4 Days in Iceland
The Land of Fire & Ice
“Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” — Gustave Flaubert
I left Dublin, with not much of an idea about Iceland apart from the fact that it was pretty high on the list of most photographers as a dream location. After a few days exploring the countryside and the city of Reykjavik, I understand completely why it ranks so high with so many photographers.
Day One
After a quick flight from Dublin, we headed straight to the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa. It is probably the most visited attraction in Iceland. It is a man-made spa powered by a geothermal powerplant. When you see it first, it looks like a bizarre, otherworldly landscape, with steam billowing from the water. It was bitterly cold that day, and when I dipped my toes into the water, I was amazed at the heat — like stepping into the hottest, most amazing bath you’ve ever had. Also, there was a bar in the middle of the lagoon. Perfect.
Day Two
The second day was super busy. We headed out at about 8:30am to see Gullfoss waterfall. This thing was Massive! It’s genuinely tough to photograph the falls and capture the sheer scale of it. You can see below, the ice starting to form on the grass. The waterfall sometimes freezes during the Winter months. The great thing about shooting in Iceland around this time of year is that the sunrises last hours, as do the sunsets.
I got down closer for some different views of the falls. This was absolutely terrifying as the tripod wouldnt even push through the ice on the grass to get a shot and I nearly slipped down the hill about 5 times.
After seeing Gulfoss, we made our way to the famous Geysirs. The place was packed to the brim with tourists waiting for the most popular Geysir, name Stokkur — to erupt. Which it did, every 5 minutes or so. Maybe it was because I was so blown away by Gullfoss, but the Geysirs didn’t particularly wow me. They were definitely interesting and great to see, but it didn’t have the same impact as anything else on the trip.
At about 8pm, after a steak dinner and a few beers, it was off to see the main event — The Northern Lights! This was secretly everybody’s most anticipated part of the trip. Not that anyone would tell you, as we heard that there was too much cloud cover to even see them. Not ones to give up, we headed out on the bus to a remote clifftop outside Reykjavik. We waited. Waited. Until, at about 12am, little green flares started to appear. I’d finally seen the Aurora. For a good hour, the flares got stronger and way brighter. It was amazing to finally see the lights.
The best thing about actually seeing the Northern Lights is the calmness of it. It fills you with a sense of wonder and stillness. We even got to see the intricate movements it makes. We were told that on a scale of 1 — 9, this was a level 3. I can imagine the feeling of seeing them at a 9 on a clear night.
We headed home at 2am, exhausted and ecstatic.
Day Three
With just a few hours sleep, I was still happy to rise at 8am to go out and shoot some of Iceland’s famous waterfalls. First up was Skogafoss, one of the tallest and most famous in the country. The place was swarming in tourists, even at an early hour. You couldn’t get within a couple of hundred feet of the falls without the camera being covered in a fine spray and heavy mist. I stood way back and got a wide shot with a slow shutter speed.
We had no time to spare, so we headed off to Reyinsfjara, home of the black sand beaches and tall stacks. It was the most unique beach I’ve seen, with insanely strong winds blowing the fine black sand everywhere, massive waves washing in and enormous black basalt columns, akin to the Giant’s Causway in Antrim, Northern Ireland. This is a must see.
We headed to two other major sights: Thingvellir National Park and some glaciers. We also headed to the small town of Vik, a town filled with lush green hills and sometimes, a little church that looked like it was accidentally dropped in the middle of a rocky landscape.
At sunset, we had time for one more waterfall. Seljalandsfoss is a smaller but equally impressive waterfall that allows to get in right behind the falls to see it from behind — if you’re comfortable with getting soaked with water on the steps up to the top. It was getting dark, but still possible for a few snaps.
Day Four
Our final day in Iceland was a more relaxed affair. The last three days were full on and it was just apt that we just had a nice stroll around Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland.
Reykjavik is a quiet town, full of boutique stores and little cafes. It’s striking how quiet the streets are, you can hear the studded tyres of cars as they make their way down the main street.
It was getting into the evening time, so we headed back to the airport, after an amazing four days that had enough sights for two weeks.
Iceland is an amazing country, probably the most unique and beautiful country I’ve ever seen. If you’re a photographer, especially a landscape photographer, you need to get over here right away, nothing compares to it.
