ICELAND- CHASING ICE
Iceland – The land of fire and ice! On this epic adventure along the south coast of Iceland you will experience the best of what this incredible stretch of Iceland has to offer. Our focus will be on capturing scenes that we connect to and that makes the images unique. Iceland has been a hot spot for landscape photography for a decade, but its still possible to return with truly unique material with a deep personal connection.
Across eight memorable days we will take in the landscapes and light conditions that have made Iceland one of the world’s premier photography destinations.
Highlights of the trips
Chasing the Aurora Borealis
There is nothing more magical than experiencing the northern lights. And Iceland is one of the prime locations in the world to do this. We will be chasing the lights on every occasion, over black lava sand beaches and icy lagoons. Dancing above the jagged mountains at Vestrahorn. It doesnt get more magical than this!
The Ice Caves
The world famus ice caves of Vatnajokull will be one of the highlights of the trip. These unique caves offer photo opportunities that will leave you speechless. The light dancing on ice crystal walls, with all shades of deep blues, your own creativity is the only limiting factor. The caves change every year, so no shots are the same. For photographers this is one of the most magical experiences on earth!
We will spend 2 days shooting these caves. Its a paradise for making abstract images and you will return with unique material.
The diamond beach and Jokulsarlon
One of our main locations on this trip will be Jokulsarlon Ice Lagoon and the close by Breidamerkursandur beach. The lagoon is filled with icebergs calving off Vatnajokul glacier. Its a spectacular sight. The lagoon is connected to the ocean via a short river stretch and the icebergs flows down the river before being washed ashore by the constant incoming waves. The result is thousands of icebergs, of any color and size, spread across the lava sand beach. A photographer can spend days exploring and finding new compositions every 10 meter. Its simply an incredible experience!
Itinerary
Day 1 – Arrival in Iceland – drive to Vik
Day one begins with your arrival at Keflavík International Airport where we will meet you and start the adventure. On the first day we drive to Vik where we check in at our hotel. If the skies are clear we will head out to shoot the aurora in the evening.
Day 2 – Reynisfjara, Dyrholey
Here we will photograph the famous Reynisfjara beach and Dyrholey Lighthouse. The black-sand-beach Reynisfjara is our main focus today. This magical stretch of coastline was once voted amongst the most beautiful non-tropical beaches in the world, and your photographs will tell the story as to why.
The main subjects from Reynisfjara beach are the Reynisdrangar sea-stacks. These two basalt columns rise straight from the thundering ocean. Though this is a fantastic photography location (especially if the northern lights make an appearance towards the end of your shoot). We will also visit Dyrholey lighthouse with several great angles on basalt arches as well as the Reynisdrangar sea stacks.
After sunset we drive to Höfn and check in at our next hotel.
Day 3 – Vestrahorn and Eystrahorn
On day three, you will continue along the South Coast until you reach Höfn, a small village all the way on the south east corner of Iceland. Here we will spend a day photographing the incredible Vestrahorn mountains.
This dramatic mountain is surrounded by ominous black sands, allowing you take pictures revealing the stark, barren and often haunting nature of Iceland’s landscapes. There are several angles you can picture it from, which may also include the churning Atlantic Ocean.
We will also photograph the lesser known but equally epic Eystrahorn.
At night we will chase the northern lights at the beach.
Hotel for the night: Fosshotel Vatnajokul
Day 4 to 6 – Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon and surrounding areas. Ice caves!
We move west again, staying at the very nice Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon. Over the next 2 days we will be experiencing hte most incredible that Iceland has to offer. Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon and the diamond beach will be visited several times. We will spend 2 days at Vatnajokul glacier and explore the ice caves. We have a local expert guide with us, making sure everything is done with safety as the highest priority. Your memory cards will be full these days! Imagine shooting the northern lights over the ice diamonds on the beach!
If the forecast is clear we will try to make a visit to the icecaves at night to shoot the aurora through openings in the caves.
Hotel for the nights: Fosshotel Glacier Lagoon
Day 7 – Reykjanes peninsula
We head back to Keflavik for our final night. Close to Keflavik is the volcanic peninsula of Reykjanes. Here we will visit the geothermal area Gunnuhver with fascinating sulphur pot holes and incredible mud formations. We will also shoot seascapes at Reykjanes lighthouse.
Hotel for the night: Park Inn By Radisson
Day 8 – Travel home
After breakfast we drive to Keflavik Airport where we get on our flights back home after a week full of amazing experiences and lots of fun.
GUIDED BY ARILD HEITMANN & STIAN KLO
