ICELAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
ICELAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
With endless waterfalls, glaciers, towering mountains, wild horses and the worlds only black beach covered in "diamond" ice chunks, photographing the extreme landscape across Iceland is a photographers dream. Iceland undergoes many different seasons, offering a variety of photographic advantages in each. Many people ask why I choose to do my Iceland workshops in the winter months. There are actually a number of reasons, so here is the list:
Approximately 6 hours of “Golden Hour” light due to the sun living low on the horizon during the solstice. 6 Hours of perfect light for photography is a treat, and you’ll build a beautiful portfolio of Iceland with this quantity and quality of light.
Opportunities for time in Ice Caves (see images below)
Good chances of seeing and photographing the Aurora Borealis
This is the “off-season” for tourism in Iceland
2022 DATES
Group size: Limited to 6 participants
DECEMBER 1 - 8, 2022 (2 spaces now available!)
Please send an email to info@zion-photography.com if you’re interested in being added to the waitlist.
DECEMBER 12 - 19, 2022 (This workshop is full)
Please send an email to info@zion-photography.com if you’re interested in being added to the waitlist.
Price: $6,400
PRICING FOR NON-PHOTOGRAPHERS: Unfortunately I can’t find a way to provide non-photographer tag alongs with a different rate than what is listed for this winter Iceland workshop. I get this request frequently. Because of this, I am heading to Iceland this summer to develop a workshop to cater to this dynamic, and lessen the cost for those non-photographer participants. Summer workshops catering to this arrangement will be available in July of 2023.
Pricing includes single occupancy LODGINg. double occupancy can be arranged if there are other participants who i can arrange you to room with for a $1,000 discount
What is included: Lodging, ICE CAVE TOUR FEES, ENTRANCE FEES TO MT. VESTRAHORN, transportation during the workshop, instruction and guiding.
WE WILL DO SOME POST PRODUCTION WORK INTERMITTENTLY THROUGHOUT THE WORKSHOP.
What is not included: Flights AND meals
Guide AND INSTRUCTOR: Seth Hamel, Owner of enlighten photography
Participants: Available to 6 participants. Open to beginner to advanced photographers.
REQUIREMENTS:
A successful workshop comes down to a good workshop host, and a good workshop group. i promise to do my part. for this workshop, participants must be easy going, patient and caring towards others. if this does not fit you, i would ask that you please consider a different workshop provider. group dynamics will make or break a workshop experience, and for me, the experience for my guests is of the utmost importance.
While most of our shooting locations require very little walking, our day in the ice cave requires 2 miles of hiking round trip on uneven non-inclined terrain.
What you'll learn:
ITINERARY
Day 1 - We will meet at the Keflavik International Airport at 6:30AM. Flights coming from the United States all arrive between 6:00 am and 6:30 am. If you are flying from elsewhere and can not get to the Keflavik airport for our meeting time, you will need to fly in the day before and stay at the Airport Aurora Hotel, which is directly across the street from the airport. You will then meet us that next day at 6:30 am at the airport, or I can pick you up if you are staying at an airport located hotel. Once we have everyones gear, we will load into our rather large vehicle. From there we will drive to our first destination of the workshop, located in the town of Vik where we will shoot as we arrive near sunrise, and will shoot in that region for the day.
Day 2 - On day number 2 we will photograph in either the Vik area, or we will drive before sunrise to get over to the Jokulsarlon and the “diamond beach” area. This approach of assessing weather for photography, driving conditions, and aurora will be a day to day thing. Lodging is locked in, but we may end up leaving before sunrise, or after sunset depending on what forecasts are showing. Vik is host to “the black sand beach”, a couple of impressively large waterfalls, as well as a tucked away glacier surrounded by dramatic peaks.
Day 3 - On day number 3 we will be in the Jokulsarlon and Diamond Beach area. This is one of the most stunning areas of the entire island, which is why I’ve dedicated a chunk of time in this workshop to this region. Ice caves, multiple glacier scenes, lagoons filled with stunning blue ice blocks and the diamond beach will keep us thrilled with opportunities to find an endless amount of compositions. This is not an area where there is one iconic shot. We will be able to work with the landscape in whatever way inspires us, and each individual will see and photograph scenes differently, allowing you to get into a deep artistic groove to create your own representations of these magical scenes. In addition, this is an area that if we are getting aurora, it is a great place to be to work with reflections of the Northern Lights bouncing off of the lagoons water.
Day 4 - We will be in the Jokulsarlon area again. This is very likely the day we will spend in the Ice Cave, but it all depends on the weather forecast.
Day 5 - On this day we will spend the day shooting near the town of Hofn, which is host to one of my favorite features on the island, and favorite place to be for the Northern Lights. It is called Mt. Vestrahorn, and it is a dramatic mountain rising from the ocean and black sand floor. This area has loads of varieties of ways to compose using different elements in the landscape.
Day 6 - We will spend our day in the back Jokulsarlon area either shooting new scenes or ones we’ve shot before using different light.
Day 7- On this day we will shoot in the Vik area. We will probably shoot one of the iconic red and white churches of Iceland along with ocean scenes on the black beach. After shooting Vik for the day, we will head to the capital city of Reykjavik where we will stay that night.
Day 8- This is the last day of the workshop, and we have options for this day. We can either explore the city for shopping and culture, visit the “blue lagoon” hot springs, or go to see and photograph a still cooling lava field. From there I will drop guests off at the airport. United States bound flights typically depart between 5pm and 5:30pm.
