Iceland 2012

1 x obliterated 5d; 1 x smashed polariser; 2 x heavily bruised knees after a spectacular tumble and several severely furrowed brows and glazed eyes. I should also mention bruised buttocks from bumping around in the back of our minibus (that’s a different story though). This was the collective toll on our group following a recent trip to Iceland which coincided with 24hr daylight and a subsequent requirement to ignore the time and live by the light.

I love Iceland because I love drama. Skies full of threat, beaches full of nothing and birds everywhere – not a massive range but in massive numbers. Working at this time of year however, is demanding and there’s no doubt it’s tough on the body clock. But hey, you only live once.

Iceland has become THE destination for photo-tour groups in recent years. It wasn’t so much a secret before, it just didn’t seem to catch people’s attention. The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull a few years back changed all that and brought Iceland global attention. And rightly so – it’s a photographer’s nirvana.

I’m not going to give you a blow-by-blow account of where we went and what we shot but the images here should give you an idea of the variety on offer. Once again, we enjoyed the company of a great group of guests so my thanks (in no particular order) to Pauline & Chris, Cynthia and Wojciech, Ann and Helen, Melanie, Adrian, Richard and Cheryl for their good humour and for being in the Little Green Bus Gang. My thanks also to my co-pilot on this tour Mark Hamblin who in his maturing years, seems to have developed a talent for impersonating fast-moving locomotives in his sleep. Over the years I’ve shared endless rooms with the Snorer From Hell but this trip reached new heights.

We’ll be doing it all over again next year so if you want to join us, drop us a line.

Share this ...Tweet about this on TwitterShare on Facebook0Share on Google+0Email this to someonePin on Pinterest0

6 thoughts on “Iceland 2012

  1. Looks like you had a great time!

    I was there back in March and thought it was a fantastic place, even though I didn’t really get to even scratch the surface of this amazing country. The one thing that strikes me, is how much different the landscape is later in the year. I’d gone to photograph the Northern Lights (with quite a bit of sucess as it turns out!) and most places were still covered in snow and ice. There was very little in the way of visible vegetation. It actually looks quite “green” in some of your photos.

    Defintely somewhere I want to go back to!!

    Best wishes
    Phil.

  2. Iceland is indeed a wonderful place for photography. I went last year and walked the Laugavegur trail from Landmannalaugar to Thorsmork and then from there, over the Fimmvorouhals Pass to visit Magni and Modi Iceland’s newest hills and craters formed during the initial Eyjafjallajokull eruption.

    Despite or perhaps because of some pretty harsh weather we had a wonderful time photographically, although it was hard on both the photography and outdoor kit. The local people we met while trekking were great as well. Like most people say after visiting Iceland – I will be back.

  3. Many thanks for showing me a different face to Iceland and for getting us to all those spots. I had a real blast, and was good training for my next trip. Your generosity in offering to lend your camera when mine was playing tricks was beyond the call of duty. Hope you are pleased with the results of the trip – you should be. May your success continue.
    All the best
    Melanie

  4. Another triumph for Northshots and our two intrepid guides and YES, I’m still walking unaided. It gives a whole new meaning to a ‘packed’ tour, even more so if you are an imsomniac! We certainly covered some ground, saw fantastic sights and wonderful bird life, not to mention an abundance of Lupins!
    Anyone wanting an adventurous action packed holiday with plentiful opportunities to fill all your memory cards with stunning images should sign up now for the next trip. Don’t overlook the benefits of the accompanying tuition which Pete and Mark dispense as required and as though it was second nature. [I suppose it is for them]
    I was delighted with most of my images even though they seem to be somewhat inferior to Pete’s. I guess he got lucky.
    Thanks guys for a great trip
    Cheers
    Richard

  5. Wow!! Pete the Gull(cannot identify a bit too small)is a cracker with waterfall behind I love it and the Lupins
    Great stuff never made it there and probably will not now.
    Was it your fall and write off of camera et al??
    You must be accident prone never heard the express train here but maybe spoken too soon .!!

  6. Tony

    For the record, I had an accident-free trip (this time!).
    Prepare Val for the arrival of the 1745 from St Pancras!

    P

Leave a Reply to Phil Piper Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *