Cod, Haddock and Cake

 

You’d be right in thinking that we have had a brilliant week in Grimsey, from the filming point of view, it was a total success, great birdlife, great scenics, and we’ve cracked the back of 3 sequences in the film, (Egg collecting being the main one, but there will be a few surprises in store for when the film is broadcast next year).

The people here have been wonderful, helpful, kind and always with a smile on their faces. We had a brilliant evening in the community centre, attending a fundraising auction in aid of the school trip (11 pupils off to Estonia). Siggi (our colourful egg collector) did his best to outbid me but I beat him to it in the end, and the end result was delicious, I couldn’t possibly reveal the exact price due to the data protection act, but the mortgage company should be happy.

Its worth mentioning the prime reason that the 100 strong community stay here for, which is of course the fishing. Now those with a historical bent (or old enough) will know that Iceland has been fiercely protective about its fishing grounds over the years – in fact a british trawler was nearly sunk off Grimsey back in the cod wars of the seventies. This protective approach has served both them and the fishing grounds well over the years, the cold, rich arctic waters have an abundance of fish, and the fishermen are very careful not to abuse the fish stocks (unlike some european countries), giving them a sustainable harvest year on year.

True,  some things are changing, the waters are getting warmer (climate change and a 30 year Atlantic temperature cycle)  mean that some species are changing their habits – the capelin have moved further north and now the mackerel are turning up more frequently (cue the Mackerel Wars on the horizon!). But in the meantime the small fishing community here, that know their waters so intimately, enjoy a bountiful year round harvest from the sea. But boy do they have to work for it, fishing from small boats in the Arctic Ocean is hard dangerous work, and many fishermen have lost their lives to bring in the harvest.

The Cod, Haddock, Coal fish and Orange Roughy arrive, usually around lunchtime, to the little harbour, the boats having left very early in the morning. Then they are whisked away to either the salting and drying sheds, to be prepared as Baccalao – salt cod, for export to the profitable european market. Or gutted, iced and sent to market on the mainland. Fresher fish you cannot imagine.

 

So, we leave Grimsey with happy hearts and a salute to the islanders that made us so welcome, its been an honour to meet you all. we’ll be back here in July to cover another couple of interesting stories up here on Grimsey, we can’t wait!

The Egg Collectors of Grimsey

 

The warmth and hospitality of Icelanders has constantly impressed us on our journey through this extraordinary land. Grimsey is no exception to this, we were met off the ferry (Andy was having a hard time negotiating the narrow exit ramp, but we got off without becoming an addition to the boats in the harbour) by Gagga, our lovely landlady from Basar guesthouse, and welcomed with hot coffee to our home for the week.

Our main targets to film for the week are the huge numbers of seabirds nesting on the cliffs here (over a million on the 300ft cliffs that ring this tiny island). But its not just the birds, we wanted to film the age old method of egg collecting that has been practised here for centuries. For a community that existed on a diet of fish and the few sheep that were kept here, seabird eggs played an important part in days of old and today.

In the same way that chicken eggs bought from the supermarket are not viable (i.e. they haven’t developed a foetus inside until growth has been triggered by the warmth of incubation). The Seabird eggs are collected just after they have been laid and before incubation, so timing of this event is critical. The collectors keep a watchful eye on their stretch of cliff (they are divided up in the same way as any land, each collector has his own patch) waiting for the first signs of laying. Once started, a sector is only harvested 3 times over 9 days or so, then left alone, so the guillemots and razorbills simply lay a new egg after the collecting and raise that to the hatching stage undisturbed. Its typical of Icelanders to work out a way to exist in harmony with the landscape and wildlife, and this totally sustainable way of working with sea birds is no exception.

So it was with great interest and anticipation that we met up with Maggi and Siggi on the high cliffs. These brothers have lived their lives to the full here on the island, spending happy childhood days learning the ways of sea and land, it shows too. Their knowledge of bird behaviour and the ways of the sea is extraordinary, there is a depth behind their words that cannot be learnt by reading books or taking a degree in biology, it can only come by living side by side with nature.

Our cameras set safely at the top of the cliff , we were wondering exactly how the eggs were collected?, how many ropes, harnesses and all the normal paraphernalia of rock climbing on 300ft sheer cliffs were to be employed? Soon all became clear, as an old tractor came trundling towards us across the moorland…

The tractor reversed to the edge of the cliff, Siggi put on a sturdy harness (made by himself, the same patterns used by his father before him) long rope slung over the back of the roller winch on the back of the tractor and Siggi backed over the cliff edge carrying the all important tools of the trade – pole net, canvas bag for the eggs and the all important helmet (some protection against any rocks dislodged by birds).

