An unforgettable trip to Iceland
I always enjoy the feeling of stepping off a plane in a new country for the first time, that sudden embrace of weather, landscape and language. It’s the beginning of July and I’d normally be feeling the flat heat of a mediterranean country about now, but a twist of fate found me disembarking the plane in Keflavik in Iceland. I had left behind an unusually wet London and had packed for something more extreme, but the Icelandic weather at that moment seemed to be twinned with the UK. It was only when I left the airport that I was greeted by the shift in culture that always excites me when visiting somewhere new. The road to my hotel cut through a barren landscape that reminded me of similar journeys in Jordan or Utah where endless deserts are framed by mountains in the distance.
Iceland has been on my list of places to photograph for many years, but the idea of coming here had gained momentum after I discovered a passion for capturing people in otherworldly locations. Iceland is a place where movies are filmed to ensure the audience is transported to another world so it should surely work for me as well? I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to visit some remarkable places in the past few months and to be honest I thought I was done with my trips for this year but the network effect of having creative friends found me booking tickets to Iceland the month before.
Outside my taxi was a rather foreboding landscape of old lava with a sporadic coating of moss. Occasionally the cracked rocks would be interrupted by a splash of bright blue from the wild lupins that are synonymous with Iceland, a perfect reminder that life always finds a way. My hotel came into view, it was an unapologetic box that juxtaposed its surroundings. A building designed to withstand the elements in all extremes and yet today there was nothing but a light drizzle.
Dave and the glacier
I had intentionally arrived a day early, the idea to meet up with my photographer friend Dave who would land in a few hours and the following day we’d then pick up Daria, our model for the week. I dropped my bags off in my room and headed to the bar in search of some Icelandic life. The lady at reception had already warned me that everything in Iceland closes at 9 pm so given it was 6 pm I was expecting the evening to be in full swing. The bar was empty save for one American tourist with two beers chatting to the barman who was from Morocco. Grateful not to be the odd one out I joined them at the bar and bought my first beer in Iceland. That is only significant as you later realise you can buy an iPhone for the same price as a round of drinks in Iceland…
Dave is surprisingly stealthy for a man of his height, he arrived in the bar and silently grinned at me from behind my bar stool. I have come to learn that Canadians are very friendly folk and in my experience Dave is the standard bearer. We quickly caught up for lost time and both enjoyed the expensive beer in our luxurious surroundings. So far everything about my experience arriving in Iceland had been surreal so it was nice to bring it back to earth with a friendly chat about our favourite topic; photography.
The next day we headed for Reykjavik in our very comfortable four by four to stock up for the coming days. Dave had arrived from France and needed an Icelandic friendly coat and after that we went grocery shopping, and then filled the remaining time in a coffee shop. Every transaction was a sharp increase on what Dave or I would consider normal in our respective economies, but you quickly set that aside when you visit Iceland.
I last saw Daria two weeks ago in London, we had shot together in a daylight studio in North London. This was something we had planned months before but it was only as that date approached that Daria asked if I wanted to join Dave and her in Iceland. Did I…!
Daria was at the airport saying goodbye to her photographer boyfriend, they had arrived the week before to shoot together. Dave and I greeted them and admired the Pelican case containing an Italian 10*8 camera, a few steps up from our hand held equivalents. Greetings were brief and we were soon on the road headed for our first accommodation.
Once on the ring road I got my first true taste of the Icelandic scenery, those towering mountains were closer now and the land on either side of the road was constantly changing. We passed farmland with small angry looking sheep and then misshapen round rocks covered in moss. When we last shot together in London Daria had explained she liked the idea of an overhead shot taken in the moss. I wasn’t convinced at the time thinking moss wasn’t unusual, but as these curious shapes came into view I was beginning to understand. Molten rock covered in moss was something I couldn’t have imagined in my head, until now. We just needed to find the right landscape for it.
After a few hours of driving we arrived at what would be our home for the next two days. It was a charming farmhouse that had a ‘Little House On The Prairie’ feel about it. Inside, the house had clearly been decorated by the set designers from the same show. This was a perfect way to forget the bustle of the hotel and airport we had left behind. I finally felt we had arrived in Iceland! We spent the evening catching up and chatting about the days ahead. I enjoyed watching Daria and Dave’s banter. They are old friends having shot together countless times over the years and are just fun to be around. The time passed, but outside it never got dark. I hadn’t witnessed this yesterday inside the hotel, but here in that moment I took a completely pointless photo of the view from our living room window to capture the abundance of light, at night.
