Iceland, sort of

Canso, Wings over Springbank July 27, 2019

This is supposed to be a post about Iceland and it is, indirectly. The ones about the holiday will follow when I get some photos organized to go with them.

Today we went to the Springbank air show. I saw an ad for it probably on Facebook and we decided it would be a fun adventure. We took the C-train to Crowfoot station and then got on a shuttle bus to take us out to the airport.  We packed our lunches last night and both had water with us since the temperature was about 27 when we left the house. At that point it wouldn’t have taken much to persuade me to hide in the basement for the day.

I was surprised that there wasn’t a huge line to get on the shuttle bus and the event itself didn’t really seem crowded. There were a lot of really interesting planes and helicopters parked alongside the runway. There was a model of the Avro Arrow next door to a Lear jet. The cadets had one of their gliders out and there were a few helicopters in the mix. There was also quite a large plane that was painted yellow and had a buffalo on it. When I got around the front and read the sign, I saw that it was a Canso. 

Instrument panel Canso

Dad didn’t talk too much about his time in the RCAF in Iceland other than the pranks that the Canadians and the Americans played on each other, but I do remember that he talked about working on Cansos.  I never thought I would see one. I mentioned to the woman at the table outside that my dad had been in Iceland and worked on Cansos. She asked me to write down his name and squadron.  I didn’t know the squadron but I put his name on a list of others already there. I doubt they’ll be able to find out anything but it’s a neat connection for me. When I got to the door of the plane and started talking to the guy there, he told me that he would get me into the cockpit, that as the daughter of someone who served in the air force, I was a VIP. That felt weird. I did get to sit in the cockpit and chat with the guy who was there providing information.

Me in the cockpit of a plane Dad probably serviced

He said that after the war this particular flying boat was refitted as a water bomber and ended up at the bottom of a lake from where it was salvaged. It flew more missions fighting fires that it ever did over the North Atlantic. He also said it was commissioned in June of 1944 and transferred to Iceland in December of 1944. I know Dad was there at that time so there is a good possibility that I was sitting in a plane that he had worked on. The guy in the cockpit also told me that the Cansos went out in the dark, caught up with the convoys, flew with then during the day and then found their way back to Iceland in the dark. Apparently, they were armed with depth charges against submarines.  I don’t know how all of that worked since it seems to me, they wouldn’t be able to carry enough fuel to fly most of a night and a day; however, it’s another bit of interesting information and I may have misunderstood what he said.

Many of Dad’s papers had have long since disappeared and others are in binders in a storage locker. For some reason I have kept two photo albums of Dad’s from Iceland and I spent this morning looking through them. I may have inherited my interest in photography from him for there are photos of sunsets, flowers, and boats reflected in water. These are all in black and white, but I doubt he would take photos such as these if his only interest was in documenting where he was. Or, perhaps I’m searching for connections between us. He carefully labelled all of the photos and postcards with his name, rank and serial number – seriously! Annoyingly for me, he seldom wrote anything about where the shots were taken. I have inklings that I’m more like my dad in some ways than my mum, his love of writing and reading, his tendency to be a pack-rat, his love of birds. I think we might have understood each other quite well if only we had allowed it. Now that I have lived longer on this earth than he did, I feel a sense of connection through his tools that I use regularly and, now, being able to sit in an airplane that he probably helped to maintain. I’ve heard others say that death doesn’t end a relationship, but I didn’t think that a relationship could grow stronger after death. I may have been wrong.

Dad is in the end of the front row on the right

The Faroe Islands

At the end of the second day I was sure that was going to be my favourite day of the trip. Then the third day came along. Even the day that rained we travelled to Klaksvik and saw a church with amazing wood art in the hall, but more about that later.


