Icelandic Landscapes

Arriving in Iceland, I was met with amazing scenery and vast landscapes. It looked like something straight out of a movie and was remarkable. One of those places was called Valahnúkamöl. The landscape was beautiful and life-like with the green lush mountain as the waves crashed against it making it an incredible place to photograph and visit. When I was there I found out they filmed a movie at that place, the movie was called Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. Apparently they filmed a scene for a song called Volcano Man which I found to be interesting to do at such a unique location. During my first day in Iceland we visited the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon was a really beautiful landscape for photographing the water; it was incredibly blue and barely visible to see anything at the bottom. The water was like a baby blue and felt really nice on my skin when taking a dip in the water. While in Reykjavik we visited Hallgrimskirkja which is Iceland’s largest church. Inside they have an elevator that will take you to the top to see the entire city. At the top I was able to see ochre red roofs and colorful homes making the city really pretty. On day five we visited Eldfell Crater which is still an active volcano. When climbing you can see black, brown, and red volcanic rocks surrounding the crater. At the bottom of the crater you can see volcanic rocks covered in a lush green moss that leads out towards the ocean. I think it was probably one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever visited and photographed. One thing I learned is that they filmed a scene for the movie “Free Willy” near Eldfell. I thought that was an interesting fact about the island. One of my favorite places we went to was the waterfall Gljúfrabúi. The waterfall went into a cave. It was something I've never seen before and could only dream of seeing something so incredible. The cave made it great for lighting in photos. The water and mist going on my camera lens made my photographs look different than usual and I loved how they turned out. It gave my photography a  unique touch. The cave was dark at first but when reaching the waterfall it opened into a beautiful scene. It was probably one of my favorite waterfalls that we visited because of how different the scenery was. On day seven we went to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. The lagoon was full of these deep dark blue glaciers that gave a winter feel to my surroundings.  When we hopped on the tour boat we were able to see the glaciers much more clearly. Some of the glaciers were covered in volcanic ash which apparently can help the glaciers melt faster. On day eight we visited Reynisfjara Beach. The beach is known for having black volcanic sand, smooth rocks and pebbles all over the sand, and having dangerous waves and currents. There are caves all around the beach where tourists can get unique photographs and have a place to relax and watch the waves crash onto the shore. The beach was unlike any other beach I’ve ever seen. When at Reynisfjara Beach visitors should keep a safe distance from the water as it is one of Iceland's most dangerous sites due to the waves and currents. Iceland was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. I would love to go back and do a road trip around the entire island and visit places we didn’t get to see while in Iceland.