Iceland Trip in Review
(click on images to view them full size)
More images of this trip can be found in the Iceland Galleries.
What an amazing trip.
This is my second trip to Iceland for landscape photography and while I expected it to be different than my visit in December, I was not prepared for how different. We took the southern ring road as the northern route is not suitable for tourist travel until the summer (i.e., rough roads that can be quite impassable during rough weather - especially without a 4x4 vehicle), so I was able to revisit some of the locations from my first trip.
Black sand dunes in the foreground really help to anchor this image.
I really appreciated visiting some of the same locations again as my experience level and expectations as well as photographic eye have changed significantly from the first trip (check out my Iceland galleries to see the differences).
Then everything was new and exciting and overwhelming, whereas now I have a better appreciation for the scenes and compositions that I want to shoot. I still found it challenging, but for different reasons.
Oyster Catcher in the early morning sunrise.
The days were much longer and I often headed out at 6 am for a walk about our accommodations and a short photoshoot before breakfast. Days were long with varied locations for photoshoots and some evenings we didn’t have dinner until 9:30pm. I found conditions even more changeable than in December with everything from rain to fog to snow to 15C bright sunshine - and sometimes all in one day.
There were 4 guests including me (3 from the UK) and our guide (Paul who I introduced in my last blog post). We were an interesting group with one architectural photographer who could often be found focusing on intimate landscapes of shapes and patterns, one model photographer (portfolio and head shots) who spent time waiting for birds to leave the frame - unlike me, one landscape/ICM photographer who seemed most in her element during this trip and me - a wildlife and bird photographer who couldn’t help but spend time focused on the nesting fulmars and other species we found. It was a good group and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them.
Vestrahorn at sunset with the layering caused by the sea mist rolling in..
The quality of the light was much different from my last trip with the sun being much higher in the sky than the low angle light in December. Having said this, Iceland still delivered on epic light that often lasted well past sunset.
I found that the light and colours were much more muted which surprised me a bit as I thought lower angle light would have had more of that effect.
It is likely due to the fact that we had a few more cloudy and misty days that created some of this effect in my images as there seemed to be a lot more sea mist rolling in during early morning and late evening shoots creating an ethereal effect.
Another difference I found from my previous trip was the abundance of wildlife and birds which are returning from winter migration locations.
I had no issues finding compositions incorporating wildlife and I often chose to shoot birds against the landscape.
The fulmars were nesting by the hundreds and one of my trip highlights was seeing Harlequin Ducks in the Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon).
Harlequin ducks in the glacier lagoon.
Not shooting the typical scenes.
Amazing morning light over an inland lake.
One of my favourite things was that while we had a loose agenda (i.e., destinations and accommodation locations to hit) we often stopped at some interim spot if the light was doing something interesting or there was a subject someone wanted to capture.
This made for very interesting and non-typical images which I really enjoyed. I am coming to appreciate being able to photograph scenes that aren’t replicating what so many other people have photographed.
Reindeer in the early morning against the mountains.
One day we saw reindeer by a small pond at the side of the road and so we stopped for an impromptu photoshoot which lasted much longer than expected when the reindeer started wading through the pond.
I was able to move around and get low down in a depression in front of them and at that point I was very grateful for my 100-400mm lens with the 1.4TC attached. I had enough reach to capture them without spooking them by getting too close.
The early morning light was so lovely and the reindeer with the glacier and mountains in the background really said “Iceland”.
Cottage accommodations.
I appreciated the approach of stopping and photographing impromptu scenes and Paul’s previous trips to Iceland clearly included a lot of off the beaten track explorations which we benefited from.
We also stayed in boutique style hotels which were often quirky and interesting in themselves - including a converted Milk Factory and a cottage on an inland lake.
This pretty yellow cottage was a warm and cozy retreat when the weather turned and the snow and wind came howling.
How did I do with gear?
Iceland photography gear.
I was a bit concerned with what gear to bring as it is always a balancing act between too much weight and too much choice (photographers work better with constraints I’ve found) and not having the right gear.
I think that I did pretty good as I used all of the gear I brought with the exception of the 14-30mm lens - I found the 24 - 120mm was great for most scenes and if I wanted a wider angle I used my phone (iPhone 15 Pro).
I also took two camera bodies which was really helpful with one having my 24-120mm lens attached at all times and the other was dedicated to the 100-400mm lens.
With rain and snowy conditions I found that I didn’t want to be changing lenses and risk getting dirt or contaminants on my camera’s sensor which shows up as spots on images and creates editing headaches.
Overall I think I did well with what I took.
Vestrahorn at sunset.
I was especially impressed with the new Case filter system I used - it is a magnetic system that just clips on over the front of the lens and you can stack several filters which is convenient for using a polarizer and an ND (neutral density) filter. The ND filters were necessary when trying to capture images of moving water with a slow shutter speed. I also used them to create some new abstract images I’ve been experimenting with ever since taking a course with Erik Malm through My Photo Club (link to blog post).
I didn’t have to worry about not bringing my 14 - 24mm F2.8 lens which is brilliant for taking Northern Lights images because again we didn’t see any on this trip. I think I may be destined to not photograph Northern Lights in Iceland - it might also be a boon as I’m more of a morning person after all!
I could not complain with the wonderful colour pallets that the evening light and sunsets provided. We had a full spectrum of conditions and light to play with that no two photoshoots were the same.
The last time I photographed Vestrahorn at sunset the pinks and purples extended well past sunset and I found that I enjoyed the blue hour even more. This time the conditions did not disappoint either. The golden light bathed the tips of the grasses in golden tones while the sea mist reflected the purplish tones of the dying light.
There were so many layers and contrasts to the scenes which lent a complex depth to the landscape and made photographing under these conditions a pure joy.
What have I taken away from this trip?
This trip was a good one for me to really push myself out of my comfort zone - I am not a landscape photographer and I’m not sure I will ever excel in this genre, however I do enjoy the way it forces me to really search for compositions and to take my time setting up the shot. Failure to take the time planning and preparing for a shot while I’m in the moment often means an “oh shoot” why didn’t I move back or to the left or right a bit more as I’ve cut out some key element I wanted to include.
Apart from some amazing images and a feeling that I’ve really grown in my compositional abilities since my last trip, I feel that I was able to really slow down and practice mindfulness during this trip. There were many times when I just stopped shooting and paused to take in the serenity of the scene around me. I also met some great people and I’m hoping to stay connected with my fellow trip photographers in the future.
I don’t think that I’m done with my love affair with Iceland and I’m even toying with my next trip being to the Western Fjords during migration season.
Is there any place that has really captured your imagination that you either want to visit or have visited multiple times? I’d love to hear about it as I’m always interested in where people like to visit.
Icelandic sunset landscape image.
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