The next morning I took the same photo at 3:30 am, and marveled at how the daylight was the same. I was also still baffled as to why I was awake, but this was about to be the new norm when shooting in Iceland. The abundance of light means you can shoot at almost any hour whilst also ensuring you can visit the busy tourist spots without interruption. Soon, we’d forget normal time and adjust to shooting before and after midnight whilst grabbing sleep where we could. As we drove to our first location I was reminded of a quote from one of my favourite films “even a stopped clock tells the correct time twice a day”.
A force of nature
An hour later we arrived at Reynisfjara beach. The beach was deserted, its volcanic black sand stretched out in front of us and there at the center was the wall of basalt rock and behind it, the monolith towers that stand watch out at sea. I’d later share some iPhone snaps of the place with my family and my mother-in-law was the first to ask if that was the place from Game of Thrones. It was!
I’ve wanted to shoot here for an age and here I was. I’ve been on a bit of a quest to find black sand beaches of late and this place was my equivalent to drinking a vintage wine. However, the tide was high reducing our shooting options and the stormy water forced us to heed the warnings about sneaker waves that suddenly rush up the beach and pull you into the water. Daria had been shooting nudes in this wild landscape over the past week, but I think this was a new challenge. Regardless, she braved the basalt wall and posed gracefully amongst the hard octagonal rock formations, her long red hair acting as a pennant in the wind.
We left the beach a little after 5 am just as the first tourists arrived, apparently it wasn’t just us who were mad enough to come here so early. An hour later we arrived at our next destination, one of the many waterfalls of Iceland. I had assumed Iceland would have sub zero temperatures, but here in July and inland the air temperature was about 14 degrees, not far off the UK in truth. But it was the wind that changed everything and the mountain water was also super cold. Daria braved the conditions and Dave and I took turns finding different compositions to complement Daria as she posed next to the tumbling water.
Double take Daria
We returned to our farmhouse and downloaded our photos, Dave and I sharing our favourite images with Daria. It was then that I witnessed Dave’s unusual editing position. Firstly, he edits on a laptop without the aid of a stylus or even a mouse. He’s happy using the trackpad alone, but that is not is not what stops you in your tracks. He holds the laptop close to his chest and edits at what must be 45 degrees to his face, his fingers on the track pad like a DJ fading in the next track. By now I had seen many curious things in Iceland, but this was near the top! Editing over, we retreated to our own rooms to recuperate, we had to get in four hours sleep to add up to a norm of 7 or 8 in total a day.
By four o’clock in the afternoon we were all awake and behaving like it was the morning as we tried to make coffee. I used the time to give Daria a few prints I had made at home from our shoot a couple of weeks back. I am a firm believer in printing photographs, but it means much more to me to share those prints with others, especially the subject of the photo, the owner if you will.
After a quick supper in Vik we headed back to Reynisfjara beach, the plan to see if the tide was more favorable. But despite it being late in the day the beach was thick with tourists and the waves seemed just as precarious. We walked away from the tourists down the length of the beach and into the sea mist. Once isolated I took some drone shots of Daira lying on the black sand, her pale skin contrasting the image. This was primarily why I was here, I wanted to add another chapter to a possible book of these overhead shots taken in wild parts of our planet. It was a good feeling to be able to realise this here in Iceland.
We left the beach chased by the wind and decided to scout two waterfalls that were close to our farmhouse as they would be our next location. The first one produced an enormous amount of water that fell from a huge height. Logically this force should elicit danger signals in the brain, but in truth it’s very calming to look at and be near. This has a very simple scientific explanation, as the water particles bounce against each other they produce negative ions which have a calming effect on us. I remember sharing this little factoid with Daria who gave me a quizzical look but later embraced the idea as she became accustomed to many other waterfalls.
