If you’re a passionate nature photographer, visions of Iceland seemingly dance in your head. With its geological wonders and rugged magnificence, this small island nation affords boundless alternatives for capturing nature’s unscripted moments, whether or not it’s the glitter of a black-sand seaside or a snuggle between Arctic foxes.
What to Expect on an Iceland Photo Expedition
Intended for photographers who want to take a look at their abilities in such an intense panorama, our Iceland Full Circle: A Photo Pro Expedition ticks all of the bins. You’ll make a full circuit of the island to find all that the land has to supply in various mild and climate situations. Wondrous images awaits, from stark mountains and lava fields to thundering, ice-fed rivers and steaming craters. Watch from behind the lens as shaggy Icelandic horses graze and puffins play.
This thoughtfully designed Iceland picture itinerary was created to provide the most complete, all-encompassing encounter with Icelandic nature that you simply’ll discover, and in quieter locations comparatively unknown to different vacationers.
When you be a part of us (with a most of simply eight different avid photogs), you’ll:
- Have the prospect to {photograph} the world’s largest Atlantic puffin colony as you discover the secluded Westfjords and Westman Islands.
- Gain unparalleled views of the waterfalls, gorges, volcanic plains, fjords and extra on helicopter and small airplane flights.
- Land on a glacier for up-close ice images.
- Access off-the-beaten-path locations all through Iceland, together with fishing villages and farms on the little-visited east coast.
- Photograph a volcano crater whereas out on a 4×4 Super Jeep safari that descends to the crater flooring of the Askja caldera.
Intrigued? Read all concerning the Iceland Full Circle picture journey and what you’ll be able to anticipate every day.
For now, we hope to pique your picture curiosity with these 14 must-take Iceland photographs. Read on, too, for just a few ideas and methods from certainly one of our favourite Nat Hab Expedition Leaders and photographers, Court Whelan.
Can’t-Miss Photo Ops in Iceland
1. Cracks within the Earth (and More) in Thingvellir National Park
Get an aerial intro to Iceland on a two-hour “Fire and Ice” helicopter tour that takes you over Glymur, the very best waterfall in Iceland. Land on Thorisjokull Glacier to stroll on the ice, then proceed over the park by air, witnessing the continental drift of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. Land within the Hengill geothermal space and {photograph} sizzling springs and boiling mud pots.
Öxarárfoss Waterfall in Thingvellier National Park
Then, it’s on to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the place the place Iceland continues to type geologically. See and seize on digicam the very fissures the place Earth’s curst is separating. Later, Thingvellir continues to impress us with its Oxarafoss and Thorufoss waterfalls and the nation’s largest lake.
2. Puffins, Puffins … and More Puffins
Taken by Nat Hab Expedition Leader & Photo Pro © Eddy Savage
Spend hours with one of many world’s most charming seabirds—the Atlantic puffin! In the distant, seldom-visited Westman Islands, you and your digicam will get cozy with the planet’s largest colony of those cuties.
Set out by ferry to the principle island within the Westmans: Heimaey. These islands have been shaped by volcanic exercise between 10,000 and 20,000 years in the past and the land stays very dynamic. (There was one other eruption in 1973.) Our focus right here is the Atlantic puffin, so we take a stroll to Storhofoi to {photograph} the huge colony. You’ll see razorbill, guillemot, northern fulmar, northern gannet, shearwater, storm petrel, nice skua and black-legged kittiwakes, too. Few predators exist on the island, lending to the scale of the colony.
© Lianne Thompson
Later throughout your journey, go to Vigur Island within the Westfjords, a small outpost that’s dwelling to 1000’s of seabirds and a colony of 100,000 Atlantic puffins. Get your fill of puffin photographs right here, the place we might even see them carrying fish again to their nests.
3. Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss Waterfalls
This Nat Hab journey couple cherished photographing Skogafoss! © Lianne Thompson
After departing the Westman Islands, we’ll return to the mainland to {photograph} the spectacular waterfalls of the south coast. Feel the spray as you stroll behind the highly effective Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls. The latter is fed by the glacier-capped Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which plummets 206 ft into the Seljalands River. Later, we’ll make our approach to the Dyrholaey lighthouse and the Reynisdrangar Rocks in golden-hour mild for some moody picture moments.
