A quick morning update before we pile into the 4WD and head Northeast to Lake Myvatn where we will be staying for the next four nights. From here we plan to head up to the geothermal areas of Namafjall, Leirhnjukr and Theistareykir – some of which are only ten minutes from where we will be staying. A day will be devoted to going into the highlands south of Myvatn to visit Askja. We will also make a trip to the waterfall trio  in the Jokulsargljufur canyon, Selfoss, Dettifoss and Hafragilisfoss and of course Godafoss. I am particularly looking forward to seeing Godafoss – “Waterfall of the Gods”; which is supposed to be spectacular for photography.

One of the things I was hoping to be able to photograph in Iceland was the beautiful Icelandic horses that are found throughout the countryside. These Icelandic horses are the original descendants from the first horses the Norse bought with them when they came to iceland hundreds of years ago. Today they are virtually disease free and can be found all over Iceland.

After we arrived at the small town of Egilsstadir yesterday evening and unpacked a few of us grabbed our cameras and headed down to the shores of the lake to have a look around. The scenery was stunning and the light was quite good, despite the overcast rainy conditions. There were several of the Icelandic horses milling around by the waters edge which we spent the next half an hour so photographing. I wanted to try and capture some of the drama in the sky as a backdrop so lay down on the ground and pointed my camera upward – the result is a photograph I am very pleased with.

We are continuing to travel East along the coast today and will end the day in the town of Egilsstadir, about 350km East of Skaflafell where we have been photographing for the last couple of days. Along the way we plan to photograph the landscape south of Vatnajokull glacier, mountains and the beach by Stafness and the fjords to the East. We may also head up to Mount Snaefell or photograph along the Lagarfljot River, weather permitting. We will also make one more stop at the black sand beach near the Jokulsarlon lagoon to see if any fresh ice has been washed up onto the beach.

Last night we went back to the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon to photograph the icebergs in soft overcast evening light. The lagoon is a very magical, peaceful and surreal place. It is very easy to spend hours wandering the shore picking out compositions amongst the icebergs.

We left our hotel in the Skaftafell National Park last night at 8:30pm for a sunset shoot at Jokulsarlon lagoon in the South of Iceland. We photographed the icebergs carving off the glacier in the lagoon until well after midnight in some lovely soft storm light. We then raced back to our hotel, grabbed two hours of sleep in the semi-darkness before heading out again for sunrise. Now, it’s just gone 8:30am in the morning local time in Iceland and we have just got back from shooting sunrise for the last five hours at the Jokulsarlon lagoon and nearby black sand beach.

Icebergs that have carved off the glacier flow down the channel to the sea and are taken out by the tide before being washed back up on the black sand during the return tide – each one a unique sculpture polished by the motion of the waves.

Now its time to crawl into bed again and get a few more hours sleep before heading back out this afternoon at 3pm for more sunset photography around the Jokulsarlon lagoon. The hours required for maximising the best light for photography in Iceland are torturous to say the least – but given the quality and duration of great light I wouldn’t have it any other way

We have just arrived at our Hotel in the Skaftafell National Park – approximately 350km from Reykjavik. Along the way we stopped to photograph the cavernous waterfall Selfoss, the rugged Icelandic coastline at Kirkjufjara and the black sand beaches at Vik. Iceland is an absolute wonder. The landscape is incredibly surreal with moss covered lava flows, mountains, glaciers and waterfalls – in fact, there are waterfalls everywhere and I have already lost count of how many we passed in just a single days driving.There are photographic opportunities everywhere I look and it is just as well I am not driving the 4WD or we would be stopping every few minutes and never get anywhere. Thankfully our guide Daniel Bergman is steering us toward all of the better locations.

Now its time for a power nap and some dinner before heading out to the Jokulsarlon lagoon at sunset to photograph the luminous blue icebergs that have carved off the nearby glacier. Sunset is about  8:30pm until roughly 11:00pm local time – yes; sunset lasts that long! Then there will be a short period of an hour or so of semi-darkness before sunrise and more photography. Sleep? Nah… to much to see and photograph!

The area around my hotel has a good selection of restaurants and places to eat – its hard to choose when you don’t know where to start! So I started at the end of the street and will work my way back toward the hotel for dinner tonight. For starters lunch today – Black Angus Beef Burger and a Pint of Iceland’s Egills Gull for lunch – Yum!

Today is my first full day in Reykjavik in Iceland and it has already been a totally amazing experience (and the day is only half over). The capital city of Reykjavik is truly beautiful – Its very small (certainly compared to Australian cities), very quaint and even a little quirky in a very loveable way. If I had to try and summarise what Reykjavik is like I would say its almost fairy tale like with a very pronounced Nordic twist. It reminds me somewhat of Kaikoura (but on a larger scale) in the South Island of New Zealand. I could spend a week just doing street photography near my hotel as there are so many possibilities here for composition, subject and colour. Now its time for some lunch and more exploring.