By 4 am the next morning we were back here once again, the last of the three hour sunrise slipping past the mountains above us. Now that we were closer to this magnificent waterfall you could really hear it. This place was unique in that the water had carved out a cave overtime, one with a perfect ridge that traced the circumference and allowed you to walk behind the water as it thundered down in front of you. This would be our first frame of the day.
The Cathedral
Our next location was another waterfall, this time one that was hidden inside a hill and accessed by a narrow passageway. Dave had warned that waterever you take in here gets wet and I remember thinking “I’ve got a coat, I’ll be fine.” Once inside, we found ourselves in a cave, the waterfall tumbling down a huge rock face in the centre and above us was sheer rock that was exposed to the sky by a small opening. In the centre of the floor was a giant rock that must have formed part of the ceiling many years ago.
This is one of those settings that dictates the shot for you, Daria had to stand on the rock and our job was to capture her and the scenery as best as possible. Dave wasn’t wrong about the water, the spray was everywhere and I was soon feeling fresh, but so was my equipment. This was going to be a quick shoot, for all concerned. Dave had been here before and knew what his composition was. I tried my 14 mm lens for fun as that took in the entire scene. But it was my trusty 35 mm that got me my shot. The downside of using primes is that you have to move into position, but I like working that way and shooting at slightly odd angles. I pressed myself against the rock and shot along the surface and slightly up to capture Daria and the water that surrounded her.
I remember feeling good about that shot as I walked out of the cave, clutching my jacket that was soaking wet.
By 6 am we were at our third waterfall of the day, the magnificent Skógafoss. This place truly is loud, those negative ions really flying about. We shot at a distance amongst a carpet of lupins in a scene that Monet could have painted. As we returned to our car a woman called out ‘Sam!’ It was Sara, a model I last saw in London almost a year to the day. I’ve always maintained that creative minds come together like magnets and this was yet another perfect example. We stood in the middle of the road, hugged and laughed at how strange this was. Our time was brief as we all had places to be but it was nice to be reminded that fate truly is a thing.
We returned to the farmhouse for a brief sleep before we had to check out. Time was becoming ethereal, the near constant daylight disguised the time of day and seemed to urge you to stay awake. We just had to remember to squeeze in a total of at least 7 hours sleep each day. On the road again, we were headed much further south and closer to the glaciers. I was very much looking forward to seeing this part of the island. It was a long drive and one that was broken up by our banter. Outside the landscape was forever changing, but soon we saw moss covered lava fields once again. I was really starting to see the appeal and Daria was looking smug in the back of the car, her face a visual depiction of the words, ‘I told you so!’. Dave asked if I wanted to stop the car and as we reached a more hilly crop of them I asked to get out for a quick scout. This place was wild. The lava rocks were large round shapes covered in thick moss that engulfed your shoes as you walked amongst them. The land wasn’t flat here as we’d seen before, the rocks were stacked up against hills and deep in valleys, a scene that would look stunning from above. I rushed back to the car to get my camera bag, this was going to be a great shoot location!
Daria is instinctive, drawing her inspiration from the landscape around her. She needs little direction. We discussed poses and areas of interest and my methodology for shooting the same pose from different angles. After that, she was alone amongst a landscape from Lord of the Rings, even her poses were elf like. This was her domain. Dave then took over and shot some portraits and produced one of my favourite of his shots. As the rain came he tried to conclude the shoot but Daria was enjoying herself and encouraged us to continue shooting. I left that location and said to both of them, I’ve just taken some of my favourite shots of the trip so far. Daria smiled, her smug factor was dialed up to 11.
As we drove south the landscape continued to change, the mountains were now snow capped with glaciers draped over them. We stopped at a lagoon, a chance to stretch our legs but also to scout a location for our return journey. In the distance were the jagged teeth of a glacier as it reached into the water. Those teeth were tips of crushed ice formed as the glacier moved down the hill. They would eventually fall into the water to become icebergs, a feature we had come to see.
Our next accommodation was a family home in Höfn that was entirely decorated by Ikea. I took the kids bedroom which had a massive Manchester United logo on the wall. Outside the window the view was dominated by Vestrahorn, a massive crown shaped mountain that like much of Iceland has been in countless movies. All of which felt perfectly normal thanks to the lucidity of being slightly sleep deprived. We found a restaurant we could walk to and enjoyed a night out, Dave even had a reindeer burger. Like I said, all perfectly normal.
