D750 Tank Tops

The clouds over Lake Ahvenlampi in Luosto explode into colour just after midnight. These were probably some of the most spectacular midnight sun colours I saw on my whole trip, since they filled the whole sky...and the lake below as well!

Outside the smoke sauna at Fell Centre Kiilopää, one of the gateways to northern Finland's Urho Kekkonen National Park, trickles this gorgeous stream. You may not think it so pretty when you're trying to jump into it though! I jumped in after a long sit in the sauna and its 7ºC waters actually hurt. I can't imagine what it would be like in winter -- although the Finns assured me that it's "even better" then!

The trees of Oulanka National Park -- freshly green after a long winter -- reflecting in the calm waters just upstream from Kiutaköngäs Falls.

The powerful crush of Låtefoss, just outside the town of Odda in Fjord Norway. This was such a powerful and huge waterfall that I've only managed to capture half in this photo -- there is a second set of falls hidden behind the rocks to the left. With the spray pouring off the falls and the heavy rain, it's a surprise I managed to get any photos at all!

A group of hikers heads into Lemmenjoki National Park for a day of walking. The boat cruise helps cut off around 19km of walking so visitors can see the best parts of the park (such as Ravadas Falls) in a day.

Looking into the mountains of Swedish Lapland from a lake at Nikkaluokta late on a summer evening. There was no longer midnight sun when I was there, but since I shot this around 11pm, I'd say that's close enough!

The land of fire and ice -- Iceland -- has plenty to offer of both fire and ice, but around the Vatnajökull glacier -- which covers 8% of the island's entire land mass! -- ice is definitely in more supply. I captured this scene on the glacier lake at Jökulsárlón. It was a gorgeous spot to be as the sun started dipping towards the horizon, and surprisingly not all that crowded given its popularity!

Recently, I wrote on my blog (at http://www.bootsandabackpack.com/menesjarvi-blissful-lapland-at-its-best/) about how Menesjärvi was the perfect spot to kick back and relax on a summer holiday. I mean, how could it not be when it featured scenes like this at 11pm?

When the weather in Stavanger started to clear in the afternoon, we made the spontaneous decision to drive out towards Lysebotn, the town at the end of the famous Lysefjord. We ended up driving all the way there -- including down the 21 hairpin turns of Lysevågen -- and were greeted with this golden hour view. There was even a bit of blue sky!

The clouds over Lake Ahvenlampi in Luosto explode into colour just after midnight. These were probably some of the most spectacular midnight sun colours I saw on my whole trip, since they filled the whole sky...and the lake below as well!

The trees weren't bothered by the steep angle of Kesänkitunturi's slopes, although they were perhaps more sensible than I was, since they stayed out of "Pirunkuru" -- which in English, means "damn canyon"!

The crystal clear waters of Ladtojaure reflecting the mountains around Kebnekaise, Sweden's tallest mountain (Kebnekaise itself should be visible on the far right of the photo but it's hidden by trees). Even on a cloudy, and occasionally stormy, day this lake was stunning to see. The mosquitos -- those black dots you see all over the lake if you look hard enough -- seemed to like the view too since they had gathered here en masse!

A (partial) double rainbow sprouting from the base of Skógafoss on Iceland's south coast. We got so lucky seeing this at all; as we were getting ready for the day, I looked out the window and saw a wall of clouds descending on Skogar so we rushed as quickly as we could to get to Skógafoss. We saw this rainbow for about 5 minutes before the sun disappeared and it was gone.

Of all the things I've done on my travels that promise an adrenalin rush, this spot probably offered the biggest -- along with a healthy dose of fear. Sitting near the edge of Preikestolen is enough to turn your legs to jelly as you look down from the ledge that sits 604m above Lysefjord far below. Even though the rocky outcrop where I captured this shot from required quite a bit of clambering across cliff faces to get to, I much preferred being here than out on the rock itself. However, that did mean we got to watch as so many other people put themselves seemingly inches from certain death! It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.

Who knew the fells of Ylläs formed a heart shape when combined with the steep slope of ? I found that out when climbing up Pirunkuru, whose name fittingly translates to 'the damn canyon,' on my trek up Kesänkitunturi.

August sunrises in the Scottish Isles are early, but it's absolutely worth the early start to see this! Portree Harbour was quiet, broken only by the squawking of the occasional seagull and the sound of a boat starting off and motoring out to sea; it was a calm way to start a day of touring around some of the most frequented tourist spots in the Scottish Isles.

Fingal Head lighthouse doing its best to light the way for nearby ships, while the Milky Way lights up the skies above.

