Tour description:

This demanding photography tour will take you through some of the most remote and least accessible areas of the Icelandic central highlands.

The colors of the mountains in Landmannalaugar are unbelievable. It’s a geothermal area with hot springs, bubbling mud pots and active volcanoes. The evening and morning light in midsummer lingers on for hours and paints an unforgettable picture of this stunning landscape into your camera.

The Vatnajökull national park is the largest national park in Europe. The ice cave in Kverkfjöll is carved by an warm underground river from a hot spring beneath the glacier. Europe largest icecap hovering above. We cross highland deserts and visit a green oasis between glaciers and volcanoes.

This photography workshop is more of an expedition. 10 days of travel with special large tire 4x4 off road vehicles through demanding terrain. We spend the nights in cabins and pop up campers. You’ll have nothing to carry except your camera gear and extra clothing. This journey is an unforgettable experience

Highlights of the experience:

• Europe’s largest glacier
• Colorful rhyolite mountains.
• Active volcanic area
• Breathtaking light in midsummer
• A demanding off road expedition
• Camping in mountain cabins

Included: A boat tour on the Glacier lagoon and walk on ice tour.

RAW LANDSCAPE

It’s all about fine art landscape photography. The scenary will keep you busy taking new exciting photographs. The Workshop is more about learning from me and from others in the group if and when you need it. There may be informal discussion inbetween locations if the light is poor. It depends on the level  and intrerest of the group what we choose to cover. See list.

Workshop agenda:

Topics for discussion:

Landscape photography:

• Photography is simple!
• Image stabilization/tripod
• Long exposure/Bulb
• Remote trigger
• Maximizing sharpness
• Depth of field
• Choosing the right lens
• Outdoor flash

Composition:

• Composition out of chaos
• Rule of thirds
• KISS
• Fibonacci
• Interpreting a scene into an artwork.
• Simple color, longer lasting impact
• Choosing your palette
• Vivid color for imagination
• The design of Pandemonium
• Serenity of the plain
• Dramatic and dynamic
• Mystery, Ambiguity and Contradiction – MAC theory

Creative techniques:

• Develop a personal style
• Using creative filters
• HDR / Bracketing
• Panorama stitching
• Timelapse 
• Intro to SLR video

Post production:

• Digital workflow
• Color calibration
• From screen to print
• Lightroom/Aperture adjustments
• Develop dramatic sky
• Advanced Lightroom
• Tethered shooting in Lightroom
• Specific Photoshop techniques.
• The fine art print
• Papers and printers
• Presentation

Suncycle

From mid July to end of August the sun goes down for just a couple of hours. The nights are bright and it doesn't go completely dark until end of August. One can expect sunset/sunrise to last for 2-3 hours! That's plenty of time for a "magic hour".

Itinerary:

Day 1. Scenic drive to Landmannalaugar, a nature reserve.

Pick up at hotel. We drive through the Golden circle site of Geysir and waterfall, Gullfoss. There are lush farmlands to drive through before we reach the highlands just a couple of hours of driving distance from Reykjavik. Before we reach Landmannalaugar we stop frequently since the landscape changes every few kilometers.

Camping in Landmannalaugar - 1

Day 2. Photograph colorful rhyolite mountains and canyons.

Landmannalaugar must be a top ten locations for landscape photographers in the world! We hike and drive the area in a day in which one can spend a week shooting without getting tired. If in doubt just Google it! Words simply don’t do it justice.

Camping in Landmannalaugar - 2

Day 3. Lake Langisjór amidst black desert and green mountains.

We then head for Langisjór which is beautiful lake amidst black desert and stay overnight at a cabin by Sveinstindur. Optional hike on top of mount Sveinstindur by sunset, 1090m (4-500m elevation). It has a incredible view of the surrounding glaciers, mountains, rivers, craters and lakes.

Cabin by Sveinstindur for 1 night.

Day 4. 4x4 adventure.

We continue our journey on 4x4s through this difficult terrain. Drive trough mountain passes. On this leg we are towered by the immensity of Vatnajökull glacier. We drive Gæsavatnaleið to the Askja caldera. This is an exciting leg of the tour. A real challenge for the trucks and the expedition with many fords to pass. We continue our trip to Herðubreið where we will spend the night by a beautiful oasis in this vast desert. Herðubreið is called queen of all Icelandic mountains. The name means broad shoulders and it’s symmetric shape is found in many great photographs. The oasis is full of life and rich color amidst the subdued earthly palette of the surrounding black desert. 

Camping by Mt Herðubreið - 1

Day 5. Dragon canyon, Askja caldera and desert oasis.

