thv

Bill, I would recommend you go in May. It will be close to the summer solstice and bright enough for sightseeing at least 16 hours per day. The weather will also be much nicer. Most of the birds will have arrived by mid-May, and you should bring at least one telephoto lens, if at all possible.

I recommend renting a 4x4 vehicle and driving along the south coast to Myrdalsjokull (i.e. the southernmost point) at least. You should also try to drive along the west coast from Reykjavik, to Hvalfjordur and the Snaefellsnes peninsula. You should also go into the interior and see Thingvellir, the Geysir area, and Gullfoss (i.e. the sights that the Golden Triangle covers).

I will take this opportunity to comment on the other answers: I agree with David and Patrick in that Lost in Iceland is a wonderful book and I recommend that you take a look at it. Feel free to contanct me if you see anything interesting in there (or any other source of images from Iceland) and I should be able to at least tell you how to get there.

Another reason to wait until May is one that Patrick mentioned: In winter, the winds can be brutal and rain/snow generally falls horizontally (if you can call that falling). There isn't much snow on the ground, even in winter, since the wind blows it out to sea. The wind has been known to move concrete buildings as far as 60-70 yards.

And thank you for complementing my english. I lived in the US for a few years decades ago, but my english is rather rusty since then. It makes me write carefully :-)

Thrainn

From someone who lives in (a suburb of) Reykjavik, I can say that it doesn't get very cold in the winter, and not very warm in the summer.

Expect temperatures from -10C up to +5C. The weather will probably change quickly and it will be very windy. You will have around 5-6 hours of "useable" daylight per day.

The bright side of this is that the sun is low in the sky all day and you might say you have 5 "magic" hours. The dark side is that the chances of clear skies aren't very good.

The colors will be a bit dull, so you might want to bring Velvia. To my mind, a tripod is much more useful than a monopod, but that of course depends on the kinds of photographs you take.

I don't know about "must see" spots since that depends on what you like. I think you should take at least one trip outside the city, and the golden circle is as good a choice as any. If you'll be staying more than a few days you might want to rent a 4x4.

There are several good restaurants in Reykjavik, but they are very expensive, as are most things. Especially these days, since the dollar is so low.

I saw that Patrick said you should bring a long lens for catching interesting birds. This is certainly true in the summer, but there are few birds here over the winter, and most of these have muted colors compared to the mating season.

Hope this helps,

Thrainn Vigfusson