Iceland Circular Photography Tour
Price range: £2,000.00 through £6,800.00
20th November 2027 – 30th November 2027 – Iceland Circular Photography Tour travelling around the entire country via the ring road with landscape photography, astrophotography, and Northern Lights photographic tuition.
Description
ICELAND PHOTO TOUR
Photography Tour Around Iceland
20th – 30th November 2027
2027 ICELAND CIRCULAR PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Iceland Circular Photography Tour travelling around the entire country via the ring road with landscape photography, astrophotography, and Northern Lights photographic tuition.
Tutor: Simon Waldram
PRICE
Full Price £6,800.00
Non-refundable Deposit £2,000.00
DATES & AVAILABILITY
PARTICIPANTS
Max 7 Photographers
Tutor: Simon Waldram
1 x Iceland guide/driver
EXERTION LEVEL
LOCATION
Complete circumnavigation
Iceland
ACCOMMODATION
Own single occupancy rooms unless sharing is requested.
Landscape Photography Tuition
This tour includes traditional landscape photography and tuition around the breathtaking landscapes of Iceland.
Northern Lights Photography Tuition
This workshop includes night sky and Aurora photography tuition, alongside in-depth planning to aid in capturing the Northern Lights.
Expertise
The Iceland workshop is open to photographers at all levels, although previous landscape photography experience is highly advantageous
PACKAGE Includes
Pick up and transfer to the airport (Keflavik)
Accommodation*
Breakfast*
Transportation (4×4)
Professional landscape photography & astrophotography tuition and advice throughout the tour
Short digital darkroom sessions within accommodation (only in the event of bad weather)
In-depth follow up digital darkroom image to print tuition if required*
Help with onward travel if required*
PACKAGE Excludes
Flights
Personal travel and equipment insurance
Meals and snacks
Contact Form
Iceland Photo TOUR OVERVIEW
Photo Tour focusing on photographing the Aurora, night sky astrophotography, and landscape photography around Iceland’s stunning landscapes. Circumnavigating the country via the ring road and taking in popular locations in the south and west, alongside lesser-visited regions in the north and east.
Learn, or develop, existing skills whilst visiting the breathtaking landscapes Iceland has to offer; Iceland boasts some of the most unique and consequently diverse landscapes on planet Earth. Therefore, there will be plenty of opportunities to photograph these landscapes under sunsets, sunrises, and quite probably dramatic skies and weather along the way.
Hunt the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and capture the magic under expert guidance with a landscape and nightscape photographer who spent months on end photographing Iceland in winter, both on commissions and leading Icelandic Photography tours out into its majestic landscape.
Iceland Photography Workshop INFORMATION
The main objective of this photographic tour will be to maximise chances of viewing and capturing the Northern Lights whilst driving around the entire country, as opposed to typically only seeing the west, south, or south east, this workshop will take in some of the less frequented locations in the north alongside more popular southern locations.
WHY THIS ICELAND TOUR IS DIFFERENT THAN MOST OTHERS
Although there is an itinerary for this workshop, it will be subject to amendment due to revolving around clear skies, mapped out to the weather during the photography tour.
Landscape locations could include, but are not indicative of, Skogafoss, Svínafellsjökull Glacier, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Iceberg Beach, Hofn, Eystrahorn, Skútafoss, Snaefellsnes Peninsula (Mount Kirkjufell & Kirkjufellsfoss Waterfall, Gatklettur, Hellnar and wild beaches of the north) Godafoss, Selfoss, Detifoss, Aldyjarfoss, Arctic Henge, and Hvitserkur; exact locations will also be determined by the weather as a whole, as it is possible for Route 1 (Iceland’s main road circling the country) to be closed off at various sections in the winter.
We have specialised in night photography and has photographed the Aurora hundreds of times therefore tutors group members who would like tuition not only with techniques to photograph the Aurora, but also general astrophotography principles with structured workflows for both Northern Lights and general night photography. Although the trip will include late nights stargazing, by no means will the amazing Icelandic scenery and winter light be overlooked in the day; as a result, locations selected will capitalise on Iceland’s beauty by both day and night, on this photographic Iceland adventure.
High-quality 4×4 vehicles (4×4 VW or Mercedes minivan) are used for this workshop.
Seydisfjordur East Fjords Iceland
Fieldwork Equipment
Full frame, crop sensor, and micro four-thirds can be used, alongside larger format cameras; however, as technology and therefore techniques and workflows advance, it is recommended the camera body has an absolute minimum ISO of 6400 due to the low light nature of Northern Lights photography, with 12800/25600 and above preferred.
- Camera body (spare body recommended if possible)
- Wide lens (fast if possible but F4 can be used if the camera has high ISO capabilities)
- Multiple lenses with a range of focal lengths
- A sturdy tripod (critical in Iceland due to wind)
- Remote timer or long exposure bulb control built-in on the timer
- Multiple spare camera batteries
- Head torch with a red mode (this is not for night vision, it makes it easier to work as a group, and stops us blinding one another)
- Warm outdoor clothes and multiple thermal layers alongside base layers, rain and windproofs, a set of Gortex hiking boots and snow boots, winter socks, hat, gloves, neck warmer, hand warmers; micro crampons for mid- and late winter dates
Post-production & Planning Necessities
The group will cover short post-production and planning sessions looking at both landscape and night sky photography images that we produce whilst on the road where possible with regards to weather.
The planning and post-production are critical elements of nightscape photography, and landscape photography, hence they have been included in our group workshops since 2014. For those that don’t use Adobe and are using other post-production software suites, it will be up to you to transfer the workflow to your chosen software suite; the second phase of the workflow requires software with layers (ie Photoshop or similar).