Seeing Siggi nimbly make his way down the cliff face from the safety of our viewpoint was an impressive sight, constantly in touch with his brother Maggi, holding the other end of the rope at the top, literally with Siggi’s life in his hands, telling him when to give more rope, when to stop etc. It was very clear the huge level of trust they place in each other. To them its a normal day at the office, they’ve been doing it for years, but it took our breath away. The sequence will hopefully do some justice to this when its been through the cutting room later this year, and with the combination of our main camera (Sony F55) 2nd unit (Canon C300) and the ever useful GoPro, we’ve certainly got it covered. here’s some stills that will hopefully give some idea.

With the collecting done, we chatted away with the brothers for ages, happily munching away on fermented shark and eggs, listening to stories of their youth and life on the island. You couldn’t wish to meet nicer people, funny, charismatic and tough in the way that only a life in a harsh environment can make a man.

We all felt privileged to spend time with them and gladly accepted the kind invitation of dinner at Maggi’s house (a wonderful meal of lamb cooked by his wife Anna) More chatting and stories of the island kept us thoroughly entertained for the evening but more excitement was still to come, Maggi had a surprise in store for us.

He and Siggi had to take their boat round to the cliff bottom to pick up some eggs left from a previous days collecting and invited us to go with them. It was too late (9pm) for decent filming light, but never being ones to turn down the opportunity for a spin on the ocean, and to see the island from a different perspective, we piled in and set off through calm seas in Siggi’s powerful RIB.

What welcomed us on the shore at the bottom of the cliffs was the most extraordinary spectacle, thousands upon thousands of Guillemots and Razorbills flew off from and returned to the cliffs as they headed to their feeding grounds out on the Arctic Ocean. Ive never seen anything quite like it, the sheer numbers were amazing and there is no way a camera can do it justice (even our prized Leica!) its one of those things that just has to go on your top ten things to see before you die, you have to see it with your own eyes and experience the smells and sounds alongside.

end of a perfect few days, I think its fair to say that we’ve fallen in love with Grimsey!

Grimsey

40km off the north coast of Iceland lies the island of Grimsey, our home for the next week whilst we film the extraordinary seabird colonies here.

A small fishing community has scraped a living from the rich fishing grounds here for centuries, so filming the people is as always high on our priority list.

The journey over here was spectacular, we had left the comfort of our beds (and seaweed baths) in Reykholar at the unearthly hour of 2.30am to get to the ferry by 8.00am, boarded and set sail into flat calm waters and bright sunshine

leaving behind the snow covered mountains around Dalvik, our three hour crossing was a pleasure, whales abound around these waters, surprisingly close to shore, and we had 2 full breaches, 6 full tail dives from Humpbacks, numerous Minke surfacing, and lots of white beaked
dolphin. As per usual with whales,

Reykholar, best birds and baths ever?

 

fulmar, leica

Reykholar has been a real treat for us this past week. It really is a birders paradise, and the sounds of roding snipe, Loons calling and Eider courting will live with us for a long long time. As it was our last day we had a bit of a treat, (its a must if you come up to this part of the Westfjords). Our hosts Tumi and Svanna run a little cafe here, (as it was still closed for winter they very kindly let us use the facilities) and a also a set of Hot Pots (hot tubs) into which they pour their own special mix of ground up seaweed. This makes the most amazing hot bath I have ever tried. The water is hot (90degrees) straight out of the ground from the hot springs, and, mixed with the seaweed, leaves your skin and your mind completely relaxed. It really is quite something to be sitting in a boiling hot bath, skin tingling, with the sound of Snipe, plover and Godwit all around. check out their site here http://www.sjavarsmidjan.is/#!home/c16d8

….don’t miss it if you’re in the area!

Tumi filling the Hot Pot

the seaweed

Andy and Neil glad of a hot bath

 

 

We’ve seen some stunning birdlife here as I mentioned, and had some good results with the eider even though its a tad early for their main nesting activity, the rest of the birds are starting to nest in earnest now, all over the farmland. We obviously take very great care when walking around our filming positions as there are nests everywhere.

 

 

 

 

snipe nest

Red throated diver nest

for those of you into the specific species we’ve spent time with up here, in the past week we’ve seen

Eider Duck, Ptarmigan, Whimbrel, Black Tailed Godwit, Oyster Catcher, Knot, Golden Plover, Fieldfare, Ringed Plover, Red Throated Diver (37 on one lake!), Great Northern Diver, Harlequin Duck, Horned Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Greylag Goose, Whooper Swan, Short Eared Owl, Gyr Falcon, Raven, Meadow Pipet, Wheatear, Redwing, Fieldfare, Snipe, Teal, Mallard, Arctic Tern, Arctic Skua, Sea Eagle

and Ians favourite…Black headed Gulls and Fulmars

heres a few piccies of some of them

 

Red Throated Diver, canon 200-400mm

 

Ptarmigan, male, hiding his white winter plumage!

