Iceland: A Photographic Journey
Its almost a year ago since I embarked on a trip to the land of fire and ice. After a spontaneous booking of the flights via an easyjet sale, along with 6 months in the planning, I wanted to make the most of my four day visit. The planned itinerary was a compact mixture of natural wonders, checking out the art & culture and generally exploring the south west side of the country in my rented automatic Suzuki Swift. Having always had a keen interest in photography, I wanted to photo document this once in a lifetime trip. One issue was that the only photography equipment I had to hand was the built-in camera on my iPhone. So making do with what I had, I went snap happy at each place I visited along with the occasional go with panoramic setting.
Day 1: After landing in Keflavik Airport from Luton, it was straight into the rental car (after a soul destroying hour and a half wait in a queue to pick up the keys) and off to the waterfall named Seljalandsfoss. Although Iceland has numerous waterfalls, this one you could walk behind it into a cave which provided a taster of the exploring I would be doing. Driving from the airport to the waterfall and then onto my digs in the country's capital Reykjavik, I was amazed at the sheer sclae of the landscape. It was like being in a Lord of the Rings film or in Game of Thrones, only difference was instead on being on horseback I was confined to a small Japanese automobile. Once at my hostel, it was straight out into the city to do some exploring and to get my bearings. Overlooking this area where I was staying was the Church of Hallgrimur (Hallgrimskirkja). This place of worship had an architectural style which looked like it had been driven out of the ground by an eruption deep within the bowels of the earth. Capturing it at dusk just added to its monolithic presence.
Day 2: On the doorstep of my hostel was Faxa Bay and looking out onto this stretch of water was the monument called ‘The Sun Voyager’. Getting up at early gave me the opportunity to see this monument in the atmospheric surroundings of early dawn which made for a perfect panoramic.
After getting that ticked off the list I headed off to the golden circle which included natural wonders such as Silfra, Geysir, Gullfoss and Kerid Crater Lake. The main activity on this day was snorkelling in the worlds clearest water between two the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia at Silfra. Although I was in a dry suit and the water was two degrees above zero, the view floating above a doorway into the earths crust was definitely worth it. Not even the bead of ice water that somehow managed to get into my dry suit and ran down my back could dampen this amazing experience. Moving from one extreme to the other, the next stop was Geysir which periodically erupts with boiling spring water. If the complimentary hot chocolate after diving didn’t warm me up, walking on the geothermal surroundings at the Geysir certainly did. After a few awe inspiring and well timed action shots of the Geysir exploding it was back into the car and on to Iceland’s iconic Gullfoss waterfall, which could be explored by several different look out points. This three teir scenic wonder, combined with a constant rainbow of mist, allowed you to get up close to truly feel the power of the water and its journey from the distant glacier. Following yet another picturesque cruise through the Icelandic landscape, my last stop on my golden circle drive was Kerid Crater Lake. As many people as there were at Gullfoss, I was surprised at how little people were at Kerid.
The Crater Lake, crafted by a huge volcanic explosion many years ago was steeped in bright green moss, deep rusty red coloured volcanic rock and at the centre the pool of water was a vivid aquamarine. Scaling the crater at near sun set created the ideal opportunity to reflect on that days exsurions of four very different natural wonders. Thinking that this was enough excitement for one day, the drive from Kerid back to Rekevik provided me with a drive through a hellacious thunderstorm, which made me appreciate Icelands some what unpredictable weather.
Day 3: Caving was on this day agenda followed by relaxation at the famous geothermal spa of the Blue Lagoon. Assuming there would be a gang of tourist at Raufarholshellir (Split Mount Cave), to my surprise I was literally the only person there. Having no previous caving experience and the trusty torch on my iPhone, I climbed through the lava tube to the entrance of the abyss of the caves entrance.
The only thing guiding me was a yellow guide line which weaved in and out of the wet rocks to provide the safest route. Fifteen minutes of clambering over wet rocks while juggling my iPhone to provide light, I came to my senses. Is was far too dangerous to carry on as both in front and behind me, in the depths of this cave, was pitch blackness. It was then I decided it was best if I make my way out. I learned afterwards that the route to get to the famed lava formations was a couple hours worth of caving. Im glad I got out when i did!. Originally the plan was to go straight to the Blue Lagoon afterwards however the route I took from split mount cave to the spa was through yet another incredible piece of Icelandic landscape.
The route firstly ran along the fringes of black rock beaches at Lake Kleifarvatn through to another geothermal region at Krysuvik. The sulphur in the soil has coloured the area with bright yellow, red, and green hues along with an overpowering smell of rotten eggs which was always familiar in the geothermal areas I visited. Nevertheless it was still amazing to me as id never seen anything like this before. This is where I was scaled the mountain side only to have a client call me regarding some freelance work. I took the call, answered some questions the client had about printing and carried on up the mountain side to capture some more images of the epic landscape.
I made impromptu stop at a crater lake called Graenavtn, i proceeded down to a winding coastal road in which the surroundings can only be described as entrance Mordor and Mount Doom. This was the craterous region called Stampar and a volcanic vent called Gunnuhver, which spewed out steam from a crack in the earth. Finally, I arrived at Blue Lagoon on schedule to chill out and take advantage of what the geothermal spa had to offer. My only gripe was the freezing cold ten metre walk in my swim shorts from the Spa’s main building to the heated lagoon were I was pelted by ice cold sideways rain. Once I was in the warmth of the lagoon I again reflected on that days event while watching the skys transition from dusk into twilight then into night.
Day 4: My last day on the island was reserved for museums and a final explore of the city of Reykjavik. Breakfast consisted of the National Museum of Iceland where I learnt a compressive history of the country from early settlers through to present day. Lunch was generous helping of modern art at the Reykjavik Art Museum, where the spread consisted of several engaging exhibitions. Firstly was the War and Peace exhibition my Icelandic artist Erro in which he explored different 20th Century wars in his trademark comic book style. Next was a video exhibition by Richard Mosse called ‘The Enclave’ which as a psychedelic yet disturbing look into the unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His video installation was filmed using a infra red camera which changes green of the jungle to a bright magenta which makes the notion of war a bit more bearable. On a more cheery and final note there was an engaging and interactive exhibition by Yoko Ono called ‘One More Story’. This hands-on exhibition allowed visitors, including myself to be part of the exhibiton whether it be writing message on the wall, hammering a nail into a board or pinning where you come from on a map. I believe the idea of the exhibition was to play on the thought of choice and how our decisions can change aspects of not just the art exhibition but the decision in our own lives. Its was this thought in which I left Iceland to head back to England and in how making the choice to go to Iceland provided me with an unforgettable experience. The four day journey exceeded all my expectations and hopefully the images i taken convey that.