In the morning we hike into Dragon canyon, Drekagil. Then we visit Askja, the biggest caldera in Iceland filled with the second deepest lake in Iceland. We will swim in a crater filled with warm water. It’s called “Hell” (Víti). It has a foul sulfuric smell but is supposed to have healing power. You will be amazed by the rich color in the rock all around you. We spend another night by Mt. Herðubreið.

Camping by Mt Herðubreið - 2

Day 6. The ice caves in Kverkfjöll.

Mt Kverkfjöll is part of Vatnajökull glacier. It offers geological marvels, colorful mountains, ice caves and advancing glaciers. We walk on ice and photograph this incredible scenery. Then we walk under the glacier to explore the famous ice cave and the hot springs.

 Camping in Kverkfjöll - 1

Day 7. Deep canyon and a shower in a warm natural waterfall.

We continue to explore the highlands north of Vatnajökull, Europe’s largest dam at Kárahnjúkar, shower off the desert dust in a natural hot spring waterfall at Laugavalladalur. Close by are the deepest canyons in Iceland, Hafrahvammaglúfur, over 200 meters (600feet) of vertical drop. We pass Eyjabakkar where you can might see reindeer and wild geese on mellow lakes on the way. We pass Mount Snæfell fourth highest peak in Iceland. It stands alone and proud. In my mind it’s the king of Icelandic mountains well within sight from his queen. The tour is downhill from here, meaning we go off the highlands and then south.

Camping in Hallormsstaður forest - 1

Day 7. Monster lake.

The group can relax in Hallormstaður, a small forest by a lake. There is tale of a serpent looming in the lake. A loch ness relative. We use the time to run through the files and learns new tricks. In the afternoon we drive through east fjords to the south side of Vatnajökull. There are perhaps some of the most amazing gems of Iceland yet to appear.

Camping by the glacier lagoon - 1

Day 8. Glacier lagoon.

Next is the glacier lagoon, Jökulsárlón, where we go on a boat tour to photograph the floating icebergs from all sides. We hit the beach and shoot the melting ice on a black sand in the waves of the north Atlantic ocean. The sunset is usually amazing from Ingólfshöfði with vistas of the highest peak in Iceland – Öræfajökull. We camp in Skaftafell national park with Öræfajökull (glacier peak) towering 2110 meters above (6.900feet).

Camping in Skaftafell - 1

Day 9. Skaftafell national park. Waterfalls and glacier peaks.

The plan is to be up early and photograph the sunrise. Then we hike to one of most iconic waterfall in Iceland, Svartifoss. The river falls off columnar rock formation about 60 meters down. The water makes the rock almost black but the symmetric unusual shape and the dynamics of it all is well worth the effort. One can walk behind it and shoot from many interesting angles. The rest of the day you can use for leisure walks in the park or just relax and soak it in. Don’t forget to enjoy your vacation in Iceland. Chill out.

Camping in Skaftafell - 2

Day 10. The south shore spectacles.

There are many spectacles in our route. We go through Eldhraun which is mixture of sharp lava and soft moss up to two feet deep. It’s a fairly long drive to Reykjavík but plenty to shoot on the way. We pass through the most photographed area in Iceland so we stop frequently and fill our cards and hard drives with valuable data. You will have enough images to keep you busy for months to come. The workshop agenda will help you make the most of it.

End of tour.

NOTE: Tour is subject to change without prior notice. There may be variation of same tour on different dates.

Details:

Accommodation:

The nights are spent in heated mountain cabins when available and in comfortable pop up campers. 

Cuisine:

Breakfast on campsite, light lunch in the outdoors when on location. Coffee- or tee-break in the afternoon. Dinner on campground or barbeque outdoors. 

Transportation:

We use specially modified 4x4’s to use on glaciers and in crossing rivers. They are very comfortably to ride with ample space for passengers. 

Weather:

During the summer the weather is really mild. Temperatures are often between 13° and 20° on Celsius (55-70°F) with highs in the range of 20-25°C (70-76°F) and lows very rarely below freezing. In the highlands the weather is often more calm and seems better even though it’s not showing on the thermometer. Always bring along wind and rain jackets when wandering off from camp. Due to sunlight the temperatures don’t drop that much during the night so camping is usually a pleasant experience.

Local Culture:

We try to photograph local events to explore the Nordic culture. Those events are often published on short notice. There are also quite a few small museums that is subject to group decision.

Summary:

Tour dates:

Price:  €3.800 / £3.300 / $5.200 - all inclusive land only.