An unique opportunity to visit Iceland in winter conditions with local winter and Aurora photography expert Örvar Þorgeirsson and renown iceland photography workshop leader Johnathan Esper. We will see Iceland in different conditions than most have as frozen snowy landscape has taken over. We have chosen end January for the tour as it offers great midwinter light during the day and good chances of Aurora at night.
Dates
January 28-February 3, 2013
Price
$2550 USD / €1990
This includes:
- Photographic tutoring and guidance.
- Accomodation for 6 nights in comfortable, clean guesthouses with shared bathroom.
- All transportation in 4×4 SUV´s.
- All meals (breakfast, picnic-style lunches, snacks, and hot dinners at our places of accommodation and/or restaurants).
- Mountain guide services for the ice caves.
Reservation
Deposit: $600/€450
Payment in Full: before the start of the trip.
SOLD OUT!
Leaders
Örvar Atli Þorgeirsson: Mountain adventurer since his teenage years. On his many trips to the Icelandic mountains and wilderness the photographer became obsessed with capturing the raw beauty of the places he visited. Over the years he has captured Iceland’s most wild places on his camera from the colorful and never-ending midsummer arctic sunset to the inspiring displays of northern lights in winter. Runs a photo gallery in down town Reykjavík, Iceland.
Johnathan Esper: Johnathan is a full time photographer and international photo trip leader, and this will be his 6th trip he’s led to Iceland since begining Iceland trips in 2011. Johnathan has a unique background and an intimate knowledge of Iceland from exploring and photographing Iceland intensively for years, and he specializes in wide panoramic landscapes and adventure photography in Iceland and the Adirondack region in the USA.
Contact
Arctic Photo
Laugarvegur 50, 101 Reykjavík
Iceland
orvar@arcticphoto.is
Wildernesscapes Photography LLC
PO Box 326, Long Lake, NY
United States
johnathanesper@gmail.com
phone: 001 518 624 6675
www.WildernessPhotographs.com
What to Expect in Iceland in Winter
Winter is a time of year to move with the light and conditions more so than summer in Iceland. We will visit specific locations according to conditions. The January winter season can be stormy in Iceland. This makes for great imagery and is part of the allure and adventure of this trip. Temperatures are usually not that low as one may expect considering the latitude. Average temperatures are just below freezing. Some days with thaw and rain can be expected as well.. The absolute minimum temperature will be -15°C (-5 f) but a typical clear winter day is about -5°C (25 f ). The wind however makes the temperature feel colder. Being dressed with wind protection is important. We will inform you on specific clothing to use.
We will not be doing any long hikes on this trip. Most locations are withing 15 minutes walk from the car. Access to some locations specially the ice caves although short, might include rough terrain but we will be assisted by a professional mountain guide in this case. Complete safety equiptment ( helmets etc) are supplied by our guides. Slippery surfaces can be expected throughout the trip but we will send you recommendations regarding footwear for this trip.
Itinerary
This is the outline of the itinerary. We will be adjusting the itinerary within each day according to conditions to get the most out of each day.
Day 1 (Jan. 28th)
In cold conditions the numerous waterfalls of Eyjafjöll will be frozen chandeliers of icicles. The Vík area in whole has it best light of the year in winter when the mid winter sun sets into the sea behind sea stacks and arches. Overnight near Vík where we hope to shoot some Aurora aswell.
Day 2
After shooting sunrise near Vík we head to Skaftafell as a part of Vatnjökull nation park a winter wonderland where glaciers run down high volcanoes in their blue winter coating. An ideal location for shooting Aurora if it appears.
Day 3
The true magic of glaciers lies underneath them. Assisted by a local mountain guide we will explore this wonder world of blue textures and structures.
Day 4
The magical Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon is a different place in winter. The frozen lagoon along with its now blue colored ice bergs always comes up with new ways to be photographed and each session there is different than the previous.
Day 5
The photogenic black lava sand beach below Jökulsárlón where ice bergs that get washed out from the lagoon pile up has it best light in mid winter. Just like at Vík the beach will have sunset and sunrise into the sea and it will provide nice light behind the icebergs.
Day 6
We drive to the Snæfellsnes peninsula. If conditions are good we will stop at Þingvellir national park midway before photographing the magnificent fjordscape and frozen waterfalls of Grundarfjörður.
Day 7
We head further out to the tip of the Snæfellsnes peninsula where we will shoot seastacks, a black wood church along with winter scenery of the Snæfellsjökull national park before we head back to Reykjavík.
