“Born and raised in Reykjavik, Iceland. Just love that little big city that Reykjavik is. Main hobbies are skiing, photography, hiking, travelling, good food & wine and just enjoying life.

I love to be out in the nature all by myself with the camera because that nourish my soul. I can be a geek sometimes and weird and a silly girl but Im proud of who I am. I laugh a lot but Im also a deep thinker and a dreamer but I can easily make fun of myself. What I appreciate the most in other people is trust, faith and honesty maybe a cliche but that´s just the top 3 that I need in my life.”

I fell in love with the photography of Jorunn the very first time I saw her pictures on Google+ – now it’s your time to get to know her a little better…

Peter From (PF): Jorunn, you live in Iceland, way up north. Could you tell me and my readers a little about yourself and your photography…

Jorunn Gudlaugsdottir (JG):  Yes thats true, I come from Iceland. I have always lived here except for one year when I was 20 years old and lived in Hamburg for about a year.

I am born and raised in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Just love that “little, big” city that Reykjavik actually is. I work in a bank and my main hobbies are photography, skiing, hiking, travelling, good food & wine and just enjoying life in general.

I love to be out in nature all by myself with the camera because it nourishes my soul. I can totally forget about time when I’m out there and these moments really are “Me” moments that gives me a lot. I can be a geek sometimes but I love geeks and I’m proud of who I am. I laugh a lot but I’m also a deep thinker and a dreamer but I can easily make fun of myself too. What I appreciate the most in other people is trust, faith and honesty maybe a cliché but that´s just the top 3 things that I need in my life.

I work in a bank and sit in front of the computer the whole day but because I always carry my camera with me I try to use my lunch times to go out and shoot a little and in fact I try to use every minute I can to take photos.

PF: How did you get into photography?

JG: For a long time I have thought about photography and since I can remember I framed everything in my head. Everything that I found interesting I framed and thought how great it would look as a picture. As I said before I have a few hobbies. Skiing was on the top of my list but that is just a winter sport and I always thought I needed some passion in my life, a hobby that I could have all year round and would really let me forget about time and at the same time nourish my soul. I met this great woman 2 years ago and after talking to her we found out that photography really was my passion in life. First I took classes in an art school one winter because I wanted to paint and I really thought painting was my passion but then one thing led to another and last spring (April 2011) I really started to take this seriously. I took one course in April 2011 to learn the basics on the camera and then I read everything I could find, both on Google or in books and magazines that I bought at Amazon. Digital SLR magazine is a great magazine that I recommend for those who are starting their journey.

PF: I have seen all your beautiful captures of the Icelandic nature on Google+. What kind of photography do you prefer?

JG: Thank you Peter. I think now I’m getting more and more into nature and landscape at least I find it very fascinating. The reason is probably that my country has so much to offer such as beautiful light and the spectacular nature is all around me. I love macro as well and after I discovered macro I started to see the world or nature in a truly different way, in a very fascinated way. I love Long Exposure (LE) shots and my dream is to travel around Iceland next summer and do some really beautiful nature shots and LE water shots because Iceland is known for its many beautiful waterfalls and rivers along with magnificent;nature and truly bright nights during summer time. Dreamy/blurry kinds of shots are also on the top of my list probably because those kind of shots reflect my dreams.

PF: How long have you been taking pictures and how would you describe your style?

JG: I’m really new in photography, actually a newborn. I started in April 2011 when I got my first DSLR (thanks to my beautiful daughter) I don´t know if I have a style, do I have a style ha ha ? I probably do and maybe others would have an answer to that. I’m a sucker for fences and probably that is something people have been noticing in my stream, but I’m proud of many of my landscape or nature shots as well.

PF: If you had to choose one lens which one would it be and why?

JG: If I could buy a lens today I would choose a nice wide angle lens for my landscape shots. A good wide angle lens is on the top of the list, for example canon 16-35mm f/2,8, 17-40mm f/4.0 or 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 something like that.

