The majestic table mountain (tuya) – Herðubreið – in the Highlands of Iceland is seen on a dramatic afternoon from the ancient settlement at Möðrudalur, a remote sheep farm and at 469 metres, the highest in the country. Herðubreið is very dear to Icelanders and is often referred to as the Queen of the Icelandic Mountains.
The bluish cast of the mountain has been untouched for that is how it looked to the eye.
Herðubreið seen from the farm at Möðrudalur
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
Monochrome version
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
Storm clouds over Herðubreið
5D Mark II, 70-200L f/2.8 IS II
The church at Möðrudalur was built in 1949 by the farmer Jón Stefánsson in memory of his wife.
…Then, of course, there’s the tiny Modrudalur church in Iceland. It is a building I wouldn’t trade for Westminster Abbey, Chartres, or the Cologne Cathedral, not even if you threw in their crypts, too. Why I’m so fond of it you’ll learn shortly, but first let me describe Modrudalur and the man who made this farm, one of Iceland’s most isolated, his hearth for more than forty years.
Modrudalur lies under the icy eminence of Mt. Herdubreid in the northeast corner of the island. All around it is a broad highland plateau whose tundralike ground is a pale dun color barely relieved by clumps of grass. Wind devils whip up swirls of sand and blow them along until they spank against volcanic ash heaps…
Möðrudalskirkja
5D Mark II, 24-105L
[…] an ancient breed dating back to the first settlement of the island. We encountered this herd at Möðrudalur last month in near-whiteout […]
The mountains had wings, and flew around being troublesome; Indra with his thunderbolts cut the wings off. One of those mountains seems to have settled in Iceland. 🙂 It was sitting there thinking of its glory days when Rajan took pictures of it 🙂
Apart from Goa of course, from these lovely pictures, ’tis apparent that in Iceland lies the love of Rajan’s life ;-).
The monochrome picture seems to command greater respect !
great shots.