4. Fire and Ice Perspectives in Katla Geopark
Along Iceland’s south coast, we study the dynamic relationship between fireplace and ice as we go to Katla UNESCO Global Geopark, which accommodates roughly 9% of Iceland’s landmass. The large glaciers and energetic volcanoes on this area have formed the land for millennia, and as not too long ago because the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull and 2011 Grimsvotn eruptions. Awe-inspiring picture angles are all over the place as you prepare your lens on the glacial rivers, lakes, purple lupin, black-sand seashores, huge lava fields and caverns of the park.
5. Black Sand and Seals
Skaftafell Glacier
Set off on a fixed-wing airplane flight over Skaftafell National Park for a hen’s-eye view of the black-sand and ash plain of Skeidararsandur. Don’t miss the prospect for placing pictures of the Skeidararjokull Glacier, draining off Vatnajokull, Iceland’s largest ice cap.
Diamond Beach
Later, we head to Diamond Beach, a professional photographer favourite for the pure sculptures created by icebergs from the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon. These fantastical bergs wash up on shore, making a glittering distinction with the volcanic black sand. Look, too, for seals on the seaside and orcas simply offshore.
6. Coastal Photography in Stokksnes and East Fjords
Beautiful surroundings of Vestrahorn mountain and rolling black sand dunes.
Moving towards the older areas of Iceland, alongside the east coast and on the Stokksnes Peninsula, we cease to take bucolic pictures of livestock grazing in inexperienced pastures, the double cascade of Skutafoss waterfall, jet-black sand seashores, 10-foot-high sand dunes carpeted with lime-green seaside grass, and the stark Vestrahorn mountain. This placing characteristic is made principally of uncommon gabbro rock, a plutonic magma practically 11 million years outdated.
Djupivogur
In the East Fjords, we go to the picturesque fishing village of Djupivogur, the place you’ll be able to seize native life, in addition to the whales, seals and dolphins that frequent the mouth of slender Berufjordur Fjord.
7. Mjoifjordur, the “Narrow Fjord”
Fishing boat wreck rusts away within the fjord at Mjoifjordur in Eastern Iceland.
One of essentially the most photogenic of the East Fjords, the slender finger of Mjoifjordur has surprisingly calm water, making for lovely reflection images. It’s seemingly we’ll see whales right here, as effectively. This really distant vacation spot feels tremendous particular as we entry it by way of a highway that’s solely open about 4 months a yr, when it’s snow-free. We proceed down the steep, winding gravel highway to the tip of the 11-mile fjord to seek out the basalt Dalatangi Lighthouse. We then overlook the close by Klifbrekkufossar, a seven-step waterfall that flows down a chasm lined with inexperienced vegetation, simply one other of the various fascinating contrasts that outline Iceland’s geology.
Klifbrekkufossar
Hoping for extra puffins? You’ll discover them at this time after we go to the tiny settlement of Borgarfjordur Eystri, recognized for its Atlantic puffin colony (and quite a few “elfin communities” that thrive in Icelandic mythology).
8. Litlanesfoss and Hengifoss Waterfalls
Litlanesfoss
From Egilsstadir, we journey inland alongside Lagarfloit Lake (native lore suggests {that a} sea monster lives inside its waters) to 2 distinctive waterfalls. Take time to get the proper angle on Litlanesfoss and Hengifoss, one of many tallest waterfalls in Iceland, as they cascade down between darkish columnar basalt cliffs.
Aerial view of Aldeyjarfoss, located within the northern a part of the Sprengisandur Road inside the Highlands of Iceland.
Nearby, we go to Hafrahvammagljfur Canyon, certainly one of Iceland’s most dramatic geological options. This slender gorge, hemmed by vertical partitions towering greater than 650 ft excessive, stretches virtually 5 miles from the Vatnajokull ice cap towards the Jokuldalur Valley.
9. Modrudalur Farm
Church of Modrudalur and conventional turf homes.
Set seemingly in the course of nowhere, the Modrudalur Farm is among the oldest farms in Iceland and the nation’s highest inhabited place. After driving via the rugged surrounding wilderness, the highlands farm feels oasis-like as you strategy.
Modrudalur’s resident farm canine is nice mates with the native wildlife! © Heather Chrystie
There is proof of the farm’s presence because the unique settlement by the Vikings and it sits the place two historic cross-country trails intersected. Spend two nights in a guesthouse on this space, offering loads of alternatives for pastoral images in a setting only a few vacationers ever go to.