PF: What is your favorite computer/editing accessory/application and why?

JG: Believe it or not I shoot all my images in JPG and so far I have been using a very simple software called Picnik. You can laugh its ok but so it is, I like simple but this software has all the options that I have needed so far in my editing process I do have Photoshop CS2 and LightRoom 3.5 and now I’m really going to start using them because the software I’m using is closing in April.. I have been looking into both PS and LR recently and doing a little research and I think I will start to use LightRoom because at this point I think it has all the quality and options I need but PS will always be on the side and in future I really would like to learn more in PS.

PF: Could you share a photo or editing trick/tip with me and my readers?

JG: Sure I can. When I started to shoot last year I read somewhere on Google (of course) that the best way to learn photography and really improve your skills it would be a smart idea to invest in 50mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.4 lens. Because the 50mm 1.8 is not that expensive I invested in the little light lens and I would say that lens is magic. It’s light, small, sharp and cheap and creates a beautiful bokeh too (and we all love bokeh don´t we?!) There is no zoom so your feet have to be your zoom but that is the great thing about it because then you start seeing things in a different way and you learn how to shoot from the right angle really. I highly recommend that nifty fifty.

PF: Do you plan on buying any new equipment and if so what do you have your eyes on?

JG: Yes there are actually 3 things on the top of my equipment list. First I want that wide angle lens I mentioned before, a new tripod from Monfrotto and a good backpack for hiking. I’m really hoping my dream will come true this year…

PF: I choose photographers for these interviews because their work inspires me and gets my creative juices flowing, hence the interview. What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing imagery?

JG: What inspires me are my dreams. I dream a lot honestly during the night and I think therefore I really like dreamy, blurry and soft shots a lot. Also I would put my country on the top list of inspiration because there are beautiful things all around me and photography has taught me to embrace and love my country much more than I did before. The beauty is just in front of my eyes. All the fab photographers here on G+ have inspired me a lot and helped me with so many things, both with their work and also by answering questions if I need some advice and I think I have learned the most after I joined G+ last year and I really would like to thank everyone here on G+ for their endless kindness and help and friendship.

PF: And finally… One last question: What would you like to be doing in 5 years from now?

JG: I wish I could stop working at the bank and just do photography. It is as simple as that. My dream would be to travel around the world at some point and shoot. Africa and Asia are on the top of my list at the moment and my motto is: just do it, don’t be afraid and the most important thing is to stay optimistic and happy. What you give is what you get!!

PF: Thank you for being so kind to answer my nosy questions Jorunn and good luck for the future…

Here are the step-by-step instructions…

Prerequisites

Picasa desktop application (Not installed? Get it here: http://picasa.google.com/ for Windows, Mac OS and Linux).

Once installed, run and sign in to Picasa web albums with your Google account (link on top right corner of the Picasa application).

Replace a Synced Photo

It’s very easy to replace a photo that’s already synced to a folder on your computer.

Open the synced folder containing the photo you want to replace on your hard drive and copy the photo’s name to clipboard.

Now rename the other photo (the one you want as the new online photo) with the copied name.

Then just overwrite the photo in the synced folder with the one you just renamed.

Finally; Picasa will do the rest by updating the online image with your new image.

Done.

Replace an Online Photo

This should be used for photos that are not synced to an online album (applies to most of us).

Click on File > Import from Picasa Web Album in the desktop application.

Select the Album containing the photo and import it.

Locate the desired photo in the downloaded album on your hard drive and copy its name (the image should be in your computer’s default Images folder).

Now rename the existing photo (the one you want to replace with) on your hard drive with the downloaded photo’s name.

Then overwrite the downloaded photo.

Finally in the Picasa application, right-click on the replaced photo and select Online actions > Update Online Photo.

That’s all! Head over to your online album and see the new image with all your comments and likes intact. Following the same procedure you can even replace an entire album.

Good luck!

Peter From (PF): You have a great variety in your photography. What made you interested in photography in the first place?

