Grotta

I set off to walk from Reykjavik all the way out a peninsula one afternoon as a means to both make my way to a lighthouse I noticed on a map that morning, and as an excuse to traverse through neighborhoods and to see what local spots I may come across along the way. I stumbled into a grocery store just as I was regretting not bringing more water along for the walk and loaded up on some snacks and a couple of pre-made sandwiches.

I love making time for un-guided walked like this while traveling. I left on foot from my hostel without much of a map, only knowing that If I continued to walk I would eventually hit an ocean, and a vague sense of the shape of this part of the city and its surrounding area. The last mile or so of my walk ended up being down a walkway along the coast which lead me to the lighthouse hiding quietly at the end of fields and sparse local businesses.

After eating my sandwiches and having a drink, I considered flagging a car down and asking for a ride back into the city but ended up taking a brisk walk back along the waters edge as the sun slowly waned in the distance instead. There was a thoroughness to the sense of calm I felt on the second leg of that walk that ended up overshadowing almost everything else on the trip. Let’s see if I can describe the feeling.

Imagine a sense of confidence, not of arrogance or entitlement, but a mental space free of fear or doubt. Then add in a dash of loneliness, not enough to feel alone, but enough to invoke longing and understanding that this space you are in is yours and yours alone and it is beautiful and whole. To top off this feeling, add an acute sense of mindfulness, there is no past and no future in this space, only this view, this heartbeat, a cold breeze. Fill it with some of your favorite music and wrap it all up with a gentle smirk of joy and you are in my shoes at that moment.

I also had a camera along in hand, and snapped a few photos of my walk to maybe share one day down the line and that day is today. Modest, blue, in between day and night, the tide is low and time stands still. What will you do with this moment?

(P.S – iPad link is for all mobile devices.)

Comments

  1. Brandon - July 18, 2019 at 2:07 pm

    Love this, John. My wife and I are headed to Iceland for the second time next week. Maybe we’ll find this spot!

  2. hhimself - July 30, 2019 at 11:05 pm

    John great blog I really like the desktops and the views of places that are inspiring. Keep it up!

  3. Kartikey - August 17, 2019 at 5:44 am

    Hello john,

    I have been a long time reader of your blog. I think it was a Lifehacker post on Facebook which lead me to fiftyfootshadows. Over the years, things have changed a lot for me but one of the few things that have remained constant is your blog. I make sure I check for updates every once in a while and when I find nothing I scroll through the archives and read some of your old stuff. Today was one of those days.

    You write amazingly well and the best way I could describe it would be the word ethereal. My laptop wallpapers have been your photographs for years now. At this point your blog is a part of my nostalgia trips.

    Thank you for your constant efforts on this blog and amazing photography.

    Best wishes!

  4. John Carey - August 17, 2019 at 8:09 am

    This genuinely means the world to me to hear. As my life has evolved this project has slowed down but I can’t let it go and will continue to update it as I am able. One day I hope to get back to regular posting for sure. I love this space and messages like yours keep the flame burning. Thanks for taking the time.

  5. Alex - September 19, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    John, a huge, long-time fan here. I stopped by to see how you were doing and was relieved to see your reply to Kartikey’s comment. I’ve had a fiftyfootshadows wallpaper for as long as I can remember, and am always getting positive remarks about how beautiful the photos are. Keep up the great work, but also maintain a balance with other important things in your life.

    P.S. Still loving the fiftyfootshadows keychain. :)

Leave A Reply

To whom it may concern,

IMAGES FOUND WITHIN FIFTYFOOTSHADOWS.NET ARE ©JOHN CAREY AND MAY NOT BE USED FOR ANY COMMERCIAL USE WITHOUT PERMISSION. 

DO:

• Enjoy the images! It’s a labor of love, thanks for your support!
• Share fiftyfootshadows.net with friends.
• Send me a quick mail if you are interested in using an image for commercial or personal use other than wallpaper.

DON’T:

• Post desktops elsewhere online.
• Share links directly to images.
• Pass them around in mass.
• Make prints.
• Use images for web banners or graphics. (send a quick email to ask, I’m pretty easy going about this with permission.)
• Use them in commercial work.

If you help me out with these I will be able to keep doing what I love to do. Thanks again, really, for your support and understanding. -J

——

By downloading any content from fiftyfootshadows.net you agree to the following terms:

All of the images contained within this website, fiftyfootshadows.net, are property of, John Carey unless otherwise posted. The images are distributed as freeware but they are available for personal use only on your personal computer, tablet, or smartphone as your wallpaper image. Any use of these images for any purpose other than this is a violation of these terms and anyone found using said images will be asked to either compensate the creator for doing so or be asked to stop using them immediately.

I ask that you refrain from using any images found on fiftyfootshadows.net to create physically printed material of any kind. This includes posters, photographic prints, fliers, etc. Under no circumstances may you make a physical reproduction without written permission.

These rules also apply for any artwork or imagery submitted and shown within this site which was created by an artist aside from myself. Any images submitted and shared as wallpapers are the property of the artist who created them and in the same manner as my images, you are asked to receive permission before using them in any way aside from their intended use. Any use of these images outside of for your own personal use as a desktop wallpaper image is prohibited without permission from the author of the image. Commercial licensing is available upon request. Please write with any inquiries.

When sharing images via your personal blogs I kindly ask that you link back directly to either the post the image was taken from or the base of the website at www.fiftyfootshadows.net and give a credit to www.fiftyfootshadows.net. Do not re-post full resolution desktop images anywhere without permission. If you would like to use an image for your blog background or something of the sort simply write to ask first. Support the artwork you admire! Also, it is greatly appreciated if you do NOT link directly to the zip files. This is more or less the same as re-posting them as it circumvents the tiny bit of support I ask of you which is to simply link back to the original post for others to enjoy the site.

It’s not fair to artists if you do not credit their work and link back to the original content creator. It is theft plain and simple and blogs that attempt to somehow be mysterious by not giving credit to the creators are simply hurting the artistic community as a whole. If you love it so much then please, support it! The artistic community on the Internet is based on trust. Without trust then what do we have? are you going to be one of the responsible users out there or will you be among the bottom feeders, stealing content and passing it off as your own to make a quick buck in ad sales.

Use your best judgement and we will get along just fine.

Thank you for your understanding and support!

John Carey (curator, owner)

fiftyfootshadows.net

fiftyfootshadows@gmail.com