Photography

The Traverse Traversed

Two years ago, four of my friends and I attempted the Presidential Traverse: a formidable hike that links together eight peaks in the White Mountains of New Hampshire: Mounts Madison, Adams, Jefferson, Washington, Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce (and sometimes Jackson). The hike didn’t go well. We were thwarted by gastroenteritis, impenetrable fog, and a thunderstorm that forced us to bail halfway. I vowed to return. Continue reading The Traverse Traversed →

Photography

March around Iceland

Iceland. Land of Ice and Fire.

As a subarctic volcanic island, Iceland looks so unreal because its volcanic rock and black sand are contrasted by pristine snow and ice. Everywhere you turn, you can see where the geologically young island is being battered by water in many forms—the ocean, the glaciers, the waterfalls. Moreover, Iceland’s disturbing lack of trees makes it look even more alien. Instead, the land is studded with glaciers, moors, jagged cliffs, eroding mountains, and mossy lava fields. Continue reading March around Iceland →

Photography

Iceland Tips

I did loads of research for a thorough road trip around Iceland. This is what I’ve got in text form, but contact me and I’ll happily rave about the place. I’m organizing all my photos for a photo book, but I’ll see how that shapes up for a website post.

Tips for Traveling in Iceland

General: Iceland, a land of raw natural attractions, is quite rural but weirdly tourist-friendly with hotels everywhere. It is always cold but not super cold (20s in winter, low 50s in summer), but Icelandic weather is notoriously fickle.

Seasons: High season is May-Aug., filled with lush greens, sheep, midnight sun, and way too many tourists. Winter has a genuine winter wonderland feel, but days are short, and many roads and trails are closed. You can chase aurora (forecaster: http://en.vedur.is/, but I estimate only 25% chance that clouds and solar conditions favor you) and do wintry tours like snowmobiling, dog-sledding, or ice caves, but pursue commercial tours at your own peril. March/April, when I went, is thawing season, so it’s muddy.

Where to go: Read below but also I MADE A THOROUGH MAP. Reykjavik, the only city, is in the southwest. Visit, in order of priority: the south coast, the nearby Golden Circle loop, the western Snæfellsnes peninsula, the northern Mývatn region, the southern highlands (if summer), the distant northwestern Westfjords, the Eastfjords. Reykjavik itself needs only a day at most. Blue Lagoon? If you like luxury spas, then definitely go. However, wading in mining runoff amongst hundreds of tourists in the least Icelandic attraction for $100 was not for me. Continue reading Iceland Tips →

Radiology

To Just See

It’s match week. Read about the residency match system in a previous post Schrödinger’s Match; it features cats. I thought I’d share my personal statement, pasted below. 

Today at 11 am, I will find out if I failed to match to my first-year “preliminary” residency or my radiology residency. If I didn’t, my life will be in shambles and I would spend the week frantically vying for leftover slots around the country.  Hopefully not. <1% chance, I estimate. Continue reading To Just See →

piano, photos, prose, photons