FIRST LIGHT
Photography Workshops

June 26 - July 3

Iceland Adventure Photo Workshop

$5,395

Flight Destination: Reykjavik, Iceland

Single supplement an additional $600

This is a cover it all trip to this beautiful country that is alive with some of the best seabird colonies in the world, magnificent waterfalls and wonderful landscapes. We will be led around the country by a local naturalist / guide who has access to unique places to go and stay.

The trip will cover a variety of locations including most of the top photographic spots found in Iceland. At every stop the opportunities will astound you, whether it be at an incredible puffin rookery, at a powerful waterfall or a glacial lagoon. You will experience it all on this trip. Iceland is one of the last hidden treasures on our planet and this trip is guaranteed to create a sense of awe in you that you will probably never experience again.

This workshop is all about photographing in the field. There will be no classroom sessions, no lectures and no digital programs but there will be plenty of hands-on help in the field as well as natural history of the area provided by the local guide.

This trip will require a $500 deposit which will set you up for the trip due to the deposits that are due well in advance. The following is the itenerary for this trip.

Upon arrival we'll go to birding areas along the Reykjanes Peninsula, where we can see Gannets, along with Arctic terns, Golden plovers, oystercatchers, and kittiwakes. Next we'll make our way to Reykjavik, which has it's own popular birding areas along suburban shorelines where we can see Arctic terns, and hopefully Whooper swans, gray geese, eider ducks and other ducks. The first night is in Reykjavik.

Next we head out to the Snaefellsnes peninsula, which has majestic mountain views and the highest peak, Snaefellsjökull. On the west end of the peninsula is one of Iceland's largest Arctic tern populations. On the shore is a sea arch with hoards of nesting kittiwakes, gulls and fulmars.
Our third day, we'll take the ferry to the island of Flatey, and along the way we may see a White-tailed sea eagle, as they nest in the area. We'll have several hours on Flatey and return with the late ferry to Stykkisholmur.

The next day it's Hraunfoss (Lava falls) and neighboring Barnafoss (Children's Falls). Hraunfoss surges forth surprisingly from porous lava with no visible surface flow. From here we go to Thingvellir National Park. It's a great site to see canyons shaped by plate tectonics and we literally walk between the N. American and Eurasian plate, in one of the few places on earth where plate boundaries are neither mountain ranges nor under water. It's a major historical site as well, being where Iceland's Viking parliament was established in 930 AD. From here we will either go to the geyser hot springs area or Gullfoss, both are high-traffic sites which are spectacular and considered must-do's. Otherwise, we'd head for Selfoss and the Floi reserve where we might have both an evening's shooting and a morning shooting the next day.

From Selfoss we take in two major waterfalls, first the narrow Seljalandsfoss which if the wind and weather is right, we can walk behind. Then it's Skogafoss, a broader tall waterfall that often has a rainbow if the sun's out. From Skogafoss, it's to Dýrholaey, where we should see puffins and fulmars and other cliff birds on the headlands near this sea arch. Next it's the black beach area of Reynishverfi, where we may see puffins, certainly kittiwakes and fulmars, eider ducks and some shore birds. There's also peculiar lava columns, sea caves and offshore spires. We stay at the nearby village of Vík.

From Vík the plan is to head for the Glacial lagoon and stay at a hotel close to it, so that we can maximize our experience there and at Ingólfshöfdi, at the latter spot, we'll ride across a tidal marsh and get to see more puffins up close after a bit of a hike uphill to the headlands.

Our next day is closer to Skaftafell National Park, Iceland's first formal national park, and now a sub-entity of the larger Vatnajökull National Park, Europe's largest national park, named for Europe's largest glacier, Vatnajökull. In Skaftafell we have spectacular glacial scenery and hopefully see Iceland's highest peak, Hvannadalshnúkur, the black falls, Svartifoss, and perhaps glimpse ptarmigan, as well as thrushes, meadow pipits, skuas and jaegars.

From Skaftafell we make our way back on the Ring Road to Reykjavík and take in anything we missed along the way (due maybe to weather, timing or other factors). From Reykjavík we have a chance to do more birding in the area of Reykjanes, visit the Blue Lagoon, shop or visit galleries. After the last night in Reykjavik, and these last activities, the group is shuttled out to Keflavik International Airport.

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