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Tag Archives: Ellen Miller’s Photos

On the Way to Greenland…Iceland

03 Thursday Oct 2019

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Asbyrgi Canyon, Dettifloss Waterfall, Dettifoss Waterfall, Diamond Circle, Dimmuborgir, Ellen Miller's Photos, Ellen Miller's Photos of Second Iceland Trip, Glaciers, Godafoss Waterfell, Greenland in September 2019, Hafragilsfoss, Hafragilsfoss Waterfalls, Husavik, Iceland in August 2019, Jokulsarglijufur Canyon, Jokulsargljufur Canyon, Krafla Caldera, Lake Myvatn, Landscapes, Lava Forest, Northern Lights, ond Iceland Trip, Reykjavik, Sefoss, Thermal Baths, Waterfalls

from Ellen Miller

Our take off point for our recent adventures in Greenland was the charming city of Reykjavik, Iceland. And after a wonderful trip there in February 2016  — viewing the Northern Lights, ice and snow covered landscapes, lakes, glaciers, and frozen waterfalls — we decided to further explore Iceland since it was the launching place for our 2019 Greenland trip. (Yes, Greenland alone would have been enough, but we generally leave few opportunities for adventuring on the table.)

This time in Iceland we headed north, about a five to six hour drive out of Reykjavik to the area known as the Diamond Circle.  We stayed on the shores of Lake Myvatn for our three nights in the area.

It was late August: there was no snow or ice or freezing temperatures, and nothing but green fields, ponies, sheep, and exquisite landscapes and waterfalls. There was also rain and fog. But the weather didn’t deter us. It was lightly raining most days, and the spray from the waterfalls was heavy (especially on the camera lens). It actually made for some lovely pictures.

First, a few photos from this, our second Iceland trip. then see below for a link to a short slide show if you want to see more.


4

In my photo album on Flickr, you will see 24 pix of some of the major sites we visited including Krafla Caldera (a place of geothermal activity generated by one of the country’s most explosive volcanoes); Dettifoss Waterfall (Europe’s most powerful waterfall) along with Selfoss and Hafragilsfoss Waterfalls; Jokulsargljufur Canyon (one of the deepest and most break-taking canyons in Iceland); and Asbyrgi Canyon (a place full of Icelandic folklore). We hiked in Dimmuborgir (a “lava forest” formed by an eruption that occurred some 2,300 years ago) and then warmed ourselves in hot thermal baths in Husavik.  On the way back to Reykjavik, we visited the beautiful Godafoss Waterfall.

Reykjavik is a delight, and I’m not sure you can get a bad meal there.  From coffee shops to “famous” hotdogs and a gourmet dinner, we stuffed ourselves as best we could in the short time we had there.

I wouldn’t mind going back for another visit.

To see the entire slide show (just 25 photos), use this link:  Ellen’s Recent Iceland photos.

For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show. If the slide show appears to start in the middle, scroll to the top of the page where you’ll see the little arrow in a box. Click on it.

See all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either). You may have to click on the two angled arrows facing each other on the very top right to get the full page. They are much sharper, and the larger format does more justice to them than the few above.

PS – If you missed our post on Greenland, check out: Greenland in Words & Photos

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Focusing on the Grand Kids

16 Saturday Mar 2019

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Ellen Miller's Photos, Grand Kids, Grandkids, Photos, Thru Ellen's Lens

Contrary to what some of you may think, Ellen and I are not spending all of our time traveling, going to movies, reading books, seeing friends, finding wonderful restaurants, following baseball, or stressing about the state of our nation.

We now have five grand children, and when Ellen is not making picture books from our travels (she’s up to 25 now!), she focuses on Eli, 10, Abigail, 8, Ryan almost 6, Samantha 3, and Brooke 18 months.

Today’s post are photos from the last three or four weeks, some from a weekend when all five were together and some from KC and others from DC/MD.

Cousins Deep in Conversation

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Are You Sure You’ve Seen Them All?

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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Tags

Antarctica, Balkans, Berlin & Prague, Brasilia, Eastern Island, Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller's Photos, England, Iceland, Japan, Maine, Mayanmar/Burma, Peruvian Amazon, Photography, Photos, Santa Fe, Scotland, Slice of Sicily, Thru Ellen's Lens, Vietnam & Cambodia, Warsaw & Krakow

I initially chose MillersTime as the title of this website because I thought it described my newly retired status and defined what I wanted to write about — my varied interests and activities. (If you are want to know more about my interest in writing, see an earlier post, Why I Write.)