10. Askja Crater
Take an thrilling 4×4 “Super Jeep” journey all the way down to the crater flooring of the Askja caldera for a close-up take a look at a dormant volcano. From right here, we’ll hike as much as the rim for the last word panorama. Photograph Lake Askja, which fills a part of the crater and is among the deepest lakes in Iceland at practically 700 ft. Come away with gorgeous photographs of this stark, open, lunar-like panorama. It’s so harking back to the moon that U.S. astronauts performed moon-landing workouts right here within the Nineteen Sixties!
© Court Whelan
11. Dettifoss, Selfoss and Lake
Dettifoss Waterfall
We can’t miss Dettifoss, Europe’s largest waterfall by quantity and essentially the most highly effective in Iceland. Typically, you’ll have the ability to get a dramatic picture of the falls with a rainbow over them. Take a second away from the lens to really feel the spray of this churning, thundering curtain of water 330 ft extensive and 150 ft excessive.
From right here, we transfer on to the placing Selfoss waterfall earlier than stopping at Lake Myvatn. Alive with geothermal exercise, the lake has seen lava flows as not too long ago as 1984 when Krafla volcano erupted. Photograph the pseudocraters of Skutustadir, that are shaped when lava flows over moist floor, pushing it down and trapping steam.
Myvatn geothermal space.
Look round for the unimaginable birdlife within the space and {photograph} nesting geese, horned grebe, nice northern diver, widespread loon, red-throated loon, whooper swan, Barrow’s goldeneye and different seasonal guests.
12. Godafoss
Godafoss At sundown.
Capture the melancholy temper of the attractive Godafoss, certainly one of Iceland’s most lovely waterfalls. Shaped like a crescent, it drops 40 ft over a sheer volcanic cliff. The cascade is called the “Waterfall of the Gods” and also you’ll quickly see why as you absorb the ethereal ambiance right here. In the summer time months, you’ll discover the luxurious inexperienced grass across the falls, whereas within the winter, this space is roofed in snow. The falls might even freeze, making for much more eye-catching images.
13. Westfjords
Fjord Isafjor
We’ll journey by mini bus within the Westfjords, permitting us to cease when the spirit of images strikes us. Gain perception into native life as we go via small fishing villages and quintessential Westfjords communities. Get a improbable panorama from the Bolafjell Lookout, a viewing platform that juts out from a 2,100-foot-high vertical cliff. And seize a golden-light view of the Dynjandi Waterfall, the biggest on this area of the nation.
Hornbjarg cliffs
Delve deeper into the Westfjords to see the scenic Reykjafjordur and the Drangajokull Glacier, the northernmost in Iceland, which lies subsequent to Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, an uninhabited wild space.
14. Svalvogar Circle
Pingeyri city, Westfjords.
We set off on one other Super Jeep tour, this time within the Westfjords’ wild hinterlands. Drive the Svalvogar Circle route, with frequent picture stops right here on the Fjallaskagi Peninsula. Observe wealthy birdlife at Onundarfjordur, see the village of Thingeyri, and ascend the go to realize views of the very best mountains within the Westfjords. All the whereas, preserve an eye fixed out for the Arctic fox.
Iceland Photography Tips from the Expert
We promised picture ideas, and right here they’re, from Nat Hab Expedition Leader extraordinaire, skilled photographer and our Chief Sustainability Officer Court Whelan. He calls Iceland “quite possibly one of the best places for landscape photography on the planet.” Here’s what Court carries with him when photographing Iceland:
- Wide-angle zoom lens: Your main go-to throughout your journey, with traditional 24-70mm and 24-105mm varieties
- Zoom telephoto: Ideal for panorama images, within the 70-200mm class (his favourite for Iceland is the 100-400mm f/4-5.6)
- Ultra-wide lens: Particularly for the Seljalandsfoss waterfall and for northern lights images
- Tripod: While not completely mandatory, can come in useful for silky waterfall photographs, the aurora borealis, and dawn and sundown photographs
- Filters: Specifically, a polarizing filter (for fickle mild situations) and a impartial density (ND) filter for silky waterfall pictures
- Extra batteries
- Extra reminiscence
- Waterproof gear bag
- A dry bag for digicam if you’re carrying it
Join Court Whelan in Iceland!
This is simply a place to begin to your Iceland picture journey prep. Read Court’s full article about what he packs in his digicam bag and a few of his tales from the sector.
Have your sights set on Iceland? We hope you’ll be a part of us on our Iceland Full Circle: A Photo Pro Expedition quickly! Not a photograph buff however nonetheless wish to discover Iceland? Check out our Iceland: Circling the Land of Fire & Ice nature journey.