America’s closest European neighbour, vast, volcanic Iceland is sadly misnamed. In fact it is about 89% ice free, and boasts one of the planet’s most incredible landscapes, full of contrast and extremes. Medieval Europeans popularly believed it to be the threshold of the underworld, and Jules Verne chose a volcano here as the entranceway for his Journey to the Center of the Earth.
The word geyser was coined here, named after Geysir, the largest of the island’s many spouting hot springs. There are also lava fields, bubbling mud pools, and steam vents, but look in another direction and you’ll see plenty of ice, including the dramatic glacial lagoon at Jokulsarlon, famous for icebergs that break off from the glacier face and form an ever-changing maze for chugging tour boats. In yet another direction, you’ll see pristine farms and extraordinarily green grasslands, mostly along the coast. This photo tour around much of the island, takes in everything from ocean scenery to the empty, treeless tundra to the fire and ice of the interior. Photographers may feel as if they’ve returned from a trip to the moon when they return to Reykjavík, the world’s northernmost capital.” Bring your warm clothes.
What you will experience in bullet points – scroll for more information.
The world-famous Reynisfjara beach, near the village of Vik is widely regarded as the most impressive black-sand beach in Iceland. It is a black pebble beach and features an amazing cliff of regular basalt columns resembling a rocky step pyramid, which is called Gardar. Out in the sea are the spectacular basalt sea stacks Reynisdrangar. The area is rich in birdlife, including puffins, fulmars and guillemots. Overnight in the Vik area.
We also photograph the icebergs on the black beach (The Diamond Beach) just below the lagoon that has a huge amount of icebergs that wash upon it. We photograph Svartifoss waterfall in the Skaftafell region and have the opportunity to go on a private bird photography tour to Ingolfshofdi to photograph puffins. There are 8-10 million puffins in Iceland. Following we Overnight in the Skaftafell region.