Iceland 2023
What an amazing place. The sights, the people, the fresh air, the food, and the culture all made for an eye opening experience for me. I never knew how much fun traveling could be. I would travel around the United States sure, but until I traveled abroad I didn't realize how small my world was.
It all started suddenly, like a jump out of plane. I looked at Zac and said, "You wanna go to Iceland?" and he said "Yep."
It never mattered that it was to "work". It was an opportunity to create. We jumped on it.
I was so thrilled to have the best clients trust me to capture their best angles. I love the opportunity to do what makes my heart sing and it's Photography/Videography.
It is my form of expression, my medium, and I love being able to gift that to others by capturing moments for them that they can revisit and remember.
I was so fortunate to have Zac travel with me. Zac and I have been together for about 2 years and our blended home makes for a lot of fun times.
I capture our family most of the time. But an opportunity like this was something that gets me SUPER excited.
I was nervous and didn't have a clue what to expect. I should of did some research but I didn't. I let the country welcome me without preconceived notions of what to expect.
In Iceland the weather changes quickly. There aren't any native trees and if you do see a tree it as brought to the island somehow. Icelandic people love puffins and after watching them fly, I like their little wiggly butts too. The Black Sand Beach in Vik has basalt columns that took my breath away(images below).
In the About Me section I have a video of me shooting a model, and when it pans out, you will see just how small we are compared to those basalt columns.
We took our clients to hike up a glacier for some amazing images too. It was only a small fingerling off the major glacier. The rain started and small little rivers of water would run between our feet. After climbing the murrain (the gravel and rock pushed up from the front part of the glacier) we got onto the glacier and saw the amazing crevasses I have only ever read about before. Remember science class? THIS is what they were talking about. The glacier was on a public park so there were hikers and climbers repelling down into the depths of the glacier, that made my curiosity leap out of my chest. I desperately wanted to see where they were going after leaping into the darkness underneith the crystal ice. After taking a break and finding my water bottle empty, I knelt down to fill it from the water running down the glacier. I held up my water bottle and looked through the water and saw it was 100% clear. The taste was unmatched. No water treatment plants here. Just rain that falls onto the glacier at the top of the mountain. The rivers and waterfalls form and run all the way down, filtering the water as it goes. AMAZING. I haven't tasted anything like it before.
We got to eat at Ingolfsskali Viking restaurant. What a trip! We tried the horse meat and mead. The tomato soup and bread was delicious, but I am partial to the carbs. After eating lamb chops too, I could of slept for a week. The weather and the food are hearty and filling. After long days in the outdoors you feel more connected to nature, and filled with purpose creativity and spunk.
I didn't realize how little stimulation I was getting at home. I work all day (10 hr days at a computer) and take Ryker, my son, to hockey most weekdays.
I don't envy the mom whose 3 children are in multiple sports. Yea, they exist. The moms that juggle more than one child. I have just my son and thats quite enough.
The brick laid streets made me think of vikings that inhabited this island long ago. There were little Icelandic shops and coffee houses, and fish and Chips restaurants. The natural views that this land offers is incredible. You are amazed at how far you can see into the nearby glaciers and mountains. The wildlife is few but always present. The Icelandic horses, sheep and goats occupy all the fields. Waterfalls litter the side of the mountains that stare down over the road.
We stopped by the Blue Lagoon for a relaxing soak on our first day there. Paired with the Icelandic beer, facial scrub and mud masks I didn't have a thing to complain about.
Below are some of the things I captured in this beautiful country.
I couldn't recommend Iceland more. But only to the true traveler. If you want a beach and margarita - go elsewhere. If you want to see nature, drink glacier water, embrace the elements, see true pride in cultural spirit, go to Iceland. It will hold a place deep in my heart forever.
Go travel. See the world. Live your dreams and as always... Stay wanderlust my friends!
#staywanderlustmyfriends
