I'm going to Iceland this week - I am VERY excited as I've been wanted to go for years. Obviously there's going to be a lot of landscape shots and hopefully...the Northern Lights!!!
I am just a novice photographer with an entry level DSLR...but I'd like to make the most of this trip and get some great shots while developing my photography. I was wondering if anyone could spare a few hint and tips to get me started??
if you can take a tripod it will make a real difference. If the northern lights are happening you will want a tripod to capture it well and the waterfalls will allow you to capture them at a variety of speeds. I am not sure where you are from, but the light in Iceland is really different due to the latitude and it is hard to describe but it just comes in at a unique angle so you may want to look into a filter for your lens. Also I cannot imagine going to Iceland now without a wide angle lens. The drive from Reykjavik to the southeas along the ocean is just breathtaking and I would go back again to take even better pictures.
If you get a chance check out the following
The Reykjavik Art Museum and the sculptures they have there.
City Hall is amazing
Geysir
Blue Lagoon
Urrioafoss (Foss means waterfall)
Pingvellir National Park
Westman Islands if you can get there
Vik - Dyrholaey is just stunning and the farthest south and east I went. Also I ate at the truck stop there and it may have been the cleanest place I have ever been in my life. (Vik means town)
Skogarfoss and Seljaleandsfoss are awesome for photos
You'll have a fab time! We went during the end of October/beginning of November a few years ago and were blessed with amazing weather - sun and clear skies etc. A friend who went 2 weeks later wasn't quite as lucky and had horrible weather - grey skies, brown waterfalls etc...!
Anyway. We were in Reykjavic for 5 days and hired a car for 2 of those. We thought that worked out very well. We weren't rushed at all, and would have needed 2 weeks to explore much further. Rather than going on organised trips we took ourselves to the main "attractions" and found that there were very few others around (which in itself was amazing!). Cars come with a full winter kit (inc tyres) and driving/navigation was easy (only one main road!).
1) Gulfoss - enormous waterfall - you could experiment with different exposure times etc. But be careful, it's very icy out there, and there's very little in the way of health and safety barriers etc!
2) Strokkur - the famous geyser. Although I wasn't "into photography" at this time, I was particularly pleased with the shots I got of this. It was a clear day with the sun low on the horizon behind the geyser. I caught it at various stages of eruption and the sun made the little droplets sparkle. (I'll see if I can find you an example during the week).
3) Thingvellir - the National Park. Vastness. Interesting geographic features, crevices, waterfalls etc... Very pretty. We were the only two people in the whole park. We didn't see a single person or vehicle!
4) Blue Lagoon - geothermal spa. I only took one photo here, and froze my ass off in getting it (before taking it back into the locker and splashing back into the hot water). We went here at night - more atmospheric according to some photos I've seen, so I'd recommend doing this too (plus it gives you more daylight hours to explore elsewhere).
5) Northern Lights - this is the only organized trip we took (£35pp) and we were lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis (although it's not guaranteed). Knowing very little about photography I tried, and gave up, on trying to capture them - fearing I was missing out on the spectacle by fiddling around with my camera. I'd recommend planning these shots in advance! Some 365ers had good shots of them recently (search by tag maybe?) - possibly worth asking them about it.
6) Reykjavic - nice lake with geese, swans, ducks, Icelandic houses etc...
Good luck, and have fun - I'm sure you'll enjoy (and I'll look forward to seeing the photographs)
Iceland is just an awesome place! I was there at the beginning of March last year, and the only tip I have is to be prepared for wind/weather. While I had planned on cold, and potentially wet (snow, rain, hail, we experienced it all), I hadn't factored the wind into photo-taking; specifically how to try and keep my camera relatively dry when the wind was making most precipitation hit me more horizontal than vertical. We did have one afternoon of gale-force winds - didn't stop us from hiking around, but it did create challenges in taking pictures. In addition to the suggestions for places above, I'd add Perlan (dome-shaped building on top of a hill in Reykjavik) - really cool both inside and out, with lots of interesting photo ops; and the big church that you can see from everywhere in town - they close it at 5:00, but you have a sweeping view of the city from the top.
Wonderful place and great photo opportunities! The only other place I can add is a trip to Vik if you have the time. It is more about the drive there then the actual town itself. We stopped at a volcanic black sand beach along the way with some killer rock formations - my favorite place to shoot.
@gill_lnx I am going in just over a months time on a 4 night Orca Watching and Northern Lights tour. On 1 day we explore the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, 2 mornings we go whale watching, 1 afternoon we go on a walking tour of Grundasfjordur (where we are staying), another afternoon we visit the Volcano museum in Stykkisholmur harbour. On the last day we visit the Blue Lagoon. Admittedly I don't know what any of these places are like but when it is booked through "Discover The World" then I would imagine they would not have excursions that people would not like. Let me know what you think. Thanks.