The following morning we woke to heavy rain and strong wind, Vestrahorn was now obscured by low lying clouds. This had suddenly become an editing day. Whilst none of us wanted to admit it, we could all use the rest. Needing no invitation Dave assumed his favourite position on the sofa, his chin touching the edge of his laptop as he edited photos taken the previous day. Daria reviewed my shots and selected her favorites and I enjoyed editing some I had taken of her clutching the moss covered lava rocks.
By 9 pm we had caught up on some much needed sleep and the rain had stopped. In the distance, light traced the edges of Vestrahorn, and illuminated the clouds that seemed to be leaving its crown like peaks. It was time to go shooting! In keeping with the movie-like experience of our location, the drive took us down a narrow unpaved road with black sand dunes on either side that had a patchwork of wild grass in evenly spaced circles. At the end of the road was a white dome like structure buried in the black sand, the gates to the building had a simple sign. Radar station, no entry. This was clearly another planet.
The rain had stopped, but the wind was still very much a factor. Above us the grey sky was beginning to colour as the sun started to set behind the mountain. This was going to be a fabulous shot, if Daria was up to it. Being an art nude model she has experienced all of the weather available, and in her own words, Iceland is the holy grail of art nude locations. But given the choice in that moment I am sure she would have asked the wind to be a little less cold. Despite the challenging conditions she once again dropped the warmth of her coat and dashed on top of a dune underneath the sunset, her poses instantly in tune with her surroundings. These shots only last a minute or two so you have to make every one count. You learn not to take as many as you can, but to slowly take the right ones as they come. I look for hair shapes and body angles and ensure my framing is complementary. With the shot in the bag, I found Daria’s coat and hoodie and stood to one side so she could push her arms into the sleeves once she was ready.
Dave gave her the keys to the car so she could go and warm up and I headed over to the other side of the dunes. I had wanted to take an overhead shot with my drone of this new planet we were on. Daria was up for this, her past experience was that lying on the ground meant she ducked out of the wind so this would be easier on her. Once warmed up, she found my spot and I shared the image I had in mind. The simple overhead shot didn’t have the drama I had pictured from the road. So this was going to be more of a vista shot taken at 45 degrees that included the mountain and black dunes below. My only ask was that she lie in a line against one of the dunes I had picked out. As she dashed across the dark landscape I framed my shot and took a handful of images from different angles, each one with her at the centre whilst the sky became even more dramatic. A short while later she dashed back to grab her coat, what I hadn’t seen was how the wind was somehow colder amongst the dunes. She was such a trooper, but now it was time to go home, warm up and rest.
Daria and her Yashika
Well, that was the plan but on the drive home the sunset continued to impress and we all got out of the car to take some landscape shots, Daria cradling her Yashika that contained some out of date film. In that moment Dave and I took several images and Daria took just one, but we all made memories.
After a short rest we packed up the car and left Höfn, our plan was to go back to the lagoons we had scouted previously before the tourists arrived. Somehow it was 2 am on Thursday. During a normal work week we are all so cognisant of the time and date, but here in Iceland that basic principle had long been forgotten.
We arrived at a beach on the coast below the lagoons which was famed for the ice that washed up on its shoreline. I had seen this place countless times in my research, in my head this was the jewel in the crown for my Icelandic series. Black sand, with white waves and giant pieces of blue ice, this was a dream come true. As the icebergs from the lagoon break up, they collect at the mouth of an estuary and then slowly make their way down the river where they meet the sea. At this point waves drag the ice in different directions until the tide pulls the now much smaller shapes onto the shore. There they rest on the black sand like giant diamonds.
Fire and Ice
It was 3 am, the sky was overcast producing a perfect soft light and apart from the three of us there was no one else on the beach. I couldn’t have asked for more!
By now Dave and Daria were very familiar with helping to find the best spot for an overhead shot. We walked the length of the black sand, seeking out the larger pieces of ice whilst also looking for a section of the beach that was deep enough. The waves were not dangerous here, but the water was cold. More importantly the waves did move the ice up and down the sand which we had to avoid as that wouldn’t have been safe for Daria. Once we settled upon our location, Daria and I discussed poses whilst pointing at ice shapes we liked on the screen of my controller. The drone was high in the sky patiently waiting for us to get into position.
