ICELAND

Iceland is just one of those places that all landscape photographers have to go. For such a small island, the diversity of landscapes is breathtaking. Waterfalls are everywhere caused by the run off from the huge glaciers in the centre, and then there are the incredible colourful rocks in the highlands and the stunning beauty of the Westfjords. It's also a country where one visit will never be enough, there's just too much to see there. You could quite happily spend a couple of weeks just driving around the ring road visiting the well known locations like Skogafoss, Vik, Godafoss and the Vestrahorn, but that would be to miss out on the other-worldly magnificence of the central highlands and the thousands of lesser know locations that are everywhere in Iceland. It's also a country of rapidly changing weather which can go from moody low cloud to sweeping light in a matter of minutes and where it's always possible to fit the tone of your photography with the mood of the light.

My travel blogs on Iceland are here

WATERFALLS

HaifossThe falls at Haifoss tumble 150m into the canyon below in Iceland's highlands — **Haifoss**
The falls at Haifoss tumble 150m into the canyon below in Iceland's highlands

**Haifoss I**
At the bottom of Iceland’s third highest waterfall in Iceland’s Highlands

**Haifoss II**
At the bottom of Iceland’s third highest waterfall in Iceland’s Highlands

**Haifoss III**
At the bottom of Iceland’s third highest waterfall in Iceland’s Highlands

**Haifoss Cliffs**
A wider perspetive captures the incredible cliffs of Haifoss from the river valley

**Haifoss Valley**
A drone image of the Haifoss waterfall thundering into the valley.

**Haifoss Flow**
A 1 second exposure blurs the water at the bottom of Haifoss waterfall

**Bláfjallafoss**
Driving a jeep across a waterfall. Just another day in Iceland’s Highlands

**Kvernufoss**
If you like waterfalls Iceland is certainly the country for you. This is Kvernufoss on Iceland’s south coast, captured on a recent workshop there

BruarfossThe water at the falls of Bruarfoss runs so blue it looks as though someone has put coloured powder in it. Beneath midnight clouds it really is a beautiful sight. — Bruarfoss
The water at the falls of Bruarfoss runs so blue it looks as though someone has put coloured powder in it. Beneath midnight clouds it really is a beautiful sight.

SigöldugljufurThe water falls in multiple streams as this river is split on it’s passage across the plains of Iceland’s highlands before collecting again into this beautiful coloured river. — Sigöldugljufur
The water falls in multiple streams as this river is split on it’s passage across the plains of Iceland’s highlands before collecting again into this beautiful coloured river.

The CanyonA telephoto view of one of Iceland’s most incredible canyons showing the fantastic natural symmetry of the place scene. — **The Canyon**
A telephoto view of one of Iceland’s most incredible canyons showing the fantastic natural symmetry of the place scene.

**Bruarfoss**
Powder blue waters cascade at Bruarfoss

**Gljúfrabúi**
The beautiful Gljúfrabúi waterfall in Iceland, hidden in cave accessible down a narrow canyon

THE HIGHLANDS

EmstrurLooking east at sunset in the Emstrur region of Iceland's highlands. From left to right the peaks and ridges are Tuddi, Útigönguhöftar, Stórkonufell, Litla-Mófell, Stóra-Mófell and the Botnar ridge. — Emstrur
Looking east at sunset in the Emstrur region of Iceland's highlands. From left to right the peaks and ridges are Tuddi, Útigönguhöftar, Stórkonufell, Litla-Mófell, Stóra-Mófell and the Botnar ridge.

**The Blue Lake**
Deep in Iceland’s Highlands this beautiful crater link lies hidden and is only possible to see from above. I captured this with a drone as low cloud swept across this incredible isolated landscape

**Brennisteinsalda**
The incredibly colourful valley of Brennisteinsalda in Landmannalaugar

**Brennisteinsalda II**
The incredibly colourful valley of Brennisteinsalda in Landmannalaugar

LandmannalaugarLate afternoon light (well, it was around 10pm) in the valley of Landmannalaugar in Iceland's highlands — **Landmannalaugar**
Late afternoon light (well, it was around 10pm) in the valley of Landmannalaugar in Iceland's highlands

Landmannalaugar WinterThe beautiful valley of Landmannalaugar. i’ve photographed this view many times in summer and it’s always incredible with the colourful rhyolite hills, but in winter with a blanket of snow it takes on a completely different lif… — **Landmannalaugar Winter**
The beautiful valley of Landmannalaugar. i’ve photographed this view many times in summer and it’s always incredible with the colourful rhyolite hills, but in winter with a blanket of snow it takes on a completely different life.