Ptarmigan, female, summer plumage well on the way

Arctic Tern

Whimbrel

Black Tailed Godwit

Plover and Knot

Greylag Goose, Canon

I can honestly say that if you are a birder and don’t come to this place, you’ve missed a spectacle

The Journey continues for us tomorrow as we set off at 3am for the ferry to Grimsey Island, which straddles the Arctic circle (warm gear packed). Grimsey holds some special filming opportunities for us, but more on that later…

 

Eider Tracks, Leica

 

 

a little clip in the meantime

Our plan for filming Eider nest building has taken a bit of a pause, largely because its a bit early and a bit chilly for them, so while we’re waiting for them to start nesting in earnest, we thought we’d put up a couple of clips on the blog to prove we are still doing something and haven’t slacked off entirely.

first up a shot of the hot springs

and next,  a few shots of some the very cute lambs from here in Reykholar. Tumi, the farmer who owns the land we’re staying on, and his family have been working day and night as its lambing season. The results of their endeavours are quite endearing! And for the lambs its definitely their first look at a GoPro..

good news is there are amazing numbers of birds massing on the shoreline, and feeding on the mudflats at low tide, a rough count would number the eider up in the thousands in this area alone. Birdlife here is extraordinary, more on that (and some interesting seaweed stories) later.

Searching for an Eider

Sunset, Reykholar, Leica M9, 35mm f2 summilux

About 3 hours north of Icelands capital, Reykjavik, lies the little hamlet of Reykholar, our home for the next week. We’ve been working very closely with Thor, a lovely fellow from the Icelandic Natural History Institute, a true countryman and also a bit of an expert when it comes to Eider Duck. So armed with our new toy, the fabulous new canon 200-400mm with built in 1.4 converter that we have bought for this production, we met up with Thor and Tumi, the landowner.

Sony F55 and canon 200-400mm, iPhone

Those who have been following our little journey will know that Eider are one of the main characters we want to feature in our film. The reason for this is that they a. are fantastic characters in themselves with a great natural history story,  and b. have a strong relationship with the human inhabitants of Iceland. Thor has been invaluable in helping us and it was at his suggestion that we have come to this farm in Reykholar which has enormous numbers of wildfowl, from Red Throated and Great Northern Diver (18 pairs of the first on one lake here!!!), Black Tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Horned Grebe and hundreds upon hundreds of Eider.

Eider duck, or to be more exact, Eider down has been farmed in Iceland for centuries. Its a superb insulator, and has been gathered for use in bedding and garments since time immemorial. Archeologists have found remnants from the stone age in Finland, and Russia even used it as an insulator in the first astronaut suits.  Of the four tonnes gathered worldwide annually, three come from Iceland, so its a big part of rural life for icelanders. Now when I say farmed, I don’t mean that these ducks are domesticated in any way. They are wild animals who live their winters out on the arctic ocean (thats why they need good insulation) coming to shore in Iceland to breed and rear their young.

 

We’ll go into much more detail about the touching relationship between man and duck later, but rest assured that no ducks are harmed in the making of this blog, film or your duvet. To tell their story fully, we want to cover their whole life cycle, from mating, nest building, egg hatching etc, etc and the aim here at Reykholar was nest building,  First though we had to find their nest sites!

 

 

 

Neil searching the moorland, Leica M9, 35mm summilux

 

 

 

 

 

now despite the fact that the male eider are nice and white, standing out clearly in this landscape, the females (who unsurprisingly do all the work when it comes to rearing the young) are very well camouflaged and not all easy to see. suffice to say we had our work cut out. Not only that but (deliberately I should point out) we are here at the very beginning of nesting season so only a few ducks are actually on the land nesting, the rest are still on the shoreline feeding…time to use our field skills.

the tracks of ducks are relatively easy to see in the mud of course,

eider tracks in estuary mud, Leica M9, 35mm summilux

though not all are eider

Knot footprints, Leica Monochrome

 

we surprised a snipe, who flew off her nest at our feet,

Snipe nest, Leica M9

almost impossible to see as they are so well hidden

Snipe nest, iphone

view east across the fjord from Reykholar, Leica M9

In the end, and after walking for miles, we did find a nest being built, and she’s laid four very healthy looking eggs. Thats what we’ll be looking at filming tomorrow, and thats another story.

Sunset, Reykholar. Leica M9

An Icelandic Ghost Story

 

 

 

 

Great to be back in Iceland, and as usual it doesn’t disappoint. Ian and myself got the (very) early flight from drizzle Brizzle, got the van sorted and, to make use of our time before picking up camera assistant Neil that evening, went on a recce to the South Western peninsula of Reykjanes.

This peninsula is one huge lava field, an outpouring of a massive eruption a few hundred years ago, its created a barren landscape that stretches for miles and miles. There is a stark beauty about this place that matches nothing Ive seen before on my travels.