We landed in the Faroe Islands at Vagar airport which is on a different island than the main city of Torshavn. The rest of the folks were on a flight from Scotland and we got in around noon. Their flight was scheduled to get in around 5 pm so we waited around the airport. We had lunch, then tea, then a smoothie, than another cup of tea. It’s a small airport so we could see the planes landing and taking off. At one point I saw a helicopter being towed from one spot to another. We took turns wandering around outside.
When the rest of the group collected, we hopped in a 40 passenger bus, there were 9 of us, and headed for the tunnel under the sea to take us to Torshavn. There are two tunnels connecting some of the islands. It isn’t the size of the tunnel that is impressive but that a small population had managed to get it built. They had help from Denmark but still they got it built and, by having a toll for using the tunnel, they were able to  pay off the loan from Denmark ahead of schedule. They then decided to keep the toll going to eventually pay the whole cost of the project.
On the way to our hotel, Per who was our guide pointed out an abandoned British military base from WWII and asked us to guess what it was used for now. None of our guesses even came close.  Turns out, it’s used as a short-term jail. If inmates have sentences longer than 2 years they are sent to Denmark.
Our hotel was well appointed and had a traditional sod roof. Prices in the Faroes and in Iceland are high. The first night a dinner was part of the package. On subsequent nights we were on our own. The hotel had a buffet with no option to order ala carte. It cost about $60 CDN per person but, as we later found out, going into town to a restaurant was no less expensive.
Each day of our stay in the Faroes was different. We visited a waterfall the first day. On the second day we had a ride in a strip boat, a zodiac with a hard hull. We straddled seats that were very close together and offered hand holds on the back for the person behind. The ride was great fun and at the end the captain decided to give us a thrill and swung the boat into a steep turn which had the top of the pontoon almost touching the water. Then he swung around so the folks on the other side of the boat could have the same amount of fun. One person on our tour had been of a rib boat before and opted not to do it again. I’d happily do it again and came off the boat grinning. Turns out stepping back up onto the dock wasn’t as easy as the young folks made it look and instead of stepping gracefully up I ended up hitting the edge of the dock with my toe and advancing onto land on my hands and knees. Getting in and out of the survival suit further added further opportunities for my to demonstrate my grace and poise.
That same day we had a tour of the sea stacks, one of which soared 300 m into the sky and was named The Troll’s Wife’s Finger. I wasn’t able to determine which finger it was.
One of the highlights of the trip was a helicopter flight to Mykines, the bird island, which is the nesting place of puffins and kitty wakes. The sky was overcast and the pilot advised us to get our activities done early in the day because the forecast was for rain. The plan was to walk through a puffin colony to a lighthouse. Most of the group accomplished that. In my books, looking at a lighthouse is not nearly as exciting as trying to capture photos of puffins. I parked myself just off the pathway in a spot where the puffins came up over the edge of the cliffs enroute to their burrows. I did’t have the long lens on my camera and I don’t have a lot of experience trying to photograph birds in flight. I had a blast despite not getting any really good shots.
When it started to rain, I asked one of the other participants who had opted not to go farther on the hike, if she wanted to start back. She did so we made our way back down the path. I loaned her one of my hiking poles which she said made a huge difference. Richard caught up with us just as we completed the steepest section and we walked together back into the village.
The final day, we visited two more islands: one by undersea tunnel and one via a bridge. We had lunch at a guest house and then carried on into Klaksvik. I don’t remember what else we saw but what blew me away was the King Christian’s church built in 1963. I’ve been know to get ‘churched out’ on tours but this church is different from any other I’ve ever seen.  There is a small boat hanging from the ceiling in the sanctuary and on the lower level are 12 reliefs made from wood by Edward Fulgo. The wood came from the frame around a fresco when the fresco needed repairs. There are 10 reliefs each illustrating a bible story. You can get right up to each one and I was able to examine the wood and see the band saw cuts and the mill marks left in some of the pieces. The detail is amazing. Some parts are sanded and some aren’t. Some of the wood is painted and some isn’t. One of the most striking features is in the eyes of the people: only the dead or dying have pupils in their eyes. I know that sounds creepy but the works are truly gorgeous without any hint of being ornate or fussy. I was so impressed that I and another person on the tour, asked the guide if we could stop at a book store to buy a book about the reliefs, As Told in Wood by Nils Ohrt. I will look with pleasure at the photos in the reliefs and may even turn to them for ideas for my own work.
I loved the Faroe Islands and they are on my list of places to which I would gladly return. When push comes to shove both Richard and I prefer the wild places every time, even though our manner of arriving at and moving through them has changed drastically over the years.
P.S. I’m writing this from the port of Akureyri and there is free wifi right across from the ship. I’m using my phone and a version of word to write this and I’m not sure if I will be able to put in photos or not.  If not I’ll add photos later.

Reykjavic day 1

Arctic Terns

Well, this is quite the challenge. it’s supposed to be easy to log into accounts from anywhere and I even have a program that will save my passwords for me. Nevertheless, I seem to be consistently able to do something that the computer gods don’t like. Here I am in Rekjavik at an ungodly hour of the morning because my eyes sprang open and I couldn’t go back to sleep. Ah the joys of international travel. I’m glad to be here though, in this little apartment near the centre of town. It’s a very pleasant place, kitchen, living room, bedroom and bath with a small hallway. It gives us enough room to spread out and we’re very good at that. When we were cycling we could reduce a motel room to a shambles within five minutes of arriving.

