River's Spectacular Journey To The Sea In Rural Iceland
River's journey, through a majestic landscape to the sea, in rural Iceland.
It’s a glorious sight to behold a fast flowing river’s journey, as it cuts its way through a rocky landscape in rural Iceland. But photographing the river’s journey, as it makes its way towards the sea, is even better.
Iceland is an amazing place to visit with glorious opportunities awaiting the enthusiastic landscape photographer. This photo was made, well after midnight, on a lovely, long summer night on my first day driving around Iceland.
Iceland in July: Road Conditions
My first trip to Iceland was during the month of July and I reveled in those long summer days.
Situated just under the arctic circle you don’t quite experience the midnight sun in Iceland. However, the days are almost as long, which is a tremendous advantage for the landscape photographer during those long, summer nights.
Frankly, with so much to see and photograph as you travel around the country, you’ll need all the time your schedule can accomodate and mother nature can provide.
It’s good to remember that Iceland is actually quite a large country and, once you get off Route 1 commonly known as the Ring Road, driving conditions can deteriorate quickly.
Prepare yourself for bumpy gravel roads and ensure you significantly reduce your driving speed to avoid accidents and reduce the chance of damage to your vehicle due to the bumpy, rutted nature of many of these minor roads.
Nonetheless, if you’re keen to see as much of the country as possible, then driving around Iceland is definitely the preferred option. But be aware that it’s an 820 mile (1322 km) drive around the country via Route 1. And that’s without any side excursions down long, corrugated dirt roads, some of which will include water crossings.
I’ve been to the country twice, and while less driving will allow you to concentrate your energies on a particular part of the country, you’ll experience a wider variety of landscapes if you journey around the entire island.
And that’s certainly going to be the case if, now and again, you head of the Ring Road and take some of the more interesting and scenic minor roads. There will be amazing waterfalls, incredible geological formations and all manner of serene and picturesque opportunities awaiting you on some of those roads.
Just remember, if you decide to leave Iceland’s Route 1 and explore some of the country’s minor roads, to follow these vital tips:
Do your research before venturing off the Ring Road
Make sure you have as much fuel in your car’s tank as possible
Check local weather reports before undertaking journeys beyond a few short miles
Ensure you have adequate insurance to cover damage to your hire car
Bring plenty of extra food, water, socks, underwear, warm and waterproof clothes in case of a vehicle breakdown
Where possible, travel with at least one other vehicle, and always make sure your mobile device is well charged before you head off into these less traveled areas
Iceland Weather Conditions In Summer
Iceland experiences an average of 19-21 hours of daylight during July with the sun rising at around 4 a.m. and setting at about 11 p.m.
If it appears I’ve hedged by bets a little it’s because, if the weather’s fine, there’s still quite a bit of light in the sky for an hour or so after sunset and before sunrise.
In the height of summer, if the weather’s fine, it’s only relatively dark for around 3 hours.
What matters is that sunrise follows very quickly after sunset and, in the height of summer, the golden hour is significantly extended.
Photographing at these latitudes is completely different to the more frantic activity that’s often associated with photographing a sunrise or sunset on or near the equator.
This fact presents huge advantages to the enthusiastic photographer, allowing for changes of lenses, viewpoints, exposures and subject matter far beyond what you’d expect when photographing sunrise or sunset closer to the equator.
Having said that, longer daylight hours does not, necessarily, equate to amazing sunrises or sunsets.
Iceland receives quite a lot of rain and, while the weather and temperatures were quite comfortable for the type of energetic landscape photography I was undertaking, almost all sunrise and sunsets I photographed were diminished in impact by by flat light as the sun set behind a bank of clouds.
No matter how high your energy levels or motivation to make really great photos, weather can impact your results, at least when it comes to creating spectacular images at sunrise and sunset.
Of course poor weather doesn't eliminate the opportunity for great photos, but it does make it more challenging.
I only experienced one really great sunrise or sunset on each of my Iceland photography adventures.
Despite good organization, the highest motivation and significant financial outlays the goddess of photography will simply not shine her glorious light when and where we want it.
Let this be a warning to new players and those attending outdoor photography workshops.
At the end of the day your own photography adventures, just like your vacation or your annual employee evaluation is what you make of it.
Being highly organized, wearing the most appropriate clothing for the weather conditions you’re experiencing, and adopting a positive and enthusiastic mindset are key components to making great photos when the conditions seem to be against you.
Iceland: Making Photos Throughout The Night
It does rain a lot in Iceland but, if the weather’s clear at this time of year, it’s possible to drive through the day and stay out photographing well after midnight.
This approach allowed me to cover significant distances and photograph well into the night. In fact my day’s photography would often not be completed until around 3 a.m. the following morning.
On one occasion I remember collapsing in my camper van at around 7 a.m. after a very active and quite incredible all-night photography adventure.
Being a bit of a night owl I had no problem adapting to this regime. Though I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, and I wouldn’t want to do it, night after night, for an extended period of time.
On my first trip to Iceland my regime would see me drive and explore during the day, stopping to photograph when and wherever possible, with the intention of arriving at a specific location between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. in the evening.
The idea was to arrive, as the extended golden hour began, and photograph an iconic location at sunset and, if possible, continue photographing the location throughout the night and continue past sunrise on the following morning.
If the weather was bleak I’d take a nap in the camper van, occasionally sticking my head out of the window to check for breaks in the weather and light that was better suited to epic landscape photography.
On other occasions, regardless of the weather, the locations were so wonderful that I made the best of whatever light was available to me and made the best photos I could. And I was never unhappy with the results, nor with my efforts Making Something Out Of Nothing.
Conclusion: Iceland is Heaven on Earth
Let me briefly summarise my own beliefs in relation to landscape photography, which is as true for my experiences photographing in Iceland as in other equally exotic locations like Central Australia, The Himalayas, Greenland and Antarctica.
You have to work for and earn your best photographs.
Your best landscape photos rarely, if ever, feature iconic locations.
The best images are often made on the journey. So stop the car, get out and make the most of it.
It’s my belief that your attitude should be to make rather than take photographs. And that’s most certainly the case for anyone who feels a spiritual connection to the landscape and to the transient, transformational and transcendental nature of light.
Speaking of the words make and take, I wrote a post dealing with the photographer’s vernacular. It’s titled Photographer's Vernacular: 3 Ugly Words I Really Hate. You may or may not agree with it, but I’m sure you’ll find it thought provoking.
The photo at the top of this post was made on the first night of my epic journey driving around Iceland.
With the exception of one other night in the highlands, this was probably the most beautiful light I experience during my first Iceland photography adventure.
And it lingered, for several hours, as I stopped to photograph rivers, dams and the glorious Gullfoss waterfall.
Iceland is heaven on earth for a landscape photographer. And that’s particularly the case when you’re able to photograph, for an extended period of time, under such spectacular light.
While the above location may not be particularly iconic, the experience of photographing throughout that evening was one of my happiest for the entire trip.
Believe me, two extended trips to Iceland is in no way enough. There’s so much more I want to see and photograph, and I can’t wait until I return.