In my mind, “MillersTime” was a singular endeavor (Although I couldn’t figure out the mechanics of putting an apostrophe in the title, I like that it sounded a bit like my own newspaper). As it developed, I began to include, along with my travel writing, photos that Ellen (my wife) had taken of the trips.

For some of you, Ellen’s photos are one of the best aspects of MillersTime.

For those of you who have enjoyed Ellen’s photos from one or more of our various trips, I’m posting below a list of and links to all of her photo slide shows (in case you might have missed one or two).

Remember to use your largest possible screen (laptops and desktops are much better for these photos than smartphones, for example). Also, once you click on the link to a particular slide show, be sure to click on the tiny arrow inside the little rectangle at the top right of your screen to start the slide show.

Enjoy.

                                                  Thru Ellen’s Lens

Myanmar/Burma

Winter in Iceland

The Balkans

Weekend in Maine

Japan

Easter Island

Antarctica

Vietnam & Cambodia

India

England *

Scotland *

Slice of Sicily *

Peruvian Amazon *

Brasilia **

Santa Fe **

Berlin & Prague **

Warsaw & Krakow **

*Slide show work only on laptop or desktop computers.

**No slide show, just photos in the post.

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Winter in Iceland: Thru Ellen’s Lens

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Amazing Tours.Is, Blue Lagoon, Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller's Photos, Geothermal Hot Springs, Geysers, Glaciers, Haraldur Guojonsson, Hot Springs, Iceland, Northern Lights, Reykjavik, Super Jeeps, Winter in Iceland

Iceland. Opening Ohot_Lights

(Photo by Haraldur Guojonsson, Amazing Tours.Is, our Northern Lights guide and photojournalist in Iceland. We are the two ‘orange clad’ people closest to the jeep.)

We’d been thinking about a summer trip to Iceland for a few years now, but after learning about an “adventure hotel” about an hour outside of Reykjavik where it was possible to see the Northern Lights from one’s room, we decided that winter was the perfect time to go.  (After all, we had all the necessary clothes after going to Antarctica, and we reasoned a winter trip need not take the place of a summer one.)

For all but a day and a half of our week in Iceland we were the countryside.

We never tired of the landscapes, the waterfalls, the lakes, the hot springs, and the glaciers. We explored ice caves, farms, small villages, and snowmobiling. (Ellen loved that. I liked it more after we finished than while I was ‘driving’ the machine.) For two days we had a guide who drove us in a four-wheeled Super Jeep and delighted in off road driving. In fact, he seemed to make a practice of avoiding anything that resembled a road or well-worn tracks.  But he was knowledgeable about his country and was as good a driver as I’ve ever had. (He also rescued several other drivers while we were with him, which gave us a lot of confidence, When on one of the two days our own vehicle broke down, he quickly used his cell phone to call a buddy back in Reykjavik who within an hour arrived with two vehicles, one to replace ours and the other to tow the broken one back to be repaired.)

Most of the time we felt we were on another planet: one that was rocky and snow covered, with whipping winds that blew the snow across the road and across the glaciers. We saw ponies and sheep hovering in the freezing temperatures (although the daily temperature generally reached 30 degrees, it did get precipitously colder at night), isolated farms, small villages, churches, and lighthouses. We found the natural geothermal hot springs fascinating with their billowing clouds of steam rising out of the ground. On the coast, the water was deep blue, many of the beaches were black (think lava), and the waves looked steamy as they crashed into the shore. We explored a hot water extraction and distribution plant, took hundreds of pictures at the geysirs (geysers), heard a story about why many farmers painted their roofs red, and learned a lot of Icelandic history. The sun didn’t rise each day until 9:45 AM, and it set around 5:45 PM. All the sunrises and sunsets differed, and all were all spectacular.

So was the food. From the dark breads, fresh butter, gravlax, and skyr (yogurt) to the endless varieties of seafood soups (one better than the next) to the langoustines (Icelandic lobsters), Artic Char, Icelandic cod, shrimp, scallops, mussels, and lamb in many forms (including the lamb soup we ate for lunch at a tourist rest stop), every meal was a feast.

And we were fortunate enough to get three evenings of Northern Lights. Having seen this wonder in Alaska, we wanted to see them again. Our first night out with a photo journalist/guide was only partially successful. He took us to a mountain, and we were able to see a bit of Northern Light activity. On our way back to our lodge, the lights had gotten stronger (see photo above), and he taught Ellen how to photograph them (see photo below and others in the slide show). The next two nights, however, these dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis were stronger, and we indeed could see them from our room. The dancing lights are a result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, and if you’ve ever had the good fortune to see them, you will not forget them. The night sky gave us an amazingly clear view of millions of stars and the Milky Way.