One of the nice surprises of this place is that there are 3 power adapters here. We brought 2 and with all the electronic stuff we carry, the other 3 are a great bonus. There is no consistency in them so I suspect that previous visitors have left them unintentionally. There are three opened bags of coffee. R says one is stale and he tossed it last night. There are tea bags and coffee whitener. R ventured forth last night and bought coffee and milk so we are set for the mornings.

We landed yesterday at around 7 in the morning local time or about midnight our time. Neither of us got much sleep on the plane. It wasn’t dark until we came down into the clouds to land. I was looking out the window, expecting to see something through the fog and by the time we were flying over cars on the roadway I could almost see the drivers’ faces. We retrieved our luggage and bought bus tickets then got on the bus for the ride from Keflavik where the main airport is located to Reyjkvik, about 40 km. We put our luggage in a locker at the bus station and proceded to play ‘how can we stay awake until 3:00 pm when we can get into the apartment?’

By the time we got into town the rain had stopped and we followed some other bleary-eyed tourists to the Paris Cafe where we had a lovely but expensive breakfast. I had no idea where we were going and got completely turned around in our wanderings. Good thing R has a good sense of direction and a GPS on his phone. It took us all of about 2 minutes to decide to pay the $12 per day roaming charge on the phones. After all, what’s the point of having technology if it doesn’t make your life easier? Besides, we’re on holiday and this is not the time to ‘swallow the cow and choke on the tail’ as my mother was fond of saying. I have no idea where she got that and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone else say it.

We poked our noses into several shops. They have beautiful wool sweaters and I’d love to get one but I know it would be too warm for me to wear at home and too bulky to carry on trips like this, so I’ll content myself with admiring them. R saw some wool hats that look a bit like Viking helmets and they have braided ties to keep them on. We didn’t find one that was good for him colour-wise and he really wants one with braids. We will keep looking.

We debated whether we should watch an hour of films at The Volcano Centre or whether that would be too much of temptation to sleep. We decided to chance it and every time I thought I’d just give my eyes a rest, R nudged me. I wasn't sure whether to appreciate him for being so conscientious about the rules of the ‘stay awake’ game or irritated because I wasn't sleeping: I was just resting my eyes.

So with a bit more wandering we made it to noon. With a substantial breakfast in our stomachs killing time by having lunch didn’t make much sense. We checked out the harbour, walked past the whale-watching kiosks, had a look at the survival suits one of the whale-watching companies had on display, found the library, city hall, and visited one of the tourist information places. There were brochures on all sorts of tours plus a map of hiking routes and another one of bicycling routes in Iceland. I thought the cycling sounded like fun for about a millisecond until I remembered the forecast for rain, rain and more rain for the next few days.

If lunch wasn’t an option, tea was a necessity. R had two cappuccinos with breakfast but I only had one cup of tea. We went into another little cafe that overlooked the harbour and I got my cuppa. The prices there were better than at the Paris Cafe.

We debated as to whether to walk to the bus station and then get a cab to the suite or to haul our suitcases. In the end the clouds cleared and the sun came out. The temperature was perfect ‘sweater weather’ so we decided to take advantage of the weather and walk, dragging our wheely bags behind us. I’ll take this opportunity to confirm that I’m crazy because I love summer temperatures that require a fleece, a waterproof-breathable jacket and, for folks with less hair than I have, a toque.

There were still a couple of hours to go until check-in and I wasn’t sure I could stay awake but as we walked towards the bus station we stopped to watch a number of birds on a small lake. There were geese, ducks and best of all, Arctic terns. I was absolutely fascinated by the terns. They could hover like a helicopter, plummet into the water and come up with a fish. We sat down on one of the benches and watched. There was a lot of tern activity on a small island at the end of the lake so we relocated to a bench there. Tired as I was, I made the effort to haul my camera and telephoto lens out of the bottom of my backpack. Suddenly, as I watched the terns swoop and dive,I wasn’t tired anymore. I didn’t actually see any eggs or young ones but birds certainly were sitting on the ground all over the little island and the air was filled with their calls. No award-winning shots but I had a wonderful time. Every time I take photos of birds my admiration for stunning photos of birds goes up a few notches. Difficult enough to get photos of Arctic terns which are reasonably sized bird, much more difficult to get photos of sparrows and song birds that hide in bush and zip among the branches.

Three o’clock came and we got into our digs. We slept for a couple of hours and then went out for fish and chips. The place we chose to eat is just around the corner from where we are staying and the shades on the lights above the bar are a couple of fish skins, minus the heads. I’ve certainly never seen anything like that and, to be honest, I found them kind of creepy. The meal was good, the cod so fresh it flaked at the slightest touch of a fork. On the tables were spray bottles with cider vinegar in them. After exchanging ours for one from another table, R and I gave up on spraying the vinegar on our food, opened the bottle and poured it. It seemed impossible to get enough vinegar on the fish and chips to even taste it otherwise. By supper time it was raining again and while R went in search of coffee and milk, I sorted through some of my photos. I packed it in when I could no longer see straight.