Lorena Masi (LM): Yes, you’re right about the variety in my photography – I guess I haven’t found a favorite subject yet. On the other hand that does not worry me because photography for me is about capturing memories! That’s what I love about shooting with a camera. It is fantastic how much more observant and open you become when you are into photography.

PF: Which is the best picture you ever took? Why?

LM: Well, that’s a difficult one Peter… Actually I can’t choose a photo that I like the most. Of course it happens that I like some of them better than the others, but not a best one! For example, this photo where you can see both my children having fun toghether is on of my favorites. Technically it may not be a good photo, that pole just in front of my daughter, the shadow of it cutting her in halves, etc, but then I see her beautiful inocent childish smile, and my boy next to her trying to be cool…well, I really love this one!

PF: Where is your favourite place for photography?

LM: My favorite place for photgraphy is outdoors, the subject may vary from street to landscape, but I’m a true sun lover and most of my photos are taken with the help of its light! This doesn’t mean I don’t take photos when it’s cloudy, haha… Indoors photography is something I may explore more of in the future.

PF: Which editing application do you use and why?

LM: Since I always shoot in RAW, I edit all the photos I upload, some more, some less, but I do tamper with all of them. I started with a very simple and easy-to-use application, that you could download for free; Photoscape. I still like it and use it very often, however, the last 4 months I’ve been using Adobe’s Elements 8. I just love Elements, although I still got lots to learn. The Adobe application is perfect for my needs, quite easy to use, you can work with an entire photo or just with a part of it, lots of different filters, settings, macros and more things I still need to learn how to use.

PF: Name three photographer’s that have inspired you thru the years and why.

LM: I find lots of inspiration on Google+ and Flickr. Peter From (hey, that’s ME; editor’s remark) is a fantastic source of inspiration, both when it comes to photography and editing! A true artist, thank you! Kicki Holmén is a fantastic Swedish photographer. You can find her work mostly on Flickr. She’s an all-around photographer, with a very unique way to see and capture life! Thomas Hawk is, of course, a photographer I also like a lot, in my opinion he is a very versatile photographer – I never get bored of his work. 

There are a lot more of talented people I like but it’s a long list… 

PF: What is it about photography that you like the most?

LM: I’m very fond of colours, sometimes I think I see life in pure colours… Colours and Contrast is what I like most about photography.

PF: If you had lots and lots of money to spend on your photography, what would you buy?

LM: I’d buy new lenses. I would love to have a 14/2,8, a 35/2,8 and also I would like to try macro photography with a Canon 60/2,8 Macro, and I’m sure I could find more cool stuff to spend my money on … if I had a lot of money of course!

PF: Could you share a photography/editing tip with my readers?

LM: Of course! I never delete any photo directly in the camera because the photos that you might not be so happy about are perfect for experimentig! Open one of those “bad” ones, apply some cool filter, play with the exposure and contrast, and suddenly your bad picture has become magical! 

PF: Great tip Lorena… Now… What are you planning photographywise for the future?

LM: I actually never plan what I’m going to do photograpywise, maybe I should! lol My only project right now is my 366 album on Google+, a photo a day, and I’m planning to complete that task! Well, maybe I plan a little, I mean, I don’t plan what I’m going to photograph but I plan which places I want to go to and when I can do it and things like that, but once there I take photos of everything my eyes like!

PF: OK, one last question… Could you share your thoughts on Google+ with me and my readers? What do you think about the new Google social project?

LM: One of the most interesting and fun parts of taking photos, for me, is the possibility to share them with other people, on the internet. I post lots of photos on Flickr but I post more on Google+. I’ve been posting on Google+ since July and I could never have imagined that it could be such a great experience. Aside from posting, I really enjoy seeing other photographer’s work there. So much inspiration and source of knowledge this community is, and the interaction is fantastic! 

Also, thank you Peter for giving me the chance of being part of your great project here on PeterFrom.com.

PF: Thank you Loren for giving me the opportunity to put forward these questions to you – and for answering them.