Just like all art nude shoots in Iceland, these needed to be quick. Daria was always in charge of her own limits but here, in this moment she seemed to be pushing for longer. The air temperature was warmer and there was no wind, we would encourage her to stop and take a break but she would smile back saying she was fine and wanted to keep going. There is an assumption that the creativity within a photograph is achieved by the photographer alone, but in truth the process is far more collaborative, especially when working with an art model. Daria wasn’t done yet, she had poses within her that she wanted to exercise and she also knew how important this place was for me. I think we were both as excited as each other to make the most of this magical place.
PS - I’m saving my favourite shots form this set to be prints only.
By 4:30 am the morning light was a tiny bit brighter, the clouds less dense and we were in front of some giant blue icebergs by the lagoon. Our new location was a tourist hotspot and yet we were alone. We seized the opportunity and made the most of this surreal backdrop, Daria occasionally venturing into the icy water. Later that day I shared some of these photos with Cleia, my wife who immediately pointed out how strange it was to think this place was just 3 hours away from the UK.
The day was breaking and we needed to get back on the road, our next accommodation was several hours away. The route back along the ring road took us past the moss covered lava fields that we all now converted and I made a case for stopping once more so I could complete a set of these images. There was little push back given the past success. We found a new location where Dave added a photo to a series he’d been working on and I later retraced my steps to the same mossy valley I shot in previously. Daria reinvented herself, finding poses that were more creature-like. She was clearly very connected to this landscape.
The day was still a few hours old, but thinking back to the dunes at midnight, then the black sand and ice followed by the icebergs in the lagoon and then these moss fields, this was an incredibly productive and creative few hours. At home, my friends and family would still be asleep and yet I had witnessed so much of what this island had to offer and was feeling rich with the amount of photos that I had been able to take in such a short amount of time.
Our next accommodation was a simple cabin in a very barren landscape. The aesthetics were of little consequence, we all headed straight for our beds, sleep was very much needed. That afternoon we all reviewed the past images and rewarded ourselves with a glass of wine before later enjoying a meal out. We had worked hard and all needed a bit of RnR. Over the past few days we had all become firm friends and it was easy to switch modes, but these moments where we could switch off were necessary to recharge for the next shooting day.
The next morning we were all back in work mode and on the road with an early start. Reynisfjara beach beckoned, the third time would surely be a charm. We arrived at 4:30 am, the beach was empty and the weather calm. In the distance you could see the day was getting ready to be a warm one. I had seen this shot in my head many times during those lucid moments that we now called Icelandic sleep. I wanted to capture Daria high up amongst the magnificent basalt columns and shot from above with my drone. Without the wind, the path up was surprisingly easy, not unlike a childs climbing frame. Once installed she had a platform to be herself standing upright on the giant hexagonal shapes. She was like a chess piece upon a surreal stone board, checkered by the contrasting colours of the ancient stone.
This was culminating into my favourite 24 hours of the trip. There was much more to do, but I was feeling complete, I had realised so many of the images I had hoped to capture in a place that to me seemed a million miles away.
I’ve just started to print my Icelandic shots. This semi gloss paper is actually much brighter than my iPhone snap of it shows and does a great job of bringing out the detail in course stone background
Just before we departed Daria and I took some portraits close to the basalt columns so I could later tell a story of these images when it came to editing them as a series. As we walked back to the car we spotted the first lone tourist. An american woman who was trying to take a selfie upon the same columns by resting her phone on the beach. I told Daria to head to the car and ran back to offer to take some snaps for her. This was an important place and I wanted to ensure she had the same good memories that we had.
Friday morning was now in full swing and we had a journey ahead of us to our next accommodation. We chose a slower path to allow us to scout locations and have lunch before we could check in. We were all looking forward to this place, it was palatial and had a hot tub. The owner greeted us, a viking of a man who had a million stories to tell, the best of all being that he had built this magnificent place himself in the space of a year. Daria and Dave awarded me the best bedroom in the house and I had the deepest sleep of the week. Later that evening we enjoyed a glass of wine and another photo catch up before heading out to a wild river with a waterfall and multiple cascades. This was an idyllic location to shoot in but also one that you wanted to just stop and admire.
