Non UK Iceland - anyone been? (South ideally)

Katchit

Katchit

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Hey everyone.

I am heading to Iceland for the first time, in December. I am staying in the south of the country and wondered if anyone on here had been previously and had any decent photography locations to share with me.

Many thanks!
 
Check out the FotoVue guidebooks and recent vlogs by Thomas Heaton about his trip there last month
 
It's on my bucket list and was booked to go last year but it got cancelled ....

Good luck with the trip and enjoy.

I'm going to keep an eye on the thread for tips and advice.
 
Thanks Jon, hoping it will be a great trip!

Lindsay thank for that, I shall check out Thomas' vlogs!
 
DerekD said:
You might find this useful.

The Photographer's Guide to Iceland - Volume 1: The South & West : Bowness, Ellen: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Buy The Photographer's Guide to Iceland - Volume 1: The South & West by Bowness, Ellen (ISBN: 9780992683498) from Amazon's Book Store. Free UK delivery on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

I think the key to getting good photographs in Iceland is having your own transport.
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Ah that is a good find thank you for sending the link Derek! We are hiring a car so we should be able to get about well! Thanks again.
 
Katchit said:
Ah that is a good find thank you for sending the link Derek! We are hiring a car so we should be able to get about well! Thanks again.
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I went in March a few years back, on an organised trip rather than driving ourselves.
Please make sure you have a good watch on the weather if you are driving yourself - it can change from blue skies to minimal visibility snowstorms very quickly (as we found out one day), and I was very glad is was Otto (out driver) behind the wheel when it did - the only way to tell the line of the road was by the roadside marker posts - the surface was just a featureless mass of snow otherwise.
Having said that, Iceland is an amazing place for photography, have a great time!
 
There are loads of classic locations Vestrahorn, Eystrahorn, Jokulsarlon, Ice beach, Vik, Skogafoss etc are all in the south and easy to reach but there are opportunities around almost every corner. The Fotovue guidebook is full of all the info you need as well as being a beautiful coffee table book... buy from www.fotovue.com and use JUSTIN as a discount code for 20% off
 
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Nothing really to add but been twice. December weather can be vicious but at least there won’t be as many tourists around.

just a poor iPhone shot
IMG_1542.jpeg
 
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Number 1, 2 and 3. Go early to the places, Usually they are packed with tourists, even in winter.

My favorite places that are not over crowded by tourists are.
  • Brúarfoss
  • Háifoss
  • Sigöldugljúfur (better to use a 4x4 or atleast high ground clearence)
  • Þjófafoss
  • Rauðufossar (4x4 and close during winter)
  • Landmannalaugar (4x4 and closed during winter)
  • Gluggafoss
  • Kvernufoss
  • Stokksnes/Vestrarhorn
  • Múlagljúfur
Places that are a must but can be filled with tourists
  • Skógarfoss (and all the other ones on the hike ontop of it)
  • Geysir (Must see for tourists, but I dont think its special)
  • Sólheimasandur plane wreck (just for cool photos, if short on time, skip it since it takes a long time to walk there and back)
  • Reynisdrangar
  • Svartifoss (One of the most beautiful waterfalls)
  • Diamond beach/Jökulsárlón
  • Þingvellir (For history)
One extra, that is close to the Airport, "Valhnúkamöl"

This is just the south coast and places that I think are amazing. People not from Iceland will probably think alot more places are amazing and worth visiting on the south coast.

Just take your time and look around when driving, there are so many places to look at!
Hope this helps
 
Thanks everyone for your help and your suggestions really appreciate you taking the time out!
 
I went in the summer but only had a couple of days due to being enroute to the USA.
Would recommend a whale watching boat trip if you at all enjoy wildlife.
Make sure you rent an SUV with insurance cover for the F roads (gravel roads with possible river crossings). Public transport is non existant.
Don't rent from Reyjavik, rent from the airport or with airport pickup.
I used https://www.lotuscarrental.is/rent-a-car-in-iceland

Plenty to see in the south but the distances are great.
Rekjavik to the Diamond beach is quite some distance and takes even longer if you stop at several waterfalls and glaciers on the way like Skogafoss (and some falls upstream) and Seljalandsfoss (there's a hidden fall a short walk away too).
You really want a couple of weeks to explore properly. ;)
 
Im also going in December (17-21st) but as a TUI organised package trip. I know we go on a Golden Circle tour, and a couple of nights Aurora spotting. I think we have the last day free to do our own thing so not sure what to do. We are in Reykavic and wont have transport.
If anyone has any tips on what photography equipment to take, packing techniques, care of equipment whilst there in the harsh temperatures etc, that would be much appreciated. Apologies if ive hijacked the thread but hopefully it will help us all.
 
jpgreenwood said:
Im also going in December (17-21st) but as a TUI organised package trip. I know we go on a Golden Circle tour, and a couple of nights Aurora spotting. I think we have the last day free to do our own thing so not sure what to do. We are in Reykavic and wont have transport.
If anyone has any tips on what photography equipment to take, packing techniques, care of equipment whilst there in the harsh temperatures etc, that would be much appreciated. Apologies if ive hijacked the thread but hopefully it will help us all.
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If you have a free day, hire a car and get out on your own.
If you don't want to hire a car, I can thoroughly recommend a whale watching boat trip from Reykjavik harbour.
We did this one in the summer, but don't worry, they provide thermal coveralls.
It was about 3hrs on the water and we did see whales, dolphins and puffins.
If you do this, I'd recommend a 100-400mm lens as they can pop up anywhere from 10metres to 1km away.

