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GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Ed Sweeney

Ed writes: One of the many things I've come to love about Iceland is the architecture. The straight, simple design combined with the vibrant colors makes the perfect combination for me. Because of this affinity (perhaps obsession is a better word) a lot of my photos tend to contain random structures, mainly houses. I saw this lovely blue-green house with the deep red door and stair railings and blue posts as I approached from up the street and began pulling my camera out of my bag in anticipation of the picture I would instinctively take. To my surprise as I got closer, I noticed the equally colorful sock stuck to the post. It seemed to me to sum up my perception of the Icelandic people I'd encountered on my visit : very neat and put together but with a wry sense of humor when you spend the time to get a closer look.

 Ed was born in Boston and has been a resident of Massachusetts his entire life. He's a programmer in an application development group for the health care industry. He's been reading Iceland Eyes for a while now, and sent me a link to his Flickr photo album of his most recent trip to Reykjavik via Twitter. I invited him to choose a few of his photos and be a guest photographer.

About discovering Iceland, Ed says:

The idea to make the trip in 1999 came about somewhat coincidentally over the preceding New Year's holiday. While at a holiday party, my hostess friend mentioned that her parents had visited Iceland earlier in the year and they raved about it. All I knew about Iceland up to that point was that the capital was Reykjavík, Reagan-Gorbachev something-something, and something to do with chess. It piqued my curiosity, however, as an interesting and exotic place to visit.

After his boss randomly mentioning a great package deal with Icelandair a short time later, Ed decided to make the trip happen, and three months later he was "geared up and mounted on our Icelandic horses for a nice afternoon ride in the mist."

On our first day we witnessed mist, rain, hail, snow, and sun. Then later that night we saw the sun set somewhere around 11:00 p.m., in early April. And with that (and the ensuing, unbelievably fun 3-night stay that followed) I was hooked on Iceland for good. The country is beautiful and the people are as friendly as ever. What's not to love? I finally returned again in June of 2012 and have just booked my third trip, along with a couple of friends who will be first-timers, for April 2013.

It's always fun hearing about how people got here for the first time, and often it's exactly this kind of seemingly random yet serendipitous situation. And most often our visitors, like Ed, can't wait to come back for more : )

To see a few more of Ed's photos with his wonderful descriptions, go to the Iceland Eyes Facebook Page.  If you would like to share your own pics of our lovely island, just let me know ~ Maria Alva

Graze

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER: Aaron Young

Aaron writes: This picture was taken within 24 hours of arriving in Iceland, the first of three planned days. I was on my way to see the famous geysers and majestic waterfalls, stopped to have a look at the ponies, enamored by their natural dressage. Two of them came to greet me, flirted a bit and continued grazing. So inspired by these creatures, their air and their view, I have now been in Iceland for a month.

I cancelled my trips to Holland and Paris, scribbled two little movies and sent requests back to Los Angeles for funding with love. Frankly, colleagues were highly concerned. They only knew a smattering of Iceland, but enough to talk me out of the first film due to impetuosity and lighting conditions. And then, the very next night, a full moon lit up the streets of Reykjavik to absolute perfection. My colleagues then deferred to my discretion, which is staying in Iceland until the essence of Her beautiful people are expressed for the cinema.

(Aaron is currently waiting on film funds, while trying to bottle and export magical Iceland air).

Thank you, Aaron, for this graceful image!

Please pop over to the Iceland Eyes Facebook Page and give it a Like, if you'd like. And be sure to cruise through the tabs above for new content and updates.

Regarding Wikileaks and its strong connection to Iceland, The Reykjavik Grapevine currently leads the local pack with current details on the situation. And here is a good read from September on local MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir's relationship to Wikileaks and Julian Assange himself. (For the more daring, here's a link to Birgitta's appearance on Red Ice Radio.)

Urban Horse

Land in the greater Reykjavik area that was once reserved for horses, their stables, training rings and trails has slowly but surely been overtaken by housing developments and businesses. This stable resident is living her final winter at one of the last urban equestrian holdouts, a neighborhood of a hundred or so stalls now located just above the Smáralind shopping center. Not so long ago this site was on the very outskirts of the populated urban center. Now you can see Iceland's tallest building peeking from between the mare's ears.

The horses seem used to the constant heavy traffic on the highway just next to their paddock, but it's a sure thing that they'll not miss it when relocated to their new homes on the outer fringes of the Capital area. Of course there's always the question of how long it takes the ever-expanding city to encroach on those new lodgings as well.