Iceland Photography Tour
9 Days along the Icelandic South Coast
Your Dream Photo Destination
Discover the natural beauty of the Icelandic South coast. This well-organized dream photo tour offers a trek by comfortable car along all those great photography hotspots dotted along the coast. unique about this tour is that you have the chance to explore the more obscure parts of this volcanic landscape, to really develop your own vision in the most spectacular of places.
Accessible - Most hotspots are easily accessible by car and a mere 10 minutes walk.
Small group of like-minded people.
Includes a thorough post-processing session, with all the latest trends explained.
Includes breakfast, accommodation and transfer to and from the airport.
9 days and 8 nights stay in hotels, cottages and guesthouses.
Includes *ALL* Processing videos of Daniel
Why Choose this Tour?
Many iconic locations
We'll drive as far east as Eystrahorn, visiting sights not limited to Skógafoss, Vík, Vestrahorn & Glacier Lagoon Jökulsárlón.
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High Chance of the Aurora Borealis
There is a lot of night photography on this tour. We're putting you in the best spots for capturing the northern lights!
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You Matter to Us
Any personal guidance you need, whether it's camera settings or finding better compositions: We are here for you.
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This Tour in a Nutshell
Dates: September 26 - October 4th
Available Seats: 2/4
Tour Leaders: Daniel Laan & Luca Rebustini
Language: English
Price: 3200 EURO
Single Room Supplement: 900 EURO
Registration Deposit: 800 EURO
Arrival: Keflavik Airport, September 26th, no later than 11 AM
Departure: Keflavik Airport, October 4th, departure time free of choice
Included: All tuition. Transportation between Keflavík international airport (KEF) and southern Iceland. All transportation between workshop locations. Entry fees where applicable. All lodging. Breakfast. Full post-processing session. All Laanscapes processing videos.
Not Included: Flights to Keflavík Airport and associated costs. Private insurances, taxes, duty and visa fees. Lunch or dinner and any personal items including (alcoholic) beverages, snacks, souvenirs and travel insurance.
Bookings
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Itinerary: Highlights of the Iceland Tour
We will be visiting many different waterfalls, glacier lagoons and venture into lands that aren’t well mapped. Not all these locations are listed here though. However, I would like to introduce you to some of the highlights that are included on this tour.
Dyrhólaey and Vík
Near the fishing village of Vík in Southern Iceland, a couple of craggy rock formations dominate the shoreline. Poking out from behind the black sand at Reynisfjara beach, these pillars are one of the coolest backdrops you could find in Iceland if you’re into photographing seascapes. But on the other side of Vík, there’s also a great place to capture them which isn’t that busy.
During blue hour, preferably when it’s raining, there’s an unrivaled atmosphere here. As gulls and gannets soar from the cliffs and out to sea to catch their breakfast, you would do well to dial in a faster exposure time to catch the waves crashing into the rocks that look like a shipwreck. The story goes that a couple of trolls tried pulling the ship out from the Atlantic, but their efforts were foiled by the rising sun, turning these poor guys and their prized ship into stone.
Jökulsárlón
Let’s start with one of the reasons photographers book a flight to Iceland. This iconic glacier lagoon is the setting of icebergs breaking off from the Breiðamerkur glacier and drifting out to sea, only to wash up again on “diamond beach.” The best time to visit the lagoon is all the way through the night in summer, because twilight lasts from around 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. When the light is low, you won’t need a neutral density filter to visually slow the waves crashing into the ice.
Diamond beach, as the black beach near the famous glacier lagoon is called, is the ever-changing location that's dotted with icebergs big and small. Ice calving off from the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier crashes into the lagoon nearby and takes a few days to weeks until the ice is small enough to pass through a narrow outlet and into the Atlantic Ocean. There they will be carried away or washed back up on shore, depending on the ocean currents and the rending winds that often plague Iceland.
Diamond beach truly comes alive at night, though. Because while the ice shimmers brilliantly during the day, the mysterious green colors of the aurora will be reflected inside the most transparent icebergs. And what's more is that the shapes found on this volcanic beach are never the same.
Imagine the photographic opportunities here. Now imagine you standing here with your camera.
