David Noton On Location
Various locations in Iceland. Late Feb/early March 2016
David knows Iceland like the back of his camera – and he has some salient advice for photographic newcomers to the country
Iceland is a place that David Noton knows well, and while it offers spectacular photographic possibilities, he says it’s not for the faint of heart…
First impressions of Iceland are of a land apart; as soon you arrive you know you are somewhere like nowhere else on earth. Iceland is a volcanic island being simultaneously built and ripped apart even while you read this, as the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates go their own way. But that young tormented landscape of peaks, craters, glaciers, lagoons, lava flows, snow, ice, black sand and green moss is the pull – Iceland's major asset, and unique. No wonder it has become so popular with photographers; the pictures say it all.
The A1 road that rings the country makes getting about easy, some of the time. Flying in, renting a car and heading off around the country is straightforward, assuming Mother Nature
plays ball. But she rarely does in Iceland. Arctic storms with high winds can and do play havoc with travel plans, particularly in winter. Sections of the Ring Road are often closed due to winds so strong they can cave windscreens in and strip cars of their paint in minutes – it’s a daunting sight. But that is all part of the adventure of being on an island in the North Atlantic just shy of the Arctic Circle. Just being in Iceland is an adventure, no matter how many times we’ve been, but there’s no adventure without risk, and Iceland in winter is a dangerous place.
Every year tourists, and especially photographers, die. Usually they get too close to big seas, but cliffs, glaciers, ice caves and exposure take their toll too. It’s true that at times the weather can be truly dreadful. But the old adage that “If you don’t like the weather, just wait ten minutes” is very true, as the high and low pressure systems do seem to hustle through pretty quickly. A three-day cycle ranging from sparkling to grim is normal. In winter, temperatures rarely drop much below freezing, although on our last trip we were shooting one night at -19ºc, which got our attention.
It goes without saying that being properly equipped and dressed is crucial, and for us photographers another old adage is also undoubtedly true: the best pictures in Iceland are often taken in the worst weather. Mother Nature is at her most volatile in Iceland.
All of which makes the place irresistible for photographers – but that very popularity has now become a problem when it comes to taking pictures. The thing is, I do not know of a single other professional landscape photographer who is not running photography tours in Iceland this winter. That sounds like a gross exaggeration, but it’s true. On the plane heading there my heart sinks; seemingly everyone is lugging a Lowepro and Manfrotto. At all the known hot spots – Skógafoss, Dyrhólaey, Reynisfjara, Jökulsárlón – I know we will be bound to encounter other photographers, usually in groups, studiously ignoring each other. It is of course sheer hypocrisy for me to complain, as I am part of that problem, but it does take away from the novelty of being there, and the adventure.
Yet, when I recall the experiences we’ve had there, I know we’ve been blessed. Awe-inspiring vistas abound in Iceland, they always will. So do unique adventures and, once off the beaten track, soul-searching solitude.