The area is home to the famous Blue Lagoon (more on this down the line) a geothermal pool popular with locals and tourists alike that plays host to some wild parties all year round. Not being as hardy as the locals, us soft southerners didn’t take a dip and opted instead to recce the area for a shoot we will be doing here later in the summer.

GunnHuver geothermal vents

So we headed over to the Gunnuhver mud pools and vents, some of the largest in Iceland, with the most spectacular lighthouse nearby…. nobody told us about the ghosts and spectres though….

Legend has that 400 years ago a witch called Gunn became involved in an argument with the local judge over an unpaid debt. Judge Vilhjálmur ruled that Gunns only possession, a cooking pot, should be taken in payment for this debt, an act that sent Gunn into a fury, swearing eternal revenge. 

When she died, Judge Vilhjálmur attended her funeral, but disappeared on his way home through Reykjanes. Next day, his body was found, battered and bruised..and in the graveyard, the witches coffin was empty. Gunn had returned from the afterlife. 

Shortly after, the Judges’ wife also died in mysterious circumstances and for years the ghost of Gunn caused havoc for the locals, with villagers disappearing and women and children going mad. So they enlisted the services of a local pastor who was also a powerful sorcerer (an interesting theological combination!). After much contemplation (and a fair amount of the local liquid spirits) he came up with the novel idea of giving this ghostly witch the end of a piece of wool, then throwing the ball of wool into the boiling mud pools. This proved successful apparently, and the powerful spectre followed the wool ball down to the steaming pools where she remains tethered to this day…some say you can still see and sense her in the right conditions even now, and with the sulphuric smells, clouds of steam, and bubbling cauldrons of mud, its definitely a place that makes your other senses come alive.

Geothermal plant, Gunnhuver

Bridge across continents, Reykjanes

I’d love to say that Ian and I saw the ghost. Sadly, on this occasion all we saw were a few American tourists braving the elements (incidentally, very close by to here you can cross continents from one tectonic plate to another, America to Europe in about a second), a pretty spectacular lighthouse, and a small but very cool fulmar colony on the sea cliff nearby.

Reykjanes lighthouse and geo thermal vents.

Whilst we were down there we took a look at the lava formations down by the sea edge. For two committed monochrome nuts like Ian and myself, seeing the extraordinary colours formed by the molten rock cooling and leaching out various minerals was a treat indeed.

 

So all round a successful recce, we’ll be coming back here later in the summer to do some filming underground in the lava tubes and with a bit of luck, a decent down inside the magma chamber of a real volcano, looking forward to that!

 

 

 

 

As always in Iceland, it never ceases to amaze me how even in the most inhospitable and barren parts of this incredible island, life manages to grab a foothold and flourish, its not just the witches that come back to life here..

sleep well…

 

 

 

The Next Chapter…

 

After a short interlude back home in the UK, we’re back on the road around Iceland this week! really looking forward to it. We’re going to be there all summer, and got some amazing things to cover.

Iceland will be heading into Spring when we get back there, the weather (hopefully!) will have become a bit warmer and life in this arctic paradise will be preparing for the incredible rush to bloom, breed and live life to full in the short summer months.

Two of our main characters, the Arctic Foxes and Eider Duck, will be giving birth to their cubs and chicks down on the coast, Puffins will be burrowing and the Icelandic Horses will be foaling and preparing for turn out to their summer pastures up in the stunning highlands in the interior of Iceland.

 

 

First off on our trip (once we’ve picked up and packed the tour bus from our good friends and fixers at True North in Reykjavik) will be up to the Westfjords to catch up with the Eiders nest building, then up to a little island called Grimsey (which straddles the Arctic circle) for puffins and Guillemot, then back to Hornstrandir for our Arctic foxes.

Along the way, we’ll be spending lot of time (and filming) the wonderful people of Iceland who are so deeply involved with these animals and the land that surrounds them. It never ceases to amaze me how human resourcefulness and tenacity can carve out a living from what seems like a totally inhospitable, albeit beautiful, environment. Respect to you Icelanders!

We’re really looking forward to spending some time focussing on the amazing scenery too. To be honest, Iceland has such stunning landscapes, it can be a little overwhelming to pick a shot, we’ll do a couple of posts that focus on landscape photography later on. And of course we will be posting the full breakdown of what exactly was in the 33 cases that we brought with us.

So stand by for more fun and games! We’ll be posting a lot with heaps of stills, stories and maybe the odd gull or two from Ian. We’d love it if you get in touch with messages here on the twitter and instagram feeds, and If you’re in Iceland and see a large grey Mercedes 4×4 van and 3 blokes looking confused and a little lost, stop and have a chat, we’ll even try and make you a cup of tea,

see you on the road!