Go on a 4-day photography adventure in Iceland that you'll never forget! This landscape photography tour will have you capturing the Northern Lights and exploring the deep, dark recesses of Iceland's famous blue crystal ice caves. You'll get a taste for Vatnajökull National Park, a stunning region of south-east Iceland where you'll find Europe's largest glacier. Be prepared to experience thundering waterfalls, layers of mountain peaks, glorious black sand beaches, the magical Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and the Diamond Beach, where icebergs wash ashore. This photo workshop is aimed at developing your landscape photography portfolio in one of the most amazing places on Earth, whether you're a beginner, an amateur, hobbyist or professional photographer.

Your 4 nights of accommodation will be pre-arranged for you before your arrival to Iceland, as well as all of your transfers to and from shooting locations. Your experienced local photography guide will be there every step of the way to take you to the best places at all the right times to capture the perfect light, whilst sharing their specialist knowledge with you in relation to landscape photography.

Total price: 1850 USD

November

26-29 Nov 2023

February

18-21 Feb 2024

Day 1 - South Coast to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon

Your photo guide will pick you up from your hotel in Reykjavik to commence your journey towards Iceland's epic South Coast. It will be a long day ahead, as the drive to the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon will take almost 5 hours, but you'll break it up with some amazing locations to shoot along the way.

The South Coast is known for its magnificent waterfalls, the first of which you'll encounter is Seljalandsfoss. In winter, frozen ice crystals pack the walls of the cavern behind it, making for a fairytale scene. Its neighbour is the mighty Skógafoss, where a cascade of water thunders forth from a 60 metre height. If the conditions are right, then you'll be able to capture rainbows in its mist.

From there, you'll continue the drive towards the fishing village of Vík, where you'll have the chance to explore the sweeping cliffs of Dyrhólaey. Seabirds swoop from these great heights to collect food from the roaring waves of the North Atlantic Ocean below. As you make your way further east, you'll get to immerse yourself in the beautiful black sand beach of Reynisfjara, where tall basalt columns make for a dramatic element to your shots, framing the incredible Reynisdrangar sea stacks that rise from the water.

You'll reach the vicinity of the Vatnajökull National Park by evening and have the opportunity to check in to your hotel room before settling in for a delicious dinner. Don't get too comfortable yet though, as there may be the chance to photograph the Northern Lights if they come out to play!

Day 2 - Vatnajökull National Park / Ice Cave

The weather in Iceland can be unpredictable, so days 2 and 3 of your adventure will remain flexible. This will allow your guide to plan to take advantage of the conditions by getting  you to the most amazing locations for landscape photography.

You'll have the opportunity for a sunrise shoot at the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, where giant icebergs that have calved from the nearby Breiðamerkurjökull glacier float serenely and seals swim between them on the hunt for fish.

Nearby, the Diamond Ice Beach offers up a myriad of compositions and exciting photographic opportunities, as you dodge the waves that lick around your feet for the perfect shot.

Of course, the penultimate experience comes when you descend into a brilliant blue ice cave within Vatnajökull National Park. Surrounded by nothing but silence, this breathtaking creation will make you feel dwarfed by nature. It's the perfect place to practice your low-light photography skills, making use of the faint glimmer that trickles in from the outside.

If the Northern Lights dance tonight, then your photo guide will take you to much a lesser known and quiet location – the stunning Fjallsárlón glacier lagoon – where you'll be able to frame gorgeous icebergs in the foreground with the enduring beauty of the Northern Lights in the starry night sky.

Day 3 - Vatnajökull National Park, Vík

Day three will begin with a blast, as you'll have another chance to perfect your long exposure photography skills in the waves of the Diamond Ice Beach. As the sunrise takes hold, you can even return to the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon to explore the area further, though the afternoon will be spent getting off the beaten track into other parts of the rugged and majestic Vatnajökull National Park – should the weather and time permit. Some notable locations include the "batman" mountain of Vestrahorn, where jagged peaks meet with undulating black sand dunes; as well as the "feather canyon" of Fjaðrárgljúfur that was carved out by glaciers a long time ago.

There will be much to shoot along the way as you make the journey back towards Vík. In the evening, you'll have your final chance to chase the Northern Lights and to capture them dancing across the night sky.       

Day 4 - Vík & Golden Circle, back to Reykjavík

This will be your last day to photograph the landscape in Iceland and there will be a lot packed in to ensure that your memory cards will be bursting with photos!

You'll return to the Reynisfjara black sand beach for sunrise. The Reynisdrangar sea stacks can appear completely different depending on the conditions so you'll have a whole gamut of new compositions that you'll be able to explore.

As you continue on the drive back to Reykjavik, you'll head through Iceland's most famous route, the Golden Circle. Be prepared to witness incredible lava fields, interspersed with geothermal activity and breathtaking scenery. 

Your first stop will be at Gullfoss, a tiered waterfall of such power and force that you'll be surprised at how parts of it can freeze over in the depths of winter. After that, you'll have the chance to capture the explosive fountain geyser of Strokkur at the Geysir geothermal area, which remains hot and steamy despite the winter snow.

Your final stop will be at Þingvellir, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. Here, you can photograph the extraordinary impact of the fissures, cracks and faults that mark the cliffs towering all around you. The experience will culminate at an enchanting waterfall known as Öxarárfoss, surrounded by ice and swathed in ethereal winter light as the sun gets lower upon the horizon. It's the perfect place to tie up the plethora of fantastic scenes that you'll have witnessed during a magnificent 4 days in Iceland.

The journey will finish when you arrive back at your hotel in Reykjavik, with memory cards full of photos, lots of exciting new landscape photography skills that you'll be able to practice in future, and a host of new friends to keep in touch with.

Included:

Professional photo guide.

Transportation in a spacious, comfortable bus offering ample room for you and your photography gear.

Hotels near Vatnajokull National Park and Vik.

Crampons and Rubber Boots

Post Processing Video Tutorials

Not included:

Flight tickets

Hotel in Reykjavik

Food, alcohol, snacks and beverages

If you cancel and the Workshop is otherwise filled, we will refund you the full amount you have paid towards the tuition, minus a $300 service charge. If you cancel and the Workshop does not fill, then you will be refunded according to the following schedule, based on the full fee of the Workshop:

Greater than 60 days from the start date of the Workshop: full refund minus $300 fee.

45 days or more: 75% refund

30 days or more: 50% refund

Less than 30 days: no refund

Refunds will be paid by the same method that the original payment was made. Refunds will be initiated within 72 hours of the time that the request is approved.

We highly recommend that you get a travel and medical insurance. Your own domestic government medical insurance and private health scheme will not cover you whilst you are overseas.

The tour is always dependent on weather, as the Icelandic weather can indeed be highly unpredictable. Likewise, visits to ice caves are dependent on favorable conditions, and indeed the ice caves themselves are not permanent. When it comes to the Northern Lights, while they are most likely to be seen between September and April, there is no guarantee that they will appear on a given day.