- Lightroom (please make sure this is Lightroom Classic)
- Photoshop (not essential but our nightscape workflows include layer masking)
- A laptop running the above ideally with a minimum of 8GB Ram
- This part of the workshop can be undertaken with no laptop and note writing, though following on a laptop is recommended
Recommended apps and websites that will be taught and demonstrated:
- Space Weather Live
- Live Aurora Network
- Iceland Met Office Website – https://en.vedur.is
Please Note:
Post-production session duration can vary drastically in Iceland and how many are undertaken and the length of them will ultimately be weather dependent. We offer group Zoom follow-up sessions several times a year for more detailed post-production tuition, please contact him to discuss further pre or post-workshop.
ICELAND CIRCULAR Photography Workshops FAQs
Ollie has been travelling to the country annually for 14 years, with coming up to two years spent in Iceland working tours and commissions. Only a handful of tour leaders run their Iceland workshops like Ollie’s classic and circular tours as the method puts profit at risk, and an exact yield of revenue per tour cannot be guaranteed. This is because we move with the weather, booking accommodation as we move, this way, to date, Ollie’s groups have NEVER failed to capture the Northern Lights, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets to boot. If an Iceland tour claims to be an “Aurora Tour” and your itinerary is fixed, and you know where and when you will stay in what hotel, you’ve already decreased your chances of seeing the Aurora. Read more about the tutor and workshops here.
The 9-night Iceland Photo Tour will provide a structured nightscape workflow taught to the group step by step in the field, and then adjusted to suit the Northern Lights. We will also cover in-depth planning looking at advanced methods of calculating when the Aurora will be visible, how to plan astrophotography locations, and landscape photography planning. Ollie will work with group members requiring assistance individually to help them with aspects of landscape photography where required. If the weather falls foul, the group will undertake post-production sessions.
All Schengen Zone countries have freedom of movement to include Iceland. The UK does not need a visa at this point, though that is set to change in 2024. Nationals from most other countries will need a Schengen Visa to visit Norway.
Iceland has some of the most unpredictable weather in the world, so Ollie will notify the group on the run up to the tour of any major weather occurrences such as drastic temperature fluctuations or extreme snow. That said, once there, three days later the weather could be completely different compared to landing, so the workshop group must prepare for any eventuality.
- Wind/waterproof heavy duty hiking pants (ski/snowboard gear or winter hiking gear)
- Winterproof hiking or ski pants
- Thermal winter coat/down jacket, windproof or winterproof extra top layer
- Multiple base layers
- Multiple mid-layers, thermal fleeces or underlayers that can be layered over one another
- Thermal socks (feet always get cold first undertaking night photography)
- Hiking boots or trainers (waterproof/resistant)
- Snow boots (winter tour, though can be used to keep warm for Aurora shoots on autumn tour)
- Hat/gloves/snood/scarf
Nice to haves!
- Hand warmers (throw away or electronic)
- Feet warmers/battery socks
- Swimwear if you wish to use the hot tub/sauna (not always included)
The Iceland Circular Photography Workshop can involve some walking/hiking to some of the locations in the north such as Selfoss, and weather and group fitness permitting, Aldeyjarfoss; though visiting this waterfall is rare. Some waterfalls are on trails, other areas are over rough, often wet or frozen ground and there may be deep snow. Endurance and the right clothing are critical for long days and nights. Please contact Ollie to discuss fitness levels for this tour if you are unsure.
Iceland requires both driver qualifications (CPC/Community 95) which Ollie and team have on their licenses. A valid Icelandic tourism permit for multiday adventures is also required. The easiest way to fully comply is to use an Icelandic guide with the aforementioned requirements, which we have in place.
EAST FJORDS ICELAND Photography TOUR ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation for the East Fjords Iceland Photo Tour consists of multiple accommodations, especially as theoretically it’s a two-day drive to make the most of locations en route out to the fjords. Iceland is one of the workshops where the type of accommodation the team stay in certainly adds to the whole experience, and being able to photograph the Aurora outside is paramount as you never know if it will make an appearance whilst we are caught off guard and away from location. We favour remote, scenic wilderness locations, that’s why we always make a stop in the cabins featured for three nights.
Accommodation
We use a series of wilderness cabins, hotels, Icelandic chalets and large houses. We run our tours very differently than most other tour leaders whereas he maximises the chance of finding the best weather and Northern Lights over his profit margins; please contact Ollie to request further information on this.
East Fjords & North Iceland
The East Fjords is a hidden gem any time of year, the tourist cars fade away after Vestrahorn, and it’s a part of Iceland that still has an incredible wilderness feel to it. Littered with waterfalls and pyramid-shaped mountains carving out deep fjords, there are no long hikes but often there are no trails either as the group make their way over the untouched landscape to reach location.
The north offers further wilderness and some of Europe’s most impressive waterfalls, far less busy than those of the south road. If weather permits and the group have the ability, we may make the hike to Aldeyjarfoss, and if the weather looks promising, to the eerie monument of Arctic Henge.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Group emails are set up once the group is fully booked, as an icebreaker, and also to serve as a Q&A platform.
Please note deposits are non-refundable and balances are due 120 days prior to the workshop commencing.
Please contact us for any further information required.
BOOK YOUR PLACE
If there are spaces left, you can book your place on this photography tour below.
If you have any questions please click here to contact Ollie Taylor.
Additional information
| Group Courses | Deposit, Full Price |
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