In August this year I lead a new workshop into the highlands of Iceland with good friend Daniel Bergmann. Our Highland workshop for 2015 took a different approach to previous workshops in that we made the decision to specialise in just a few areas of Iceland that we regard as some of the most spectacular – in this case we decided to spend the majority of our time in the Highlands and several other key locations. This approach enabled us to spend more time in our chosen areas and gave us better opportunities for good light.

I am a strong advocate for spending as much time as possible in an area for photography and not moving from location to location too quickly. This approach both maximises the chances of really great light, but more importantly, it enables the photographer to slow down and get in tune with their surroundings and begin (hopefully) to see really strong compositions. It is actually exceedingly difficult to ‘hit the ground running’ in a new area and make great images right off the bat. More often than not the good images come after a period of time has elapsed and the photographer has had a chance to really tune into their surroundings.

As always, our daily itinerary was dictated by the weather and light to enable us to maximise any opportunities and to avoid any bad weather. As planning (and a little luck) would have it we were able to run with our originally planned itinerary without any severe bad weather.

Day One – We drove from the capital city of Reykjavik to Hrauneyjar in the highlands, our base for three nights. By using just a small number of good hotels and guests houses as bases throughout this workshop we were able to really maximise our time in the field. We spent the majority of our time in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve. Our first stop was the spectacular Hnausapollur crater (water filled explosive crater) near Landmannalaugar. We then drove further towards Landmannalaugar with a stop at Frostastadahals (by the lake Frostastadavatn). We also had a windy sunset session at Veidivotn.Day Two – We were back in the Fjallabak Nature Reserve and now visited the gigantic volcanic crater Ljotipollur. We also walked up the rim and to the eastern side of it and photographed the Tungna glacial river. We then continued to Landmannalaugar where we hiked the Laugahringur trail up to Mount Brennisteinsalda. A few of us went all the way to the top, while most of us stayed below and photographed the amazing Laugahraun lava field and the many valleys surrounding Mount Blahnukur. This part of the highlands is one of my favourite areas for photography and offers really incredible opportunities.

Day Three – We photographed Haifoss waterfall and its neighbor Granni (further inside the canyon) at the beginning of the day. We then went to the black sand area of Veidivotn crater lakes where we photographed right through until sunset.

Day Four – We left our hotel in the highlands and travelled across the Sprengisandur route to get to the north of Iceland. We made a short scouting stop at Godafoss waterfall before heading to Lake Myvatn, where we were based at Hotel Reynihlid for three nights. We also photographed Godafoss the following morning at sunrise.Day Five – We visited the geothermal area at the base of Mt. Namafjall, called Namaskard or simply Hverir (an alternate name for the field). Later that day we visited the mighty Dettifoss waterfall in Jokulsargljufur canyon. First from the western side and then from the eastern side. From the east we also photographed Selfoss waterfall, further up river.

Day Six – Aldeyjarfoss waterfall was on the morning menu and in the evening we hiked to the upper geothermal area at Namafjall to photograph the spectacular geothermal features where there are bubbling fumaroles and mud pits.

Day Seven – A travel day with a stop for a bit of shopping at Akureyri. We also visited Hvitserkur sea stack at the Vatnsnes peninsula in the afternoon during low tide.