**Frozen Landmannalaugar**
Iceland’s Highlands in deep winter are a perfect expanse of whiteness. Crossing them in a specially converted 4x4 the sense of solitude is complete.

Landmannalaugar AerialThe Landmannalaugar valley captured with a drone for an aerial perspective — **Landmannalaugar Aerial**
The Landmannalaugar valley captured with a drone for an aerial perspective

**Hnausapollur Crater**
The incredible blue water of the Hnausapollur crater lake in the Iceland Higlands. I scrambled up here sometime before sunrise on the recent Iceland workshop to get an elevated view of this awesome place. Photos can’t really do justice to how big this lake is, nor how high up were to shoot it.

**Kerlingarfjoll**
The incredible other-world landscape of the Kerlingarfjoll geothermal area.

**Kerlingarfjoll Bridge**
The smoke and steam of the Kerlingarfjoll geothermal area

**Brennisteinsalda**
A telephoto abstract of the colourful hills of Brennisteinsalda in Iceland’s Highlands

**Another Planet**
The wilderness of Langisjor as a storm rolls in

**Langisjor Rain**
Distant mountains in layers of mist and rain in the depths of Iceland’s Highlands

**Highland Light I**
Low cloud and light combine to create ethereal conditions in Iceland’s Highlands. This image was captured near Thorsmork

**Maelifell**
The conical mountain of Maelifell rising from the black volcanic plain of the Maelifellsandur infront of the Mýrdalsjökull glacier is one of the most striking landscapes in the Highlands

**Highland Light II**
Low cloud and backlit rain create a dramatic landscape on the road to Kerlingarfjoll

**Mælifell II**
The volcanic cone or Mælifell in the southern part of Iceland’s highlands

**Maelifellsandur**
The days last light sweeps across Maelifellsandur and the volcanic cone of Maelifell

**Langisjor**
The remote lake of Langisjor and the mountain of Sveinstindur in Iceland’s Highlands

**Langisjor Rivers**
Near the lake of Langisjor river braids flow around the hills and mountains deep in the Highlands.

**Langisjor II**
An aerial of the incredible lake deep in Iceland’s Highlands

LandmannalaugarLast light illuminates the Jokulgil river valley and the rhyolite mountains of Landmannalaugar in the Icelandic highlands — Landmannalaugar
Last light illuminates the Jokulgil river valley and the rhyolite mountains of Landmannalaugar in the Icelandic highlands

THE SOUTH COAST

JökulsarlonAn aerial panorama of the frozen plain and peaks next to Jökulsarlon glacier lagoon, taken with a drone during the blue hour. — **Jökulsarlon**
An aerial panorama of the frozen plain and peaks next to Jökulsarlon glacier lagoon, taken with a drone during the blue hour.

**The Big Ship**
A rock stack stands alone in the endless black sands of iceland’s south coast. A drone gives an aerial perspective and helps to give the image some scale

**Vestrahorn**
The jagged peaks of Vestrahorn in south west Iceland at dawn

VestrahornIn summer in Iceland sunsets and sunrises blend into one another and on the evening I was shooting these peaks on on the south eastern corner of the country I had some of the most amazing light and colour I've ever experienced in Iceland. … — **Vestrahorn**
In summer in Iceland sunsets and sunrises blend into one another and on the evening I was shooting these peaks on on the south eastern corner of the country I had some of the most amazing light and colour I've ever experienced in Iceland. This is a 6 image stitched panorama of the black sand dunes and mountain range in this incredible place.

