Exploring Downtown Reykjavik Iceland

My first destination to explore in Reykjavik Iceland was a huge church called Hallgrimskirkja. The names of things are so complicated! I never did get used to that. Anyway … Hallgrimskirkja is the largest church in Iceland and a landmark feature of the capital city.

Hallgrimskirkja by Anne McKinnell
Sony A6000, 10mm, ISO 200, f/8, 1/500th second

I made this photo in the middle of the afternoon (which, by the way, is perfectly acceptable when you have nice light and good clouds!). I loved the pattern on the pavement in front of the church so I used my wide angle lens so I could get as much of that in the frame as possible while still including all of the very tall structure.

Getting elevation on a city always provides a great perspective and I couldn’t help but notice those windows at the top of the church. Sure enough, you can go up there!

Reykjavik, Iceland by Anne McKinnell
Sony A6000, 17mm, ISO 100, f/11, 1/250th second

I made the photo above using the automatic panorama feature on my Sony A6000. You just kind of sweep your camera across the scene while it takes a bunch of photos and then it stitches them together in-camera. I think it does a pretty good job! It just looks small on the blog though, so please click on the photo above to enjoy a larger view.

Here are a couple more photos from the top:

Reykjavik, Iceland by Anne McKinnell
Sony A6000, 39mm, ISO200, f/9, 1/320 second
Reykjavik, Iceland by Anne McKinnell
Sony A6000, 26mm, ISO200, f/9, 1/160 second

After seeing this incredible church, I went back to my hotel for some shut-eye because I knew I had to return to this spot before sunrise the next morning to get a twilight shot! It’s coming up next …

Please share!

4 thoughts on “Exploring Downtown Reykjavik Iceland”

  1. Hi Anne – It is so inspiring to see you make these amazing images with the same camera as I own. Love my Sony A6000. No excuses – I need to get out there and come up with something good.

  2. Hello Anne. Would you remember what your settings were for metering mode, focus area and focus mode (based on a previous post, I would hypothesize the latter was Flexible Spot)? Thank you for your time and your informative posts. Just trying to learn!
    Claude

  3. Anne, thanks for sharing. Great tip to go up in the tower of the church to see the city from above. I will make a note for next year when I am in Iceland.
    Beautiful images as always.
    Thanks, Meggi

  4. Of course, the church looks like a giant pipe organ! (pointed out to me by my husband when I showed him your fantastic photograph).

    I rarely comment, but am in awe of your skill. Look forward to each of your posts.

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