Iceland Photo Travel – part 1

A couple months ago I visited Iceland for the first time. I loved it. I loved it so much in fact, that I promised myself that I would return to spend dedicated time photographing it. The island is tiny compared to the size and population of many U.S. states, but there is so much to do and see.

Right now I’m in Iceland, carrying out that promise. I’m here for 10 days photographing as much as the winter landscape as I can fit in. It’s cold, and much more snowy than I anticipated, but there’s something about this country that’s otherwordly. Being here it’s not hard to imagine why over half of Iceland’s population still believes in hidden elves (seriously).

The first part of my trek has brought me to Snaefellsnes, an iconically beautiful part of the country (which says a lot since it’s Iceland). One of the highlights of Snaefelsnes is Kirkjufell (not pronounced how it looks), a pointy mountain located half-way down the peninsula on its northern edge. Part of the reason I’m here now is to photograph the Northern Lights, and Snaefelsnes makes a great location for this.

The problem is, the weather has been sort of horrible the past two days, with gail force winds and snow pummeling the roads. I spent the day watching the cloud cover, convinced that there’s no way that the skies would be clear enough to see the aurora. After dinner, I went back to my room ready for sleep. I looked out the window and didn’t see anything. Then, on a hunch I picked up my camera and did a long exposure — There it was, bands of light green across the sky. I hauled ass in my Chevy Spark (very tiny car) back to Kirkjufell and captured this image:

Snaefellsnes with the Northern Lights.

Seeing the aurora was pretty awesome, and I have about 7 more days here to photograph the landscape and people. Which is a good thing, because shortly after capturing this image, what I can only describe as a frightening blizzard descended upon the area (wind is between 30 an 40 mph as I write this). Here’s some video of that.

Here are a couple other images, one of me posing with Kirkjufell, the next of my trusty Chevy Spark and the aurora, and finally Kirkjufell during day light (which there isn’t much of):

My trusty front wheel drive Chevy Spark with the Northern LightsSelf-portrait with Kirkjufell just outside of Grundarfjörður.
Kirkjufell in the day time.

Here are some other images from my drive from Reykjavik to Stykkishólmur in Snæfellsnes:

Drive from Reykjavik to Snæfellsnes.
Icelandic horses are somehow better looking than other horses.
Lonely, icy drive to Snæfellsnes.

I've been shooting professionally since 2009—ever since I bought my first DSLR and realized I love making images. Since then, photography has been nothing short of a passion for me. Regardless of what I'm shooting or who I'm shooting it for, it's important to me that my client is satisfied and feels that the photos represent them in the best possible light. Making a photo is a personal experience. That's why I do what it takes to make sure that my subjects' personalities shine through an image—whether it's a portrait, corporate headshot, fashion line, music festival, family photo, or product shot, every image is sincere and true to self. A little more about me: I'm a Californian, born and raised. I grew up in L.A. before moving to the Bay Area to attend undergraduate and graduate school at UC Berkeley. My interests in policy and photography brought me to Washington, DC where I'm currently living and loving it. Outside of photography, I love dark beers and new gadgets. My studio is in the neighborhood of Columbia Heights, near Adams Morgan. I'm always excited to talk about photography and work with new people. If you want to chat or get a price quote, drop me a line through the contact form and let's get started.