer I had of course the same problem. The lens hood protects well enough to take a quick shot. But you need the lend cloth at hand and spend more time drying the lens than actually shooting. I got a few nice shots from behind the waterfall with the evening sky as a background. But if had to come home with photos to sell, the shower cap would have come in handy because then you really need to have the composition you want without relying on some luck like I did. And thankfully my dslr is tropicalized.
Hi Paul! I’m glad you liked the shower cap trick! It’s nice to be able to compose the shot with the shower cap on – you can see just enough through the shower cap to make it work. Thanks for your comments!
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