Are you ready
for a life-changing adventure?

• Arrival at Keflavík International Airport.
• Bus or taxi transfer to Grand hotel Reykjavik
• Initial introductions in the evening.
• Meeting with your colleagues and artists, a small networking session.
• Plan overview, logistics, and locations you’ll be shooting.
• Warm welcome dinner.

© lurie Belegurschi

Practice on many wonders of the Snaefellsnes peninsula in West Iceland:

• Arnarstapi fishing village. We’ll witness its fantastic nearby beach, ravines, columnar basalt, caves and rock formations, as well as the strong waves of the North Atlantic Ocean. A central attraction there is the Gatklettur natural stone arch and nearby lava field, Hellnagraun.
• Budakirkja – a charming old black church of the 19th century. It stands in a moss-grown lava field surrounded by an old turf wall with a mountain ring around it. Nearby you’ll see remnants of an old farm and rare golden sand beach.
• Mount Kirkjufell, a landmark of the fishing town Grundarfjörður. The mountain is distinctive for its pyramid-like shape and is renowned for having appeared in HBO's Game of Thrones series.
• Londrangar sea stacks and Svalþúfa Hill, a crater that has mostly fallen to erosion. At Þúfubjarg cliff, you will also be able to enjoy the magnificent birdlife of the area, including puffins, kittiwakes, common murres, northern fulmars.

© lurie Belegurschi

© lurie Belegurschi

Bus ride to the lovely highland oasis of Landmannalaugar. With its hot springs and natural baths, its colourful rhyolite mountains, its spectacular rock formations, vast lava fields and lush vegetation, the area is one of the most popular and photogenic oases in the country. The list of the locations we’ll visit will depend on the weather, but we plan to see the following Iceland wonders:

• Frostastaðaháls area, including Frostastaðavatn lake.
• Waterfalls of the Sigöldugljúfur canyon. While not as well known as many of other Icelandic attractions, Sigöldugljúfur canyon is a marvel in its own right, sure to result in stunning photos. The contrast of the green moss, the water and the dark rock make for a particularly pleasing effect.
• Landmannalaugar natural baths. These relaxing hot pools make for the perfect way to relax at the end of a busy day.
• Veiðivötn area and further explore and photograph its many beautiful highland lakes, craters and lava formations.
• Iceland‘s second-highest waterfall, Háifoss.This stunning feature drops 122 meters into a deep river gorge. We will also photograph the nearby waterfall, Granni. Both of these waterfalls are part of the river Fossa, itself a tributary of the Þjórsá glacier river, the longest river in Iceland. Photo set at the third waterfall on the river, Hjálparfoss in case of favorable conditions. Arriving at this destination, you'll quickly realize the waterfall will be another valued contribution to your expanding portfolio.

© lurie Belegurschi

© Yifei Liu

© Ben Karpinski

Visit to the Vatnajökull National Park, a vast area that contains many of Iceland’s greatest subjects for photography. You can expect a range of subjects throughout the first part of this day, including lava landscapes, glacier tongues, waterfalls and desert-like stretches of black sands.

• Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Jökulsárlón is a truly beautiful place, where vivid blue icebergs break from the retreating glacier tongue Breiðamerkurjökull and slowly float across the lake towards the ocean.
• Diamond Beach, a stretch of black-sand coastline where icebergs wash ashore after finally reaching the ocean. Here, you will have the chance to capture sun stars and golden glints hitting each iceberg.

© Sarah Lyndsay

• Visit to the spectacular Skaftafell Nature Reserve. This area is so beautiful that it was once a national park in its own right. You will spend the majority of the day shooting its many sites, continuing to practice your landscape photography. Your subjects will include glacier tongues and lagoons, mountains, ice caps, forests, river systems, and waterfalls.
• South Coast exploration. Windswept peninsula of Dyrhólaey is home to an abundance of birdlife as well as a historic lighthouse that makes for wonderful compositions. You’ll have the opportunity to photograph the cliffs from above and below, where the black sand beach extends all the way into the horizon.
• Trip to black sand beach of Reynisfjara, where columnar cliffs meet the roaring waves of the North Atlantic Ocean. You’ll be able to spot puffins swooping down from their nests atop these basaltic columns to catch fish in the ocean. If the tide is out then you’ll be able to explore the naturally formed cave that sits by the shore, as well as get closer to the Reynisdrangar sea stacks that rise from the water.
• After dinner, you’ll have the option to explore the fishing village of Vík í Mýrdal as the Midnight Sun circles overhead, and there’s no spot more magical than the beautiful church that overlooks the village itself. Surrounded by purple lupines, it makes for a truly romantic scene, set against the backdrop of the Reynisdrangar sea stacks in the distance. You’ll then retire to your accommodation in Vík í Mýrdal.

© lurie Belegurschi

© lurie Belegurschi

• Return to Reykjavik, where we’ll have post-processing sessions, photo reviews, photography lectures, and, of course, the farewell party.

© Evelyn Paris

© Yves Alarie

This is the final day of our Skylum and Iceland Photo Tours Camp. No doubt you’ll have countless images of the northern lights and ice caves saved to your memory cards, as well as a wonderful range of new photography skills under your belt to practice into the future. When it’s time, you will take a transfer back to Keflavík International Airport, where you’ll be able to catch your flight home or onwards to your next destination.

© lurie Belegurschi