Morning in Nusfjord -- the lapping of the waves against the rocks, the cawing of seagulls, the absence of vehicles and busloads of visitors. It's a wonderful place to wake up and start the day. Location: Nusfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway Camera: Nikon D750 w/ 24-70mm f/2.8 lens and Lee Big Stopper filter

The aurora dances above the spectacular Goðafoss in northern Iceland.

The cliffs of Darwin's East Point reserve light up in pink just after sunset on a gorgeous evening in the dry season.

I couldn't believe that on my first night in Iceland, I was able to see the northern lights. I also couldn't believe that I happened to wake up at 3am and catch one of the few moments of clear skies -- I had 15 minutes before the whole sky was shrouded in clouds again. Camera: Nikon D750 w/ 16-35mm f/4 lens ISO 1600, 25s @ f4

The dance of the boiling mud.

I started my day under overcast skies in Interlaken, but once I saw a live webcam image that showed what it looked like above the clouds at the top of Schilthorn, I couldn't buy my gondola ticket quickly enough. I had to slip and slide my way across the snow to the outer platform at Piz Gloria to get this view of the mountains peeking out of the sea of clouds, but the reward was worth it for the few of us that did make it there.
 Interestingly enough, this was one of the prominent filming locations for the Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," the only Bond film to feature Aussie actor George Lazenby as Bond. Even at the top of the Swiss Alps there's no escaping reminders of home!

Standing just above Ravadas Falls in Lemmenjoki National Park, the largest national park in Finland. This waterfall was stunning from all angles, and in the hour I had before the boat came back for the return trip down the Lemmenjoki River, I had to rush around like mad to get as many different compositions as I could! I also used my new Lee Filters Big Stopper for this shot, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

The rocky stream leading out of Ravadas Falls, one of the most popular attractions in Lemmenjoki National Park, Finland's largest national park.

This isn't your standard lighthouse light, but hey, I think I prefer it to a simple white flashing beam! Captured at the old lighthouse at Gardur on the Reykjanes penunsula of Iceland.

The sky lights up in pink over the massive Goðafoss waterfall in northern Iceland. I couldn't have asked for a better 18hrs here -- a sunset, northern lights all night, and then blue skies the next day!

Ravadas Falls crashes downhill in its rush to get to the Lemmenjoki River beyond. This is an easy day trip, despite the fact that it's located 19km into Lemmenjoki National Park; boats run twice daily so you can either go and walk around the falls for an hour or have a full day to hike 15-20km through some of the best scenery the park has to offer.

The aurora dancing across the sky above the famous Godafoss in northern Iceland. I loved how it managed to defy the clouds trying to move in and hide it, since it meant hours more aurora watching for me!

Wow, how different the Blue Lagoon looks under the night sky! Even though the aurora was not incredibly bright on this evening, I still love the combination of colours created by it and the light pollution from Keflavík nearby.

This is what a reindeer looks like when she knows that you are trying to hide a bucket of reindeer food from her. It was pretty difficult trying to get photos without her managing to steal all the food away from me! Note: this was on a reindeer farm (Kopara Reindeer Farm near Luosto) rather than a reindeer I came across in the wild. They would very rarely let you get this close!

Sunset may have occurred with barely a whimper, but the threatening clouds -- which made good on their threat and dumped snow overnight -- were just as impressive. Camera: Nikon D750 w/ Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED ISO 200, 218s @ f/11

As the clouds that had followed us for the morning slowly broke up, they turned the sky into a crazy puzzle with pieces that didn't quite fit together. When we stopped at Lower Waterfowl Lake to capture them, we found some piles of ice that fit right in with the scene; being -20º though, we decided not to try to fit all the icy puzzle pieces together!

After I picked up my friend at Keflavik airport, we made a beeline for the closest landmark I knew -- the Gardur Lighthouse -- to try to watch the northern lights we could already see from the parking lot with less light pollution. It was a good choice! Camera: Nikon D750 w/ 16-35mm f4 lens ISO 1000, f4 @ 10s

It's hard to believe that this was taken around 10am, but when you've got a blanket of smoke smothering you from a season full of wildfires, the world looks a little bit different. This was one of the worst weeks of smoke we experienced over the summer, and it happened to coincide with my only trip of the summer to Jasper. It made for a very different visit from my previous trips up there, and actually resulted in one of my favourite shots I've ever captured of Athabasca Falls.

Brilliantly-coloured clouds float high in the sky above Cape Byron, as seen from the end of Little Wategos Beach.