abstracting the landscape of iceland | aug 24-sep 2, 2012

8 day / 9 night photo tour/workshop with lectures and image critiques

PRICE:
Double Occupancy – $6495.00
Single Occupancy – $6995.00

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP
Iceland a place of stunning beauty. Waterfalls, glaciers and geological activity about here. This year Jay is offering an intimate small group Iceland photography workshop. The mission of this workshop is to explore Iceland in search of color, texture, pattern, shape, and form while leading you to creating the most powerful landscape and abstract images that are often overlooked by others. Your vision and technique will be honed right along side your knowledge base of how to process an image as Jay teaches everything from composition to how the individual adjustments of Adobe’s Lightroom software can maximize your created frame. Don’t delay this is a very small workshop group size and a very special chance to explore a different side of Iceland.

Day 1 – Arrival at Keflavik airport
Transfer to Reykjavík domestic airport and fly to Akureyri town.
Pick up rental cars at the airport.
Overnight at Akureyri

Day 2 – Drive to lake Mývatn
Mývatn – Hverfjall – The Nature baths – Grjótagjá – Stóragjá -Dimmuborgir
Mývatn is a shallow lake situated in an area of active volcanism. The lake and its surrounding wetlands have an exceptionally rich fauna of waterbirds especially ducks. The lake was created by a large basaltic lava eruption 2300 years ago, and the surrounding landscape is dominated by volcanic landforms.

Námaskarð, Mine Pass, is a myriad of hot mud springs that possess an extremely varied color palette. Dimmuborgir (Dark Castles) are volcanic rock formations to the east of lake Mývatn. The area is flooded with numerous formations carved by the molten lava. It’s a natural wonder which no one visiting the area should pass up.

Mt. Hverfjall (Hverfell) is a beautiful 2500 year-old tephra crater. The crater is about 1 km in diameter and 140 meters deep. Its round shape has been disrupted by a landslide that occurred at the south edge of the crater during an eruption. At the end of the day we will go to the Mývatn Nature Baths were you can enjoy a warm and relaxing bath after a busy day.

On the way to the Baths we can visit Grjótagjá a small lava cave near lake Mývatn with a thermal spring inside.

Overnight in the Mývatn area.


Day 3 – Mývatn-Húsavík-Tjörnes-Ábyrgi-Hljóðaklettar-Dettifoss-Möðrudalur
Ásbyrgi is undoubtedly one of Iceland’s most beloved natural features, an enclosed canyon surrounded by cliffs which reach as high as 100 m. According to legend, the horse of Óðinn, the chief god of Norse mythology, stepped down here leaving its giant hoof print.

We will also spend time at Dettifoss–Iceland’s greatest and most majestic waterfall. It is also rated as Europe’s most powerful waterfall, based on its flow magnitude.

Overnight in Mývatn area.


Day 4 – Mývatn to Landmannalaugar
Drive through the interior (desert) to Landmannalaugar area.

Overnight at Guesthouse near Landmannalaugar.

Day 5 – Landmannalaugar hiking
Landmannalaugar literally means people’s pools and is situated in the southern highlands close to the volcano Hekla. The name refers to the natural geothermal pools which travelers can bathe in. There are some unusual geological elements in the area such as multicolored rhyolite mountains and lava fields. The mountains display a wide spectrum of colors including pink, green, brown, yellow, purple, blue, black and white.

Overnight at a guesthouse near Landmannalaugar


Day 6 – Landmannalaugar – southcoast
On the way to the south coast we will pass the famous Hekla volcano. We will stop at Skógafoss waterfall which is one of the biggest and most beautiful waterfalls in the country with a drop of 60 meters. Seljalandsfoss, another spectacular waterfall, is one of the most famous and very picturesque as well. And here we can walk behind it to get a different photo viewpoint.

We will also pass the glacier Eyjafjallajökul and stop at good locations were we have a good view of the glaciers and the surrounding mountains.

Reynisfjara beach is a natural black sand and pebble beach with some larger boulders. By the beach we can visit the basalt caves.

Overnight at a guesthouse on the southcoast.

Day 7-8 – Skaftafell- Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon
Vatnajökull glacier towers over this region and has immensely affected the surrounding landscape. We will visit many of Vatnajökull’s outlets and outwash areas and the Jökulsárlón lagoon, a famous glacial lagoon full of icebergs were we can take a short boat tour and sail among the huge icebergs, an unforgettable experience! The glacial scenery continues with a visit to the stunning Skaftafell, Iceland’s second largest national park were the landscape has been formed from thousands of years of fire and water erosion.

Overnight at a guesthouse in the area.

Day 9 – Þingvellir – Geysir hot spring – Gullfos waterfall
On the way back to Reykjavík we will visit the Gullfoss waterfall, one of the most impressive waterfalls in Europe. A few minutes drive from Gullfoss is the world famous Geyser region, where hot springs are in abundance. We will see one of the most active geysers in the area, Strokkur, spouting up to 20 meters. Last but not least we visit Þingvellir a remarkable geological site, and the most historic place on the island, where the world’s oldest democratic parliament was founded in 930.

Overnight at a hotel in Reykjavík

Day 10 – Departure from Iceland
Transfer from Flughotel to Keflavik airport.

PRICE:
Double Occupancy – $6495.00
Single Occupancy – $6995.00

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WORKSHOP

Included

• Transfer from Keflavík airport to Reykjavík
• One way flight from Reykjavík to Akureyri
• 1 Rental car/ 9 days:
• Iveco  4×4 – 9 seater- including unlimited km, main insurances
• Accommodation 9 nights (in hotels and guesthouses with shared facilities)
• Breakfast
• Lunch boxes
• Dinners (2courses)
• Meeting facilities
• Petrol
• Drinking Water

Not included

• Entrance to The Blue Lagoon
• Optional tours
• International flights
• Tips
• Beverages other than water
• Personal Shopping
• Airport Taxes
• International Travel Insurance