StakkholtsgjaA frozen waterfall at the end of Stakkholtsgja canyon near Thorsmork — **Stakkholtsgja**
A frozen waterfall at the end of Stakkholtsgja canyon near Thorsmork

VatnajökulStanding beneath the ice in the Vatnajökul glacier. The melting water carves holes down through the ice creating incredible patterns. — **Vatnajökul**
Standing beneath the ice in the Vatnajökul glacier. The melting water carves holes down through the ice creating incredible patterns.

**The Ice Cave**
The ice beneath the Jokulsarlon glacier is 800 years old. Standing there as the light filters through you can’t help but be a little awed at what the forces of nature and time have shaped here

**In The Ice**
Standing in a tunnel made completely of ice inside the Vatnajökul glacier

BreiðamerkursandurThe plain of Breiðamerkursandur is a long black beach where icebergs from the lagoon of Jokulsarlon are washed up by the tide. It’s often called diamond beach because of all of the icebergs on the black sand and we spent some time … — **Breiðamerkursandur**
The plain of Breiðamerkursandur is a long black beach where icebergs from the lagoon of Jokulsarlon are washed up by the tide. It’s often called diamond beach because of all of the icebergs on the black sand and we spent some time there on my recent Iceland workshop when I took this shot. It’s a half second exposure to give a small amount of blur to the waves as they recede around the small icebergs on the black sand.

Vestrahorn IIThe dunes on the beach at Stokksnes catch the days first light — **Vestrahorn II**
The dunes on the beach at Stokksnes catch the days first light

Vestrahorn PanoramaA multi image panorama of the Vestrahorn peaks at sunrise taken with a drone — **Vestrahorn Panorama**
A multi image panorama of the Vestrahorn peaks at sunrise taken with a drone

FjallsarlonIcebergs float on the glacier lake of Fjallsarlon on a misty day in southern Iceland — **Fjallsarlon**
Icebergs float on the glacier lake of Fjallsarlon on a misty day in southern Iceland

JokulsarlonSunset at the lagoon of Jokulsarlon. The huge Vatnajökull glacier (the biggest icecap outside of the two poles) is in the background and a branch of it comes down the valley to the lagoon where icebergs calve off, float across the lagoon,… — Jokulsarlon
Sunset at the lagoon of Jokulsarlon. The huge Vatnajökull glacier (the biggest icecap outside of the two poles) is in the background and a branch of it comes down the valley to the lagoon where icebergs calve off, float across the lagoon, and then eventually out to sea. The ice here is 1000 years old apparently

**Hjorleifshofdi**
The shape of this cave makes for a great silhouette when shooting out from the inside. We took shelter here from a passing rain storm and ate lunch.

**Fjadrargljufur Canyon**
An aerial view of Fjadrargljufur canyon on Iceland’s southern coast

Reynisfjara WinterA photographer captures the sunrise at the black sand Reynisfjara beach — **Reynisfjara Winter**
A photographer captures the sunrise at the black sand Reynisfjara beach

Reynisfjara IIThe stunning black sand beach at Reynisfjara with its iconic rock stacks, captured around midnight one summer night a few years ago. I always love this location, it always feels dramatic to be here. I used a fast exposure to capture th… — **Reynisfjara II**
The stunning black sand beach at Reynisfjara with its iconic rock stacks, captured around midnight one summer night a few years ago. I always love this location, it always feels dramatic to be here.
I used a fast exposure to capture the birds in flight, and a slightly slower one to give me a little blur in the waves, and then blended them together in post.

**Reynisdrangar**
The jagged spire of Reynisdrangar off the coast of Vík in Iceland. There are so many different ways to shoot this place. Wide or with telephoto, fast exposure to freeze the waves or long exposure to blur them, it’s always an exciting place to shoot. This was captured last month at sunrise. I took loads of frames as the sun back lit the waves, trying to get the perfect frame that really showed the power of the ocean here.

SNAEFELLSNES

**Arnarstapi**
A lone cottage at the edge of the ocean in the fishing village of Arnarstapi in western Iceland

**Kirkjufell**
Kirkjufell in in Iceland, despite visiting Iceland many times over the last 11 years I’d never actually visited this iconic spot until this year. It really is a fascinating mountain and photogenic from pretty much any angle.

