Iceland has been the backdrop for plenty of films and TV series. My interest started with the film Oblivion. I remember watching it and wondering where it was. I thought it was a futuristic set, but most of it was filmed in Iceland. Since then Prometheus, Interstellar and Game of Thrones have all used its dramatic scenery.
A birthday surprise
My partner's 40th birthday present brought us here. I made her a mood board: a map of Iceland I drew myself, with the places we'd visit pinned on it, and she opened it a little before her birthday. It was a six-day trip, so we mostly saw the south coast. My dream is to come back for a two-week road trip round the whole island.
We went in March, as both our birthdays are early in the month, hoping for the northern lights. I also planned a so-called secret pool, waterfalls, geysers and an ice cave tour. We saw Skogafoss, Seljalandsfoss and Gullfoss. I'd hoped for more, but March is still deep winter, and some of the waterfalls were frozen.
I did remember the tripod on the night we saw the northern lights, and seeing them was almost luck. My partner looked out of the window and noticed wisps of cloud in the sky. We'd never seen anything like it, so we guessed it must be the lights. They were colourless, not the bright greens you see in photos and videos. Once I'd taken a couple of photographs, the colours popped. And it was my birthday.
Back with my daughters
We came back in June 2018 with my two daughters, a joint present for their 18th and 21st birthdays. They say if you don't like the weather in Iceland, wait five minutes. It's true: we had every season in one week. On the first night it felt like the set of The Wizard of Oz. The wind howled so hard I thought our cabin would be whipped into the air.
We had a good mix, though. One day we were down to t-shirts near the glacier in Skaftafell National Park, and another we were in waterproofs beside Oxararfoss. You really need to plan for all weathers. The upside of June is the waterfalls, which were in full flow.
Without the snow more tracks were open, and with a hired 4x4 we got to far more places: Dyrholaey, Fjadrargljufur Canyon, Gullfoss, Kerid Crater, Reykjavik, Strokkur, Svartifoss and Urridafoss.
Does the sun really not set? It dips a little but never drops far enough for what we'd call night. Our cabin had blackout blinds, so sleeping was fine, but sitting in a hot tub on the decking in daylight at 1am is surreal.
The secret pool, Seljavallalaug
Wherever I go, as well as the usual sights I like to find a hidden gem. This pool isn't really secret any more, but it's a walk from the nearest parking and there are no signs, which puts some people off. We visited in 2016, so things may have changed.
Seljavallalaug is the oldest swimming pool in Iceland, at the foot of a mountain in the south, fed naturally by hot water. Since I first wrote this I've found there's now a car park at Seljavallalaug, so the walk is about 20 minutes each way. It's easy to follow: head up the valley into the mountains from the car park, hop over a river or two and you're there.
You may be disappointed by the changing room. Years ago, before the tourist boom, locals looked after it, but it's been neglected for a while because of the way some visitors treat it. There's only one room, so be prepared to get changed in front of strangers, or nobody if you're lucky.
In 2016 Iceland's tourist boom was just beginning, and in March it was cold, wet and quiet. We had the pool to ourselves until the last half hour. It's fairly safe to leave your clothes, but leave your valuables behind. We saw an odd couple: one dipped into the pool briefly while the other hovered in the changing room, then they both left. Being sceptical, I thought they were up to no good, and when we got changed I ranted to my partner that my hat and gloves had been stolen. They were in my hood.
All in all, a great experience. Bathing in warm water surrounded by snow-covered mountains: what more could you ask for?
Skogafoss
Skogafoss, a stone's throw from Seljavallalaug, is one of the most impressive waterfalls on the south coast. It's about 200 feet high, with 438 steps from the bottom to the viewing platform at the top. If you've never felt your legs burn, climb those steps. It's more than twice the climb to Whitby Abbey.
The power and the spray are immense: get too close and you'll get wet. It's one of the biggest falls in Iceland, which counts for something in a country with over 10,000 waterfalls. It's roughly 100 miles from Reykjavik, about two hours' drive, and you can see it from the ring road. It's that big. Pull into the signposted car park and you're there.
Photographing Skogafoss
There are lots of compositions to try, and if the sun hits it right you might catch a rainbow or two in front of the fall.
Tip As with any popular sight, get there early to beat the crowds. My photograph was taken at about 8am. The couple in the distance helped: it's the commonly taken shot, but they show how big the waterfall is.
With all that spray you can't get close without covering your lens in droplets, so think about other angles. When I have time before a trip, I research the usual angles people choose, then look for a different way to capture the place. I always take the tourist shot for our own album, but if I'm going to sell a print I want something unique.
I film our travels too, and make a video of each trip from the clips and photographs set to music. I'm no videographer, but I like to capture how a trip felt. I needed about ten takes at Skogafoss, edging closer each time to see how near I could get without getting soaked. Capturing the power of a waterfall in a photograph is one thing. Standing close enough to hear it echo around you is another. If your legs allow, climb the steps to the platform at the top for a different view of the fall and a panorama along the south coast.
