the dailypic 4269 yr12 251 Skógafoss Night Light

On my Iceland trip, it got dark around midnight. Never fully dark, duskish, with sunrise at 4 am. I got to the campground at the base of Skógafoss, the waterfall above, just after midnight. I camp mere yards from this falls, one of the most popular in Iceland. Just shy of 200 feet tall, it is 82 feet wide and you can walk right up to it. I have been here every trip, but this was the first time I was alone. I set up the tripod and took a two and half minute photo of it. This is what 12:20 am looked like.

I walked back the 100 feet to my camper, traded my camera for my raincoat, and headed to the falls. It is crazy, and I stood as close as you could the first time I was there with the family. My wife took a photo. It is a popular tourist spot, so it was full of visitors that summer day. This night I was alone, there were a few campers in the lot, but I was the only one within 200 yards of the falls. Only feet from the base, it was surreal, standing in the cold mist at midnight, not seeing another soul. Hard to explain how it was so quiet with the water gushing feet from me. I had just hiked to and from the abandoned airplane, so it was a nice way to relax before attempting to sleep. It might have been my favorite part of the trip without a camera – of which there were very few. Back to the camper and fell asleep to the loud silence of the water. The next morning grabbed a few photos, ate my breakfast, did some computer work, really found anything I could to stall before heading out and leaving this view. I do prefer the off-the-beaten-path locations the most, but there is a reason this is usually packed with people. It deserves to be experienced by as many as it can. I am lucky to have had alone time in this spot.

tr/trp