**Icelandic Light**
In my experience golden light like this is pretty rare in Iceland, so when it comes you have to find a way to take advantage of it wherever you are

**Kirkjufell II**
Frozen sea ice in front of Kirkjufell mountain

**Ingjaldshólskirkja**
The church at Ingjaldshólskirkja in Western Iceland on a cloudy, snowy day. I love days like this for photography in Iceland, the mood it conveys just fits the locations so well.

**Aurora Abstract I**
The strongest solar storm in the last 15 years found is in a part of Iceland with 100% cloud coverage and the only place we could find where we could see the sky was in the middle of nowhere, giving us no foreground to use to put the aurora against. The only solution was to point the camera directly up at the sky and make abstracts as the sky exploded in colour above us.

**Aurora Abstract II**
The strongest solar storm in the last 15 years found is in a part of Iceland with 100% cloud coverage and the only place we could find where we could see the sky was in the middle of nowhere, giving us no foreground to use to put the aurora against. The only solution was to point the camera directly up at the sky and make abstracts as the sky exploded in colour above us.

**Aurora Abstract III**
The strongest solar storm in the last 15 years found is in a part of Iceland with 100% cloud coverage and the only place we could find where we could see the sky was in the middle of nowhere, giving us no foreground to use to put the aurora against. The only solution was to point the camera directly up at the sky and make abstracts as the sky exploded in colour above us.

FAGRADALSFJALL ERUPTION

**Fagradalsfjall Flow III**
The lava flows from the volcano at Fagradalsfjall captured with a drone

**Fagradalsfjall Flow**
Lava flows from the Fagradalsfjall crater

**Fagradalsfjall**
The crater of Fagradalsfjall glows as it slowly wakes in the blue hour before sunrise

AERIAL ABSTRACTS

BraidsThe incredible river braids of Iceland rivers get these colours and textures from the silt they pick up as they come down from the glaciers. It contrasts with the black river beds and the colourful moss and algae. I captured this image as we f… — **Braids**
The incredible river braids of Iceland rivers get these colours and textures from the silt they pick up as they come down from the glaciers. It contrasts with the black river beds and the colourful moss and algae. I captured this image as we flew across the river deltas of the south of the country in a light aircraft.

**River Braids**
Deep in the Highlands the glacial waters create river braids which look almost 3 dimensional when seen from above

**Flood**
The river braids of Iceland in high flood waters after heavy rain

MarkaflojtThe braids of Iceland's Markaflojt river. The waters run down from the glaciers of Iceland's central highlands creating incredible patterns as they cross the black volcanic sands which can be seen from a low flying light aircraft. — **Markaflojt**
The braids of Iceland's Markaflojt river. The waters run down from the glaciers of Iceland's central highlands creating incredible patterns as they cross the black volcanic sands which can be seen from a low flying light aircraft.

Markaflojt IIAnother image of the river braid in Iceland taken from a low flying light aircraft. — **Markaflojt II**
Another image of the river braid in Iceland taken from a low flying light aircraft.

Svinafellsajökul AerialA drone image looking directly down on the ancient ice of the Svinafellsajökul glacier — **Svinafellsajökul Aerial**
A drone image looking directly down on the ancient ice of the Svinafellsajökul glacier

Frozen HeartAn aerial view of a frozen heart shape in the Landmannalaugar river. — **Frozen Heart**
An aerial view of a frozen heart shape in the Landmannalaugar river.

StórasúlaThe peak of Stórasúla shot during an aerial flight above the highlands. The views from the plane were absolutely amazing, the patterns of green and black with patches of white snow. Iceland is an amazing country, and the views from the air … — **Stórasúla**
The peak of Stórasúla shot during an aerial flight above the highlands. The views from the plane were absolutely amazing, the patterns of green and black with patches of white snow. Iceland is an amazing country, and the views from the air above the highlands are some of the most stunning I've ever seen.
When shooting from a plane it's important to have as fast a shutter speed as possible to keep the image sharp. As depth of field isn't a problem from a plane, then shooting at a fast aperture, as well as raising the ISO allow shutter speeds of between 1/500 and 1/1000,

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