Over the past few years, coinciding with the rise of drone photography, we have been bombarded with images from the magical landscapes of Iceland. A place of harsh conditions, where fire and ice truly meet as volcanic eruptions spray lava next to some Europe’s largest glaciers. But how accessible is it? how much does it cost? and can you do it on your own? There are many photography workshops and tours that run during the summer months, but these are extremely expensive and often leave you wanting more time at each location. Patients is often key to capturing that perfect shot, so running on someone else’s schedule can be a jarring experience. This is why, when my partner Emily and myself, got the opportunity to travel to Iceland in early spring 2019 we decided to do it on our own.
We set off from Halifax, Nova Scotia (previous home), and after a short flight landed in Reykjavík. Since we were travelling in early spring, a lot of the F roads in the central highlands would be closed (4x4 required). Further north we would encounter plenty of snow and wet weather, so we decided to hire a medium size SUV. Like all things in Iceland this was not cheap, and fuel across the country remained above €3 the entire way.
Reykjavík is a beautiful city and 2 days is enough to comfortably walk around and see all the sites. Restaurants are extremely expensive, upwards of €30 for a basic burger and chips, so our entire trip we decided to stay in AirBnb accommodation with kitchens. Buying groceries and cooking for yourself helps the budget massively.
Hallgrímskirkja church stands atop the city, giving you beautiful views of the surrounding fjords. From here you can easily walk down to the water’s edge, passing by plenty of boutique shops and restaurants. I spent most of my time photographing the fishing boats moving in and out of the harbour with the mountains as a backdrop.
Our first road trip was a circular route called the Golden Circle, which takes you into the southern uplands of Iceland and back to Reykjavík. A trail 300 kilometres long, you can easily get it done in a day, leaving plenty of time at each site. We had no issues in our Mazda CX5 SUV, even with snow in most car parks. We left Reykjavík well before sunrise heading east, our first destination Þingvellir National Park. As soon as you exit the city limits, the landscape just opens up around you! Shortly into the drive, we stopped to capture the pre-dawn light catching the snow covered mountains.
The Þingvellir National Park is site of Iceland's parliament from the 10th to 18th centuries. The park sits in a rift valley caused by the separation of two tectonic plates, with rocky cliffs and fissures like the huge Almannagjá fault. We had a perfectly still morning, so as the sun rose, we captured mirror images in the lake. Be sure to leave some time to walk around not only the lake, but the surrounding cliffs! The next destination was the Öxarárfoss Waterfall, but unfortunately the track here was closed due to heavy snow. Travelling at this time of the year can lead to a few dead ends, but the lack of crowds at the major sites definitely make up for this.
Pushing on we next head to Geyser Strokkur at Haukadalur. This is a geothermal area on the Golden Circle that has many different erupting geysers. The two most viewed are Geysir and Strokkur, and both erupt roughly every 15 minutes. The landscape is a wild mix of hues and colours thanks to the amount of sulphur being released into the air. With the harsh white of the surrounding snow, it was quite difficult to capture without blown out highlights. A polarising filter will help to reduce the glare and allow you to see the colours within the pools better. With some patients you can capture the geysers as they vent, showing a bright blue just before it goes!
From here we head to the easternmost point of this drive, and arguably the biggest site on the Golden Circle. Gullfoss Waterfall is an amazing two-tier waterfall. Gullfoss literally translates to ‘Golden’, but on this day surrounded by snow with the sun shining bright, all you see is a vibrant blue. With the lower walking tracks closed, getting uninterrupted photos here was a breeze. Shooting from the south you are looking up through the falls, from side on you can see straight down into to stunning gorge formed by the second fall. This is one of the most magnificent sights in all of Iceland, and has a carpark designed to take a lot of tour buses! So, if you’re travelling during the summer, make sure you leave yourself enough time.
Last stop was The Crater Kerið, formed about 6500 years ago, most likely from a volcanic eruption. During the summer months the blue water is said to be spectacular, but for us it was completely frozen over, allowing the red and black volcanic deposits to dominate the scene. This was our first taste of an Icelandic volcano, so we spent quiet a while walking around the crater rim and then down to the lakes edge. The trip back to Reykjavík takes you across a mountain pass but is overall an easy enough drive after such a long day. My main advice is get up early! The landscape can be overwhelming at times, so you will find yourself pulling over a lot between sites just to take it all in. After a good night’s rest, we once again got up before the sun to hike the Esja Mountain Range.
Esja is not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range, made from basalt and tuff, about a 10km drive from Reykjavík. We did the 7.7-km loop trail near Mosfellsbær, which takes you up to a place called "Steinn" which means Rock. It's a higher rock after 600m elevation, and about as far as you can go in wintery conditions. If you have a spare day around Reykjavík I strongly suggest heading here for a challenging, yet rewarding hike! With fantastic views of the ocean and Reykjavík, this trail is accessible all year round but in the winter time you have ice & snow on the track.
Part 2 will take us to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Kirkjufell!
