2025 ICELAND SUMMER PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
(FOR COUPLES/FRIENDS/FAMILY): ONE PHOTOGRAPHER, ONE NON-PHOTOGRAPHER)
JULY 1 - 4, 2025 (OPEN TO 3 COUPLES ONLY)
Spaces for 2 couples remain
PRICING: $7,250 per couple
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
A guided tour for (2) people per booking. One photographer using technical camera gear, and one tag along guest who are welcome to use cell phones
4 nights of lodging
Transportation for photography guests to shooting locations. Transportation to Keflavik International Airport, and to our meeting locations in Iceland will be each guests responsibility.
Transportation from the town of Vik through the Highlands and back in an iconic Iceland “super-jeep”
(1) 1-hour private photography focused flight by a local aerial photographer/pilot per couple
Puffin photography tour led by locals
Private Glacier Lagoon kayaking tour
Photography guiding and customized one-on-one instruction on location.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:
Airfare to Iceland
Rental car
Fuel
Meals and beverages
Tips for guides on our booked excursions (Not expected but appreciated)
Throughout my years of running workshops in Iceland I have had many couples in the dynamic of one being a photography enthusiast, and the other just wanting to come out for the experience and take pictures with their phone. Up until now I haven’t had a good system figured out to accommodate this arrangement, but we’ve got it now! This works well because I have been wanting to make more workshops that are “experience based” workshops. Meaning, photography is not all that is involved, but is still the same amount of focus during the experience. On a personal level, my connection with a landscape by means of interaction through other means than simply arriving and shooting full-time helps my relationship with an area intensify and become more intimate. This immediately transfers into better and more meaningful-to-me images, and the richness of the experience is an exquisite moment in my life. That’s why I love this approach so much….. it offers a great richness to my life. I hope you will join me in this approach to landscape photography, and I hope you get as much out of it as I do.
Our workshop will be a 4-day workshop. But I would encourage you to spend additional days exploring with your companion. In addition to the workshop, I will provide information for solo time for the two of you to go enjoy Iceland by yourselves. This information will be geared towards creating a great experience for your loved one, while also providing photogenic locations to keep you as a photographer thrilled with more high quality shooting after the workshop. I would recommend spending at least 2 or more days after the workshop to enjoy more locations in Iceland that we will not visit during our time together on the workshop.
HOW DO WE BALANCE AN IN-DEPTH PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP WHILE CREATING EXPERIENCES FOR NON-PHOTOGRAPHERS TO ENJOY:
Guests registering for this workshop will be responsible for renting their own vehicles at the Keflavík Airport where you will fly into. Guests will then drive to meet me and the rest of our group in the first area that we will photograph. I will be renting a vehicle which can accommodate myself and all couples. I will have a large “super-jeep” which are iconic to Iceland. Because each couple will have their own vehicle, our tag along partners are never “stuck” being out with us throughout the entire duration of our shooting times during late night hours. For those photographers who no longer have a ride back to the hotel, I will have a vehicle to do so. The best light is during the middle of the night, so prepare for an adjusted sleep schedule as a photographer. We will be going out around 9 or 10pm each evening. The light lasts all night long and we will chase scenes until we’re tired. You can also arrange to have your spouse come back and pick you up if you don’t want to stay out as long as the rest of the group. Tag alongs will likely want to tag along to enjoy these areas with beautiful light and are welcome to join for the entire night with us out shooting, but some will likely not want to hang around the entire time while we focus heavily on learning photography techniques and take time to capture our own pieces of artwork from Iceland. Having each couple with a vehicle will provide flexibility to each participant on how they want to spend each moment during the workshop.
WHAT ARE THE PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS WORKSHOP: Most of our approaches are quite short. You must be mobile and able to hike up to 2 miles on easy to moderate terrain.
HOW ADVENTUROUS IS THIS WORKSHOP: This workshop will be at least slightly adventurous for my typical guest (50 years +). The most adventurous parts will be kayaking your own kayak in a glacier lagoon, and an aerial flight in a small 3 seater airplane. All of these excursions are led by guide services with seasoned professionals that are local to the locations we are visiting. They will have all of the necessary gear, and will teach us everything that we need to know in order to have a safe and enjoyable experience.
ITINERARY
(subject to to changes and adjustments on which dates we visit certain locations and which day we do our excursions)
Day 1 -
We will meet in the town of Hella, Iceland. Hella is approximately 2 hours from the Keflavik international airport. Today we visit Haifoss and the Highlands, an iconic waterfall and a lesser known waterfall inside a slot canyon. Depending on time, we may possibly visit Thorsmork as well.
