48 Hours in Reykjavík

Of the 48 hours I was in Reykjavik - it’s possible that it rained for 40 of them. The entire first day was a wipe out. Rain and wind that I wasn’t interested in deal with. After spending the previous 10 days circling Iceland in a Camper Van it was time for a rest day.

The next day was rainy and windy as well but needed to get out and about. And luckily, the rain dissipated for much of the afternoon. So with my 50mm lens and a roll of Portra 400 I made my way walking around downtown Reykjavik for a bit.

The first order of business was to find a hot dog stand. Anybody you’ve talked to that’s traveled to Iceland has probably complained about how expensive the food is. They weren’t lying. Eating out is pricey. On the road I’d been eating potatoes, bacon and sausages every single day along with some gas station sandwiches. I had a dinner reservation in a nice restaurant later this evening so just wanted some cheap food for the time being.

The touristy area of Reykjavík is nice enough. Every single person I encountered in Iceland seemed to speak perfect English. Outside of this area I didn’t really know where to go. All my Iceland research had been spent on the areas outside of Reykjavík while I was driving the camper van.

Even the comedy in Iceland is performed in English.

If you’d like to see some other photos - I have a few in my portfolio as well as in a blog post I did over on the Focal Collective website. The latter one also get a bit more into the details of traveling around Iceland.

48 Hours in Portland (Maine)

Unfortunately, my second attempt with this project didn't seem to go so well. Of the 48 hours I allotted myself to shoot on film - it rained heavily for a sizable amount of time.  Or at least that's the excuse I'm going with since technically I probably would have got some more interesting shots had I been shooting in the rain - I just didn't have the patience for it.

Portland Head Lighthouse. The grounds open after sunrise and close before sunset which is easily obviously frustrating when you'd prefer to capture a colorful sky. Supposedly it's the most photographed lighthouse in the United States.

Red's Dairy Freeze in South Portland. Easy and obvious place to stop after finishing up at the lighthouse for the day. It's been here since 1952 and doesn't seem like it's leaving anytime soon.

Looking south across the Fore River, which slowly feeds into the Casco Bay.

Two Lights State Park. Just about a 20 minute drive from downtown Portland. With it's rocky coastline -  it's the first place where I felt like, well this is more what I was expecting out of Maine. 

Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse, with Fort Gorges, the former military installation in the background.

It only makes sense to end with a wider angle shot of the famous lighthouse. Visually, Portland has managed to keep it's charm and architecture from decades past. It's a beautiful place to walk around. Only wish I had taken more photos - especially one of a lobster.

48 Hours in Philadelphia

The premise for this blog is fairly basic. Spend 48 hours in a city - and shoot as much 35mm film as I can. While my primary camera is a Canon 6D, I'm shooting film with a Canon EOS Elan 7 SLR. Maybe I'll find some purpose in documenting all of this down the line, but for now it's just a way to force myself into expanding in new directions within the realms of photography.

This will inevitably be a short first post, as I didn't come up with this premise until after I left Philadelphia. Of course now I regret not spending more time shooting on film but that's how it goes sometimes. 

These couple of shots were taken in the now dilapidated Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. Famous for being the most expensive prison in the United States at one time as well as once housing Al Capone. A worthwhile tour to take while in the city. 

At some point I should mention that the outdoors shots were mostly taken with Kodak Ektar 100 film and the indoor shots mostly with Portra 400.

Ideally, moving forward this will quickly prove to be my least interesting and least informative post. It has to start somewhere though, and this is as good a place as any. By the time I make it back to Philadelphia I'm hopeful to have improved a bit for round two.