Skógafoss is one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls, as well as one of its biggest. The falls span a width of 82 feet and drop an impressive 200 feet, producing a constant cloud of mist that swirls around the base. Due to the spray, a single or double rainbow is often visible on sunny days. 

In addition to its striking beauty, Iceland is host to an extensive amount of legend and folklore. A major part of the lore are the trolls…large, evil monsters that live in caves and feast on both people and livestock. Fortunately, trolls only travel by night as they are immediately turned to stone when exposed to sunlight. You can see several remnants of trolls as you drive around Iceland…in hillsides, mountains and cliffs…and here overlooking Skógafoss.
 
I have to imagine this troll was simply transfixed by the beauty of the waterfall and did not pay attention to the fact that the sun was rising. Although now a piece of stone, at least he has an amazing view.

While the constant spray allows for rainbows like the one in this image, it also plays havoc with camera gear. I protected my gear with a large plastic bag while waiting for a rainbow to appear and had to constantly wipe water from my lens before capturing this image. The mist also coats the ground, so the narrow path was slippery getting to this point and I was a little nervous about my footing. Everything ended well though and after toweling off my camera at the car, I was ready to hunt down more waterfalls…and trolls.

If you would like to see roughly where I was when taking this image, check out my other Skógafoss post.