Towards the end of our week, we left our lodge in our rented SUV in the midst of what they called ‘snow squalls’ but seemed to us to be a snowstorm with whiteout conditions. It took us two hours to cover a distance that usually takes only an hour, but we made it back into Reykjavik safely. There we spent just a short time exploring the city  — quaint with modern touches, a nice harbor area, one fabulous church, beautiful arts center, and great food —  before deciding to go back into the countryside and along the western coast. On our final day, we spent four hours at the Blue Lagoon, an outdoor hot springs pool where you can relax in a 99-102-degree hot springs while still being in the middle of a 32-degree wondrous landscape.

The 12 photos below will give you a first glance at what we saw and the slide show following will take you deeper into Iceland.

We will return. Not only during a summer but also for another winter week.

It was certainly a feast for the eyes.

Thru Ellen’s Lens:

Iceland. Thru the car mirror

Iceland. Trees

Iceland. Watyer with sky reflected

Iceland.Ice

Iceland. Close upwaterfall

Iceland. Wooly Sheep

Iceland. Glacier

Iceland. Hot Springs

Iceland.surise_set_

Iceland. Blu Glacier

Iceland. Northern Lights.

To see Ellen’s entire slide show (66 photos), use this link: Winter in Iceland.

For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show and see all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either).

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The Balkans: Thru Ellen’s Lens

02 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Ellen Miller's Photos, Montenegro, Photos, Solvenia, The Balkans

Here are a dozen of Ellen Miller’s favorite photos from our recent trip to Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia. Below these 12 are links to more photos in two slide shows.

B.15 Continue reading »

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Maine: Thru Ellen’s Lens

23 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Damariscotta Lake, Ellen Miller's Photos, Maine, Marshall Point & Penquid Light House, Midcoast Maine, Nobleboro, Rockport., Round Pound, State Parks of Camden and Portland

Six photos and a link to a slide show by Ellen Miller from a very recent four day trip to Maine.

Most of the photos were taken from the midcoast area, including Damariscotta Lake, Nobleboro, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Marshall Point & Penquid Light House, the state parks of Camden and Portland, Round Pound and Rockport.

Maine.5

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Japan: Through Ellen’s Lens

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures, Family and Friends

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Buddhist Temples, Bullet Trains, Ellen Miller's Photos, Golden Pavilion, Golden Temple, Hakone, Hiroshima, Japan, Japan: Food Picture Slide Show, Japan: Summer 2015 Slide Show, Japanese Baseball, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Maiko Performance, Mt. Fuji, Nikko, Ryokans, Shinto Shrines, Takayama, Tea Ceremony, Tokyo, Tokyo Tower, Torii Gates, Tsukiji Fish Market, Tuna Auctions, World Heritage Sites, Yokahama DeNa BayStars, Yomiuri Giants

pix of EllnAs I promised last week, below are a few of Ellen’s favorite pictures from our trip to Japan. If you want to see more — lots more — check out her slide show of 126 pictures.

While the 15 photos below mostly capture gardens and temples, our activities were hugely varied.  We went to the Tsukiji Fish Market and Tuna Auction at 5 AM our first morning in Tokyo, wandered through the teenage fashion and anime centers, viewed the city from the Tokyo Tower, and took a hands-on sushi-making lesson. We were treated to a full-on Tea Ceremony and a Maiko (Geisha apprentices) performance. We soaked our weary selves at three different Ryokan onsens (hot spas) until we shriveled. We saw Torii gates, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples everywhere we went (in Tokyo, Nikko, Hakone, Takayama, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, and Kyoto). We visited a Gold Leaf museum/factory and a Sake museum along with the Edo/Tokyo museum, a ‘float’ museum, and the chilling museums and monuments in Hiroshima.  Of course, there was a baseball game in the Tokyo Dome where we saw the Yokahama DeNA BayStars beat the Yomiuri Giants. We traveled by car, by van, by subway, by train, including the bullet trains, by boat, and we walked at least five or six miles everyday. We saw Mt. Fuji (barely), lakes, waterfalls, bamboo groves, and the wonderful Golden Pavilion. Everywhere there were gardens — miniature gardens, Emperor’s gardens, temple gardens, strolling gardens, rock gardens, ancient ones and modern ones.

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