I can't add much to @brumbe extensive list. I visited a couple of years ago around this time and flew straight into their first blizzard of the season. I would recommend taking super jeep tours if there is heavy snowfall because the regular vans won't be able to reach many roads if there is snow. The super jeeps can drive right on top of the snow - it is pretty cool but more expensive as well.
I went up there to chase the Northern Lights. I would just set your expectations low because the conditions have to be optimal. When I went there was heavy cloud cover so I never even bothered going out. Right now the aurora forecast is quiet so hopefully it sparks up in the coming days ( http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast). If you want to be prepared, you definitely should have a tripod and perhaps a trigger if you want to take longer exposures.
The Reykjavik Sculpture Solfar Viking Ship is pretty cool to photograph. There is also a lot of graffiti that I found interesting to photograph.
Fiskfelagid (Fish Company) and Sjavarkjallarinn (Seafood Cellar) are both wonderful for dinner. Awesome food.
Also we saw the northern lights over the old airport, hopped in the rental car (rented only one day and it was pure luck) and the farther we drove out of town the less we could see them. The hotel told us they are seen by the airport and the big building on the hill Elin mentioned more there.
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If you get a chance check out the following
The Reykjavik Art Museum and the sculptures they have there.
City Hall is amazing
Geysir
Blue Lagoon
Urrioafoss (Foss means waterfall)
Pingvellir National Park
Westman Islands if you can get there
Vik - Dyrholaey is just stunning and the farthest south and east I went. Also I ate at the truck stop there and it may have been the cleanest place I have ever been in my life. (Vik means town)
Skogarfoss and Seljaleandsfoss are awesome for photos
Anyway. We were in Reykjavic for 5 days and hired a car for 2 of those. We thought that worked out very well. We weren't rushed at all, and would have needed 2 weeks to explore much further. Rather than going on organised trips we took ourselves to the main "attractions" and found that there were very few others around (which in itself was amazing!). Cars come with a full winter kit (inc tyres) and driving/navigation was easy (only one main road!).
1) Gulfoss - enormous waterfall - you could experiment with different exposure times etc. But be careful, it's very icy out there, and there's very little in the way of health and safety barriers etc!
2) Strokkur - the famous geyser. Although I wasn't "into photography" at this time, I was particularly pleased with the shots I got of this. It was a clear day with the sun low on the horizon behind the geyser. I caught it at various stages of eruption and the sun made the little droplets sparkle. (I'll see if I can find you an example during the week).
3) Thingvellir - the National Park. Vastness. Interesting geographic features, crevices, waterfalls etc... Very pretty. We were the only two people in the whole park. We didn't see a single person or vehicle!
4) Blue Lagoon - geothermal spa. I only took one photo here, and froze my ass off in getting it (before taking it back into the locker and splashing back into the hot water). We went here at night - more atmospheric according to some photos I've seen, so I'd recommend doing this too (plus it gives you more daylight hours to explore elsewhere).
5) Northern Lights - this is the only organized trip we took (£35pp) and we were lucky enough to see the Aurora Borealis (although it's not guaranteed). Knowing very little about photography I tried, and gave up, on trying to capture them - fearing I was missing out on the spectacle by fiddling around with my camera. I'd recommend planning these shots in advance! Some 365ers had good shots of them recently (search by tag maybe?) - possibly worth asking them about it.
6) Reykjavic - nice lake with geese, swans, ducks, Icelandic houses etc...
Good luck, and have fun - I'm sure you'll enjoy (and I'll look forward to seeing the photographs)
And if you want to be inspired by what is possible (re Paula's reference to the light), this time lapse photography video from June of last year is absolutely stunning: http://unofficialnetworks.com/unreal-icelandic-time-lapse-video-midnight-sun-56299/
Enjoy your trip - Iceland is one of my favorite places on earth!
Have a great time!
I went up there to chase the Northern Lights. I would just set your expectations low because the conditions have to be optimal. When I went there was heavy cloud cover so I never even bothered going out. Right now the aurora forecast is quiet so hopefully it sparks up in the coming days ( http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast). If you want to be prepared, you definitely should have a tripod and perhaps a trigger if you want to take longer exposures.
The Reykjavik Sculpture Solfar Viking Ship is pretty cool to photograph. There is also a lot of graffiti that I found interesting to photograph.
Fiskfelagid (Fish Company) and Sjavarkjallarinn (Seafood Cellar) are both wonderful for dinner. Awesome food.
Also we saw the northern lights over the old airport, hopped in the rental car (rented only one day and it was pure luck) and the farther we drove out of town the less we could see them. The hotel told us they are seen by the airport and the big building on the hill Elin mentioned more there.