Magic of Iceland

The landscape photographer in me has always dreamed about Iceland.  I decided to do an exploratory trip there this June so that I could add a workshop in 2014. I spent two exhaustive weeks covering the southern part of of country and to say the least, the scenery didn’t disappoint.  The image above was my most memorable of the trip.  This waterfall near Mt. Kirkjufell was something that was very high on my list to photograph.  At that time of year, sunset is at 12:30am and sunrise follows shortly at 2am!  The experience of photographing a magical sunset and sunrise within a few hour of each other is something I will never forget!

There were literally 100’s of waterfalls everywhere you looked.  One of the big ones is Gullfoss pictured above.  It is what I call a “tourist trap waterfall” because during the day, there are 1000’s of visitors, buses, and cars!  At midnight, there were only 2 other photographers! I have to admit  that it was quite an impressive waterfall and you could feel the power of it even far away!

 

The one landscape location that had me the most excited for my trip were the lagoons at Jakursalon.  I was so impressed at how the ice constantly was in flux as the tides were moving these massive bergs around and no two images were ever alike!  The bergs had a very different look when it was overcast and sunlit…..something we didn’t get much of at this location and that is why I intend on spending 4 or 5 days in the area on the tour in 2014!

 

 

 

No tour to Iceland would be complete without photographing the puffin!  I didn’t need the long lens at all and even used my 17-40mm a few times!  This was with the Sigma 120-300mm.

 

I am pleased to announce my tours to Iceland in 2014!!! I have announced the tours to my advanced notice list and the June 28th – July 13th, 2014 tour has sold out!!!  I have now added a tour that will run from July 13th – July 30th, 2014 and I only have 4 spots left for that!  Your tour starts with your arrival at Keflavik airport on the evening/afternoon on the 13th. We will be photographing stunning waterfalls, lush flowery landscapes, historic churches, barns, horses, oystercatchers, puffin, and more!  Iceland is truly a landscapers paradise!!!  At this time of year, Sunset is around midnight with sunrise following shortly after around 2am!  We will be out for both those times so just be prepared to alter your sleep schedule! We will have plenty of time to sleep during the day and I will move the group when the light is at its worst.  Unlike other tours, we will not be covering the entire country and I will limit the number of moves we have to make with our luggage.  It’s a big country and we will focus on southern locations to insure you get the best possible images.  Remember…..this is a photography tour and not a road trip!  The cost for this tour is $6,400 and includes your breakfasts but not your other meals.  Your flight to Iceland is also not included in the cost.  Below are just a few more images of the more than 10,000 that I took there!

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to be added to my advanced notice list please send me an e-mail at; rkurywczak@gmail.com

If you can’t join me on this trip please consider coming to one of my lectures or events which you can find here.

Don’t forget to check out my latest gear review as well on the Gistec Led light that I use for macro!