On this first day, we will voyage into the rugged Highlands of Iceland, where we'll visit two of the country’s most breathtaking locations: Landmannalaugar, with its colorful rhyolite mountains and geothermal hot springs, and Haifoss, one of Iceland’s tallest and most dramatic waterfalls. The Highlands are a backcountry destination that are largely free of tourists, but rather are explored by locals and seasoned outdoor travelers. This adventure includes thrilling crossings of river fjords in our specially-equipped super jeep, offering unique perspectives of the wild highland terrain. We’ll capture the sweeping landscapes, vibrant geothermal features, and perfectly textured and colored mountainscapes. After we are done in the Highlands, we will drive back towards our lodging arrangement, and if we have time we will visit Thorsmork National Park, yet another backcountry National Park in Iceland. In order to truly experience Thorsmork we would need to do strenuous and time consuming hikes, so we will just swing in to photograph a couple of easy to reach spots. A drone is recommended for this location.
Day 2 -
On day number two, we will experience my favorite photography experience in Iceland; photographing river fjords and the Highlands of Iceland from a 3 passenger airplane. The windows open enough for us to poke our heads and cameras outside of the window so we’re not photographing through glass. Our pilot is a great photographer and has massive amounts of experience with the locations that will create stunning images. Looking down on the river fjords with their braided patterns are beautiful pieces of artwork and nature. In addition to photographing the river fjords, we will also fly over the Highlands where we will capture ancient volcanoes and stunning mountain scenes. Each couple in our group will have their own private flight with just them and our pilot. I will give instruction in advance and our pilot will do the rest of the work getting you safely to the best images for the given conditions.
Once we are done with our flights we will photograph in and around the town of Vik. There is a nearby glacier and lagoon, fields of purple lupine fields as far as the eye can see, waterfalls, black sand beaches and iconic Iceland churches. We will photograph all of these on this day.
Day 3 -
On day number 3 we will make the drive to our destination of Jokulsarlon, which is a stunning lagoon with cotton candy blue ice blocks which have fallen off from Vatnajokull; Icelands largest glacier. The first activity that we will do on this day will be to take a private kayaking excursion into the lagoon. Photographers are encouraged to bring a camera body with one lens, or 2 camera bodies, one with a wide angle and one with more of a mid-range/telephoto. We will snag dinner at an appropriate time, then will meet back up for golden hour shooting. We will photograph the Lagoon, the “Diamond Beach” and other beautiful locations nearby.
Day 4 -
On our last day of the workshop we will have an early morning wake up in order to go out with a family owned Puffin tour company. The area that they guide us on the tour has a 99% success rate of seeing Puffins, so it’s pretty much a sure thing. At the most, there may be 3 other people not from our group that may be out there, but outside of that, they are the only people that guide to this Puffin colony. After we’ve photographed those cute little creatures that are supremely photogenic we will make the one hour drive over the the region near the town of Höfn which is located in the very Southeastern corner of the country. Here we will get to photograph the famous “Mt. Vestrahorn”, a steep and jagged mountain that seems to shoot straight out of the ocean floor along a black sand beach. There are always beautiful and ever changing foregrounds including lupines. Outside of Mt. Vestrahorn we will visit another craggy steep mountain scene as we shoot Mt. Eistrahorn. Along the way is a farm with friendly horses that are quite photogenic. We’ll be sure to spend time there as well as a beautiful waterfall tucked inside some tight mountains. We will shoot until the light is no good or until people are exhausted and we will return to hotels for our final night of lodging.
Day 5 - At this point, our workshop is officially over, but we will likely grab something to eat together so we can all say goodbye to each other.
FAQ’S:
Can solo travelers sign up and be teamed up with another solo traveler: I will not be taking any bookings for single participants on these workshops in order to create a specific atmosphere for this experience. If you are interested in a summertime workshop as a solo traveler, please send me an email to info@zion-photography.com as I may offer summer workshop experiences for individuals and couples that are both wanting to shoot with technical camera equipment.
How many hours of shooting do we end up doing each day: Count on approximately 6 + hours of shooting each day
What sort of vehicle should I rent for myself and my loved one to participate in the trip: You need nothing fancy. A small sedan works just fine as you will not need to drive any dirt roads. The small car rentals out there are quite inexpensive. There is no ice or snow during this time of the year either so you will not need 4x4 or studded tires.
What is cell service like in Iceland: It is incredible more or less everywhere. We may get spotty reception in brief moment, but overall it’s excellent.
