PHOTOGRAPHING ICELAND
Christian Henseler
I've been taking photos as a hobby for a few years now. So far, I've mainly done it on vacation to document our travels. In the last three to four years, I've been working more intensively on landscape photography. I had wanted to travel to Iceland for a long time. In March 2024, the time had finally come. I was immediately captivated by the landscape in Iceland. Until then, I had only seen it in books and on the internet. Here they lay before me, these breathtaking landscapes. I drove south on the ring road and one highlight followed the next. Whether it's the many waterfalls or the rugged coastline of the Dyrhóley peninsula with the famous Reynisfjara Beach - there's just so much to discover! So far, Iceland has mainly shown its rainy side, but on the very morning I was on my way to Diamond Beach, the sky opened up and there was a beautiful sunrise.
Photographing the blocks of ice on the black sand beach at sunrise was a real highlight. Finally, I wanted to photograph my absolute favorite motif. The view from the Stokksnes headland to Mount Vestrahorn is really impressive. The reflection in the shallow water on the beach. The view over the dunes in the warm evening light. Simply epic! As the sky was clear, I hoped to be able to photograph the Northern Lights. According to my app, there was only a 16 percent chance of seeing the Northern Lights. So, I took a few more photos with stars above the mountain, and suddenly I could see the aurora on my display. A fantastic end to a really beautiful photo trip. I go home knowing that I haven't seen many beautiful photo spots yet, but I'm sure I'll definitely be back again.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 19.