Iceland Travel - Is It For You?
Powerful Skógafoss Waterfall is a dramatic and accessible Iceland travel location.
Iceland is a travel hotspot at the moment. It’s so popular, particularly with landscape photographers. But is Iceland travel for you?
It’s a very reasonable question that’s easy to answer. Here’s what I discovered while traveling around Iceland, the land of ice and fire.
Iceland Is A Luminous Landscape
The quality of the light in Iceland is hard to define. The light is soft and gentle and, around the edges of the day, it can be spectacular.
When you marry this quite sublime light with epic geology it’s easy to see why Iceland is a dream come true travel destination for the intrepid landscape photographer.
Red roof dwelling, on the edge of a fjord, in rural Iceland.
Iceland Is A Landscape Of Dramatic Extremes
When it comes to what you’ll be able to photograph, don’t worry - Iceland has it.
Waterfalls such as Gullfoss
Geysers
Volcanic soil, mud pools and hot springs
Glaciers
Icebergs at the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon
Dramatic sea stacks
Black sand beaches
Iceland's pristine and pure environment showcased in colorful wildflowers at Thingvellir.
Iceland’s Pristine and Pure Environment
The purity of the Icelandic landscape is immediately evident. Icelandic folks are proud and protective of their natural world and hiking through the landscape is a very special experience.
Viking settlement in Iceland began around 874AD and modern day Icelanders maintain a close affinity with the natural world.
80% of the countries power needs are generated by hydroelectric power.
An Atlantic puffin high up on the Látrabjarg Cliffs in Iceland.
Iceland Wildlife, Up Close and Personal
Birdlife is prolific in Iceland.
After two trips to Iceland my favorite location for photographing birds is the Látrabjarg Cliffs in the remote north west of the country.
My best avian photography experience was the evening I spent photographing a colony of beautiful Atlantic Puffin high on the Latrabjarg Cliffs, the westernmost point of the Iceland mainland.
Puffins are super cute and very colorful, but there are lots of other members of the avian family located at various sites around the country.
Some of the interesting species located in the south of Iceland include the following:
Pink-footed geese
Storm petrels
Arctic tern
Great skuas
You can expect rugged beauty and changeable weather as you tour Iceland.
Iceland Weather is Changeable
Both my visits to Iceland have been during the summer months when the temperatures are usually pretty mild.
Summer is the time of year when you expect maximum temperatures of around 16C/ and minimum temperatures down to around 7C/ can be expected.
Your average day travelling around Iceland in summer may well include a mix of conditions including sunshine, rain and wind.
And that’s a good thing because the most incredible light, for really dramatic landscape photography, often occurs on the edge of weather.
The light that illuminates the landscape just before and/or just after rain may be the element that really takes your landscape photography to the next level.
Needless to say rainbows and clouds are plentiful in Iceland and I’ve never seen such incredible cumulus cloudscapes.
Iceland: An Experience You Won't Easily Forget
There’s no doubt about it, you’ll feel alive everyday you’re in Iceland. Here’s what’s awaiting you in Iceland:
Fresh air
Clean water
Vibrant colors
Amazing and varied landscapes
Sublime, gentle light
Wind and rain
Despite large crowds now descending upon Iceland there’s still opportunities to find space within the landscape.
That’s particularly the case when you embark on a trip around the Iceland on the nation’s highway one, a ring road that takes you all the way around the country.
I do recommend a photography adventure to Iceland. I love the country and I certainly plan to return.
That and a connection with nature that will be unique and personal, bringing with it memories of Iceland that will linger long in the memory.