As for gear to take, take a tripod, lenses that will cover you from 15/16mm up to 200/300 (assuming full frame). Try to make sure you have a wide lens that goes at least to f2.8 because if/when the aurora kicks off you'll want a lens that can open up wide. This could be a 14/16mm f2.8 prime or a 16-35 f2.8 zoom. If you don't have one, I'd recommend hiring one.
Take an ND filter and/or polariser for photographing waterfalls.
On the aurora front, join this facebook group, it has the most comprehensive info on when the next aurora will hit the earth. https://www.facebook.com/groups/492548942452002/
And install the Glendale app https://aurora-alerts.uk/ (both cover UK and Iceland).

In terms of looking after gear, make sure you have something to cover the camera if raining/snowing (even a cheap plastic shower cap works).
If you have been using your camera in the cold, leave it in the bag when you get back to the warm car/accommodation. Leave it in there for a couple of hours to get up to temperature. The air in the bag will gradually warm up from freezing to ambient room temp. I'd also do the same when heading out, ie try to pack your camera bag earlier and perhaps in a cooler area of the building then any air and kit in it will cool down more before you want to take it out in the cold. This will hopefully prevent you getting moisture in lenses and cameras.
Also remember that camera batteries won't last as long in the cold, so take plenty of spares.
 
Many thanks. I’ve got F2.8 lenses all the way from 11mm up to 200mm. DX sensor. I really don’t want to pack my 200-500 as it’s massive . But I’d hate to miss out. Not sure if the missus would do a 3 hour boat trip.
Also, car hire is out of the question. But would love to know if there are any locals that offer trips to out of town spots? We can’t go too far.
 
jpgreenwood said:
Many thanks. I’ve got F2.8 lenses all the way from 11mm up to 200mm. DX sensor. I really don’t want to pack my 200-500 as it’s massive . But I’d hate to miss out. Not sure if the missus would do a 3 hour boat trip.
Also, car hire is out of the question. But would love to know if there are any locals that offer trips to out of town spots? We can’t go too far.
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If you do the boat trip I linked to, it's on a larger boat, not an inflatable, so doesn't rock too badly, you can stay indoors in the warm, there's a bar and toilets.
Take a look on Trip Advisor for day trips out of Reykjavik.
200mm on DX should be ok. 11mm f2.8 on DX should be ok, but you'll need to be aware of how good your sensor is with noise in low light for aurora shots.
 
I dont recomend whale watching in Reykjavík during the winter. Not much to see(just Minke and you have to be very lucky to see them close), During the summer its fine but If you are driving to the north, do the whale watching there, in Húsavik or Dalvík
 
/\ agree with this. We went on a boat in September (end) and saw two dolphins- waste of time. Alternative things to do in Reykjavik- Sky Lagoon(brownie points from the wife), Perlan, Fly over Iceland. We also did a food tour which was excellent.
i enjoyed just walking round Reykjavik (but enjoy street photography)
 
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Craig1912 said:
/\ agree with this. We went on a boat in September (end) and saw two dolphins- waste of time. Alternative things to do in Reykjavik- Sky Lagoon(brownie points from the wife), Perlan, Fly over Iceland. We also did a food tour which was excellent.
i enjoyed just walking round Reykjavik (but enjoy street photography)
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Whale watching wise, we went in August and saw a fair few whales and dolphins but obviously it's seasonal.
Regard the lagoons, Blue Lagoon is the big touristy one near the airport, but currently closed due to the earthquakes. Sky Lagoon is much newer but a bit more 'spa-experience' oriented.
Another touristy thing is the Lava Show, it's pretty pricey, but unique to Iceland.
 
The volcano has kicked off and I understand Blue Lagoon has been affected. Guess it will massively affect traffic going to the south of the Island...
 
welshwizard645 said:
The volcano has kicked off and I understand Blue Lagoon has been affected. Guess it will massively affect traffic going to the south of the Island...
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Blue lagoon is not affected yet, well it depends what you call affected. It has been temporarily closed because its in the danger zone.
No affect on traffic, neither air traffic or by car.
The Volcano has slowed down ALOT in just 2 days. When it started, I could see the Lava itself launching in the air (Like a geysir) just while standing outside my house. Yesterday I only saw it while driving home from work. Today, I didnt see it at all, not even the lights from it. (I live 15km away from the volcano)
 
Katchit said:
Hey everyone.

I am heading to Iceland for the first time, in December. I am staying in the south of the country and wondered if anyone on here had been previously and had any decent photography locations to share with me.

Many thanks!
Click to expand...
I've been four years ago and felt like I wasted the trip at the time, torrential rain and bad planning ruined it a little, the latter being the biggest issue. I'm planning a trip this year for around mid-October to early November. If there is one valuable resource, I'd recommend Photographing Iceland (A photo guide to 100 locations) by Einar Gudmann and Gyda Hennigsdottir. They live in Iceland and their book, in my opinion is the best available when planning a trip. My other downfall on my trip was basing myself in Reykjavik and having to travel back every day, it was just too much driving and I think it was a 5-6 hour drive to Diamond Beach (Jokulsarlon). This time around I'll be getting a 4 wheel drive vehicle and planning a circular tour of the Island. Also, you should be ok in December, but in peak season, it's very touristy (Is that a word?). I remember being caught in long lines of traffic going to certain locations. Also note that there may be as little as 2-3 hours of daylight in December.
Mads Peter Iversen also sells a useful location guide to Iceland but I can't stress enough that planning is critical for a trip to Iceland.
 
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