I’ve now had two cups of tea. The apartment is quiet except for the occasional conversation among the geese outside. I’m not sure what we’ll end up doing today and it’s wonderful not to have an agenda or a ‘to do’ list. If we run true to form, I’ll want a nap just about the time R gets up. We have a tour booked for tomorrow but today is completely open. I can hardly remember the last time we had a day like that. it’s a real treat but the highlight so far has been the Arctic terns. Any pursuit that requires my entire concentration and makes the passage of time inconsequential is a true gift.

Will I be able to get photos of the headless-fish lights in the fish and chips shop? I’ll certainly try. I doubt that will go down as a highlight of the trip but it’s so unusual that I want to share. Stay tuned.

Camera trade-offs

River reflection

Violets

Immature red-winged blackbird

With the increasing sophistication of cell phone cameras many people are giving up the idea of having a separate camera.  Why carry around another piece of tech when most of us have our cell phones in our pockets all the time? Although I love the fact that I always have a camera i.e. cell phone with me, there are still a few reasons for me to want a separate camera. The first one is about the size of the sensor. Cell phones and point-and-shoot cameras have tiny sensors which means that the sharpness and quality of the image is limited. For this blog I usually use photos taken with my cell phone because it is quick and seamless and I don’t need high resolution. For most of what I do I don’t need high resolution. I don’t often make prints and cell phone quality is perfectly good for viewing on any of the devices I have. One large drawback for me of the cell phone camera is my inability to see clearly what I’m shooting in the bright sunlight. I can point the phone in the right direction but if the sun is bright there’s no way I can make out exactly what I’m getting in the frame and that’s a deal breaker. It’s also a deal breaker for many of the pocket cameras that don’t have viewfinders. The screens are getting better but they aren’t there yet. Another reason to have a separate camera is for the flexibility of lenses. My previous phone did a pretty good job of zooming in without losing quality. The one I have now, while supposedly an upgrade, is abysmal so, it’s wide-angle or nothing and I’m perfectly willing to pull out the phone to get a shot if I have a telephoto lens on my main camera. It is also a good back-up when I’m out in a zodiac, bring the camera to my eye and realize that I’ve left the battery on the charger in the ship. (Not one of my more brilliant moments)

Once I decided to go with a traditional camera there was another series of trade-offs to consider. How much was I willing to spend? How much weight was I willing to carry? What kind of photography do I mostly do and what kind of lenses do I need for that? It’s a good thing I like to do research because I spent hours and days pouring over specs and reviews of different camera brands and models. I’m not wedded to any particular brand and have shot Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, and Panasonic. In addition Richard has owned Canon and Fuji equipment. I guess when it comes to equipment in general, be it cars, computers or cameras I have much the same philosophy: get something that fits your needs regardless of what the trends are and then use it until it no longer meets your needs or until it falls apart, whichever comes first.

Shy sparrow

The immediate reason I started to look for an upgrade for my 10 year old digital SLR was because I wanted to capture more wildlife and birds. To do that I wanted a stronger telephoto lens and I was able to find a second-hand one on the internet for a good price.  I was also able to find a 2X teleconverter which doubled the focal length. The problem was that I couldn’t hold the camera, telephoto and converter still enough to get decent photos without a tripod. I know tripods are great things and allow you to get all kinds of shots that aren’t possible otherwise. I don’t like them. I don’t like carrying them, setting them up or using them. There’s another trade-off. Fortunately the camera bodies now are coming out with amazing image stabilization so I started looking for cameras that had small bodies and good stabilization. I admit I was also influenced by the ability to use my long lens and the teleconverter on a new camera if I stuck to the same brand - so I did. I chose to give up really good low light performance.  I’ll be doing most of my shooting in daylight. I also chose to give up the excellent resolution that comes with a  full-frame sensor. When it came to lenses I made decisions based essentially on the same criteria along with price. I don’t think I’m worth a lens that costs thousands of dollars. Maybe someday but it’s perfectly possible to create rotten photographs with the best of equipment, so I’m choosing lenses that let in less light and are easier on my budget. I’ll do what I can with them and I think it will be quite a long time before they will not suit my photographic needs.  I went for light-weight gear, relatively slow lenses, and really great image stabilization. I’m glad I took as long as I did to clarify what was important to me. I’m loving the new set-up and each day when I go out to shoot I remind myself of the things it does well and the things it doesn’t do so well and take photos that play to its strengths. I’ll always miss shots and I’m lucky that I can enjoy the process and keep learning regardless of how many get away.