Vik and the black sand beach
Vik, on the south coast, has natural wonders and pretty villages to explore. I took this photograph on the evening of my birthday. The colours you see weren't the ones I saw: just faint white wisps that we guessed were the northern lights. I was fairly new to long exposures, and my exposure ran longer than planned, so I made some star trails by accident. I still caught the lights, and saw the magic happen in front of me.
The sea stacks sit just off the coast. What you can't see in the photograph is the black sand beach. Its colour comes from the island's volcanic eruptions: the lava cools into solid rock, which wears down over time into grains fine enough to look like sand.
Drive round to the other side of Vik for Reynisfjara beach and its famous basalt columns, and puffins if you're lucky. Vik itself is very pretty, with its church on the hill opposite the beach and lupins all around. There's macro work in the lupins, wide angle shots from up by the church with the sea stacks in the distance, or take your tripod down to the beach and slow the water down for some seascapes.
Wherever you live, you don't often get to walk on a black sand beach. I live in the UK, where we have some perfect golden beaches, and I've walked on white sand in Greece, but never black until Vik. If you're working your way along the south coast from Skogafoss, it's only about 30 minutes further in the car.
Vik sits in the shadow of the Myrdalsjokull glacier, which covers the Katla volcano. Its last eruption was in 1918, but the locals still practise drills for the first sign of another. Many of the south coast's sights are just off the ring road, and you drive right through Vik on the way to the glaciers. It's a good stop if you've driven straight from the airport, with a nice hotel and a local cafe.
Svartifoss and Iceland in black and white
Most people come to Iceland for its landscapes: waterfalls, geysers, glaciers and canyons everywhere you look. At Svartifoss the composition is tricky, because the viewing platform sits just to the right of the shot and you can't get very close. I balanced on a boulder in the water, straddling a couple of rocks to get low enough and in line with the waterfall. I loved it, more for the basalt columns than the waterfall itself. We were staying at Kirkjubaejarklaustur for a couple of nights, only an hour away.
Wherever you park in Iceland there's a stunning view, and most people come for the colour. After taking a lot of photographs I realised the contrast in these landscapes, especially in winter, lends itself to black and white. My black and white print of the basalt columns at Svartifoss is one of them, and you'll find it with the prints from this trip below.
The blue ice caves
If you go to Iceland in winter, I'd highly recommend an ice cave tour. You'll have seen photographs of the bright blue ice and its textures, and I can tell you the colours really are that blue: vivid and textured, which makes for great photography.
You can only visit in winter, and only with an organised tour. I'd never go on your own unless you live there and know the terrain, or you'll end up on the local news for the wrong reasons. The guides know the caves and check them often to keep everyone safe. They make a living from it, but it's really about your safety.
The journey there is half the fun. You ride in huge 4x4s with tyres the size of people, fine on the road, but once you're off-road you bounce all over the place, in a good way. Imagine a rollercoaster on snow, crossing what feels like the Arctic with nothing but snow-capped mountains around you.
At the cave you're given a helmet and spikes for your shoes and led down a precarious-looking hole cut into the side of a snowdrift, with a plank of wood that seems to be holding the entrance up. It's very safe. Inside, one by one, you walk into something from an Indiana Jones film, if he ever came to Iceland.
My one disappointment: in the rush to make the tour on time, I'd forgotten my tripod. I was fairly new to long exposures, and my photographs came out shaky. I tried propping the camera on the snow, but it didn't work well enough. I'll be back, with the tripod.
There are plenty of tour companies to choose from. I usually annoy my partner with how much research I do before going anywhere new, because I want everyone with me to be safe, and I read every review. The meeting points are a long drive from Reykjavik, so stay somewhere close the night before.
Reykjavik
On our second trip we flew from Luton. We live in the North East, so we travelled down the day before for the 7am flight, which meant getting up at 4am to be at the airport for 5am. The upside was a chance to see Reykjavik, very tired.
The Harpa concert hall, right next to the Sun Voyager sculpture, is stunning. Both are photographed all over the web but still lovely in person. We also went to the Perlan, which towers over the city from a hill in the Oskjuhlid area. Its dome has an observation deck with a panoramic view of the capital.
The Glaciers and Ice Cave exhibition starts in an ice cave built inside one of the hot water tanks the Perlan dome sits on. You're encouraged to use your senses: look at the ice, touch it, listen to it and feel the cold. After the ice tunnels, the second floor has an interactive wall showing the forces of the glaciers and the volcanic activity beneath you. We grabbed a quick snack in town before our three-hour drive along the south coast to our rental.
Choosing where to stay
Plan your base before anything else. In Iceland, unless you stay in a roadside hotel, your accommodation will often be off the beaten track. Ours looked on Google Maps like a manageable dirt track for our hire car, but Google Maps doesn't show how rough a road is. Ours was bumpy as anything at 5mph, so our one-hour trips to a viewpoint took two. We could have asked the host, but the description didn't mention the road. Bear it in mind if you want to see a lot in a short time.
Our plan is to go back one day, hire a campervan and spend two weeks going round the ring road. We haven't even touched the north of the island yet.
Nick