During the past week Daria had been joking about how she had appeared rather small in the shots her boyfriend had taken of her in many of the same locations. He and is 10*8 favoring the landscape first approach which had meant she was sometimes a rather small part of the frame. Here at this same waterfall Dave announced that he had taken a similar photo of Daira, but was quick to say that she was very much the main subject. Daria is someone who recharges herself with her smiles and laughter and seemed to be on full charge when ever she touched on the idea of her in a ‘Where’s waldo in Iceland calendar’ This is the kind of topic that gets a lot of air time when you are on the road for hours at a time and it is always nice to hear a happy Daira. I was fully converted to the Canadian sense of humor, conceding that it was a step up on the British equivalent.
The next morning was our last day and last shoot together. Just like clockwork we were all up at an ungodly hour and bound for a new watery location. I had been chatting to Cariad who was also shooting here in Iceland and she had recommended this place, it was also on Dave’s to-do list and happily very close to our cabin. It was a fast river with a natural weir that forced the water over a short but wide waterfall and then back into a narrow path. You heard the sound of rushing water first and then the scenery explained itself. This was a perfect setting for our final shots together. Dave I took some portraits of Daira with the water as a backdrop and then later I used my drone to capture Daria cocooned alongside the rushing blue water. I had left the cabin that morning wondering if I needed more photos but as ever Iceland, combined with my creative friends produced some inspiring places and images. This week I had been a broken record, regularly announcing to my companions that I had just taken my favourite photos and this morning was no exception.
The last photo was taken by Daria with her Yashika from the bridge above the rushing water. She was alongside the first tourist of the day, a man with a tripod who I suspect wished he had arrived sooner than 5:50 am as by now the sunlight was rather hard, not unlike midday sun. Iceland is a curious place!
Later that day we left our plush cabin and headed back to the city to have lunch. Dave and I were flying back the next day but Daria was staying on, she was shooting with a local called Odin. A man who shared a passion for 120mm film and did indeed appear viking like. The more I stayed here, the more this place made sense. Dave I said goodbye to Daira and left Odin with a small mountain of her luggage. She had been traveling now for 55 days and for a nude model her clothes and luggage had grown somewhat disproportionately - ask her not me!
Dave and I checked back into the same box of a hotel near to the airport. We had a nice meal in Reykjavik, our waiter an American lady who was light on a sense of humor. The food and wine was delicious but the bill as big as the mountains we had visited earlier that week. We spent our remaining hours in the same bar in our hotel that we had met in just a week prior. Just like our first beer it was another long and fun evening chatting about the great and the good of photography. Dave never has a bad word to say about anyone or anything. He always sees the best in others and that is his most endearing quality.
This had been a remarkable week in Iceland, packed with new photographic adventures that couldn’t have happened without meeting important, creative and fun people. I know I have been very fortunate to make good friends on this journey and am forever grateful to my wife for letting me go off and scratch my creative itch.
Behind the scenes snaps below.
Like ships in the night
Speaking of creative and fun people. As I entered the airport about to board my plane home I was also chatting to Marisa who was 30 mins behind me in security and headed to the same gate with her boyfriend. Somehow fate had aligned and we were both on this wild island for the same seven days. We had both stumbled upon this weird diary alignment the week before so I had left home armed with a few prints of Marisa on the off chance that we would meet up and I could share them with her. I needed to fly and time wasn’t on my side but I wasn’t going to give up and had a chat with a nice lady called Marabelle in the duty free who agreed to take custody of the prints for me until Marisa could arrive.
Reunited!
As I sat down on the plane my phone pinged, it was Marisa to say she had picked up the prints. Inside the envelope were a few prints she had requested including a portrait I had posted of her exactly a year ago to that day. I’m not a religious man, but I do believe in fate and just like my entire week this was a gift from … dare I say it the gods.
Thank you Iceland. Thank you Daria and thank you Dave. This was a wild sleepless week, but one where we had lived every creative minute of it. For me, photography is a circle of taking images to print them and share them and this week had once again validated that very thesis.