Vestrahorn at Stokksnes
Since we’re very close to a graphic mountain now, we might as well stop in the black sand dunes of Stokksnes. The military base here is home to tall yellow grass growing in fertile volcanic sand. It’s also the foreground of the much photographed Vestrahorn mountain. And there’s definitely some cloning to do if you come here thinking to shoot the sunset in late summer. When I was here shooting the sunset last year, this place was packed with people carrying tripods. While early in the morning, there’s not a photographer to be found. The first sign of life I spotted the next morning, was a local man walking his dog.
Skógafoss
This photogenic waterfall is on our list too. There’s a lot of material here to create original art, even though this location (and many others along the coast) are some of the most photographed subjects in the world. But I’m sure that alone will appeal to some of you who read this. It doesn’t matter in which camp you are, since there’s enough to go around. This is Iceland after all. ;)
Hoffell
A bit northeast from the famous glacier lagoon you’ll find the small community of Hoffell. It’s about 10 homes, a farm and a church. A very typical town in the land of ice and fire. A bumpy track leads you to an outlet glacier that’s part of the Vatnajökull, the largest (in volume) glacier in Europe. Here, I have found the effects of climate change leaving a profound impression on me.
Payment & Reservation
Either pay all at once or make a deposit to reserve a seat in the car. For tours, we accept bank transfers. Click the button saying “Request Booking” at the top of this page.
Alternatively, you may pay using PayPal or your credit card directly, but a transaction fee of 4% will be added. Use the options below and click the button to add a ticket to your card. Confirmation is immediate.
Cancellation and refunds
Unfortunate things can happen to anyone. Therefore we handle a refund policy when you have made reservations for this tour but can’t make it in the end due to whatever the circumstance. Based on the full fee of the tour, we strictly handle this schedule to cover the costs made on our end.
Cancel 60 days before the start of the tour or more: Full refund minus € 200 service charge.
45 days or more: 75% refund
31 days or more: 50% refund
Less than 31 days: No refund
Physical requirements
Most of our destinations are easily accessible by car and on foot, but snow and ice can make any terrain treacherous and physically intense to traverse. You don’t have to be a marathon runner, but we do ask that you are in reasonable physical condition to be able to keep up with the group and deal with the cold and demanding climate of the arctic.
Please do not come on this trip when you have a heart condition, suffer from epilepsy or severe asthma or when you have a bad leg. This will hinder our ability to show you everything we have in store, but more importantly, it will jeopardize the positive experience of your fellow participants.
Indemnity Waiver
All participants are required to sign this standard document before the start of the tour. Find it here.
Daniel Laan ~ The Netherlands
Moody, ominous landscape photography is as much my passion as it is my career. For more than a decade now, I've had the mindset of developing a specific dark and moody style of photography that shows a part of myself through my images. I have a deep appreciation for the landscape, the weather and find something of beauty in trivial subjects. You could say that I have an instinct for inbound northern lights, having captured the Aurora Borealis successfully as far south as the Netherlands.
With a degree in design and visual communication and over 15 years of experience in Photoshop, it's my goal to train you to look at the landscape differently. While explaining everything from pre-visualizing to exporting for the web or for print, we uncover a truth. That the stunning landscape of Scotland, isn't there to take home with you. The most important aspect is not to bag the best locations, but to appreciate your surroundings; to become aware of things that others walk straight by.
It is with this mindset that I will make you a better artist; and that is something you can take home with you.
Luca Rebustini ~ Italy
Thanks to my father's passion, I came into contact with photography back in 1983 when I was just 6 years old. For over 30 years this art accompanied my life, starting out with experiments in the dark room, than saw the dawn of the first digital cameras and also the the shift to digital post-processing. Meanwhile, I've worked as an engineer for 12 years. But there was always this nagging feeling on the way to and from work when looking out from the car. At the age of 34, I thought that was enough and became a full-time photographer to fulfill my passion.
I pursue reality in my imagery while transforming it in dreamy, moody and emotional images. Landscapes of course, but not just landscape photography. I’m also an avid photographer of a variety of genres. Weddings, portraits, the human figure, still life... The list goes on. My studio is located in the Northern Italy, although I regularly organize classes and outdoor workshops to teach keen photographers everything I’ve learned over the years.
Most importantly, you will learn to recognize that the camera is an instrument for self-expression; a means to merge the exterior world with your interior world. The true challenge within photography is being able to direct another's eyes and touch another’s soul. Practically, you will learn that through creating impressive compositions, dreamlike atmospheres and moody feelings.
A Selection of Luca’s Work:
