Workshops: Iceland Glacier Regions + Eastfjords + Faroe Islands Extension: June 2015

Dates: 31 May - 13 June 2015  (14 days and nights!)   Brand new trip for 2015!  
6 of 6 spaces available! 
$4900 USD or Euro equivalent,  all inclusive including 1-way airfare to the Faroe Islands. 

• Note: If you would like, you could come for just the Faroe Islands segment. The pro-rated price is $2400 USD or Euro equivalent, not including flights. 

Iceland + Faroe Islands  -  Featuring the classic itinerary of the south coast, Vatnajökull glacier regions including Jokulsarlon, then through the remote Eastfjords, and finishing with an extension in the Faroe Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean.   

This unforgettable itinerary features two iconic North Atlantic islands - Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.  Iceland is top of every photographers' list to go to - growth in tourism is exponential currently in the country. And springtime in Iceland, with the long midnight sunsets, is a special time of year. This is one of few opptunities to go with a photography group to the Faroes, and the only Iceland/Faroe combo photo trip in the world.   Our photography tour and workshop covering the Faroes and both southern and eastern Iceland, the legendary land of fire and ice, is meant for outdoor photographers and nature-goers who desire to see and photograph North Atlantic landscapes in the middle of the spring wildflower season. Highlights include glacier and ocean landscapes, waterfalls,  icebergs and glacial lagoons, and above all, idyllic pastoral and country rural scenes nestled along spectacular ocean cliffs and green mountains.  

For the first week of the trip we drive through Iceland, first along the south coast classic and popular locations including national parks and waterfalls, then a few days in the Skaftafell glacier area and Jokulsarlon lagoon area, and finally a couple more days in the oft-bypassed verdant Eastfjords region featuring secret waterfalls, old bridges, and fjord valleys. We’ll enjoy Iceland’s long summer daylight hours as we photograph highlights including erupting geysers and geothermal areas, nuzzle with Icelandic horses in idyllic green pastures, peer over sea cliffs alive with hundreds of thousands of birds including puffins, swim in warm volcanic springs, feel Europe’s most powerful waterfall, hike up mountains for panoramic vistas of Iceland’s green mountains, explore some of Iceland’s stark highland regions, and photograph and walk on Iceland’s glaciers.

Then we fly over to the Faroe Islands, an independent-spirited archipeligo of islands in the North Atlantic ocean interconnected by a world-class level of undersea highway tunnels.  Springtime in the Faroes is special, with lush green fields and wildflowers and turf-roofed traditional houses, and steep pyramidal-shaped mountains dropping into ocean channels among the islands. The small towns nested at the base of these mountains are idyllically situated and very photogenic.  Of course, there's also puffins and millions of other seabirds with roost on the ocean cliffs. And great traditional mountain landscapes with spectacular ocean backdrops. 

Photography Instruction: A maximum group size of 6 photographers ensures you will receive ample personal photographic coaching in the field from a full time working pro, maximize the group’s flexibility and ability to shoot more places, more spontaneously based on light and weather, and provide an intimate small group adventure experience. This photo tour is all about in-the-field field photography and situational instruction working alongside your leader, and there will be no classroom workshops or presentations, unless there is extra downtime from rainy weather. Photographic topics that will covered while shooting include classic landscape photography composition and technique, HDR (High Dynamic Range) imagery, panoramic photography, adventure and travel photography, tilt/shift focusing, slow shutter -speed effects, and exhaustive use of filters. We will also be going on some shorter hikes (2-5 hrs) to truly experience the land.  Both Iceland and the Faroes have recently been listed as some of the top 10 travel destinations by leading travel guides.  Group participants may wander on their own occasionally if they wish to pursue individual photographic objectives, enabling each participant to get the most out this once-in-a-lifetime trip. 

Pro Leaders: Johnathan Esper of Wildernesscapes Photography LLC in the USA will be leading the trip. Johnathan is a full time photographer and experienced international photo trip leader, and this will be his 24th trip he's led to Iceland since begining Iceland trips in 2011, and his 3rd time in the Faroes.   Every trip so far has been an incredible experience for the participants. Johnathan has a unique background and an intimate knowledge of the land from living out of a car, exploring and photographing Iceland intensively for months at a time, and he specializes in wide panoramic landscapes and adventure photography.   Award-winning Icelandic special guest photographer Örvar Þorgeirsson will also join us for an evening outing session on the trip, for added instructional and cultural diversity.   Örvar Þorgeirsson and his wife Mai run a fine art gallery in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland, and he is one the top photographers in the country.  Clients always appreciate his patient come-alongside teaching style, and his exclusive private outings with clients are always in high demand. 

Trip Details: The cost of this tour is $4900 USD (or ISK equivalent), all inclusive from the evening of 31 May through midday of  13 June. The trip begins in Reyjavik, Iceland, and finishes in Torshavn, Faroe Islands, from where you return to Europe directly or North America via Iceland.  Included is all photographic opportunites and professional iinstruction, all ground transportation and guiding, a 1 way flight from Iceland to Torshavin, Faroes during the trip, all accommodation for 14 nights (accomodation will be chosen based on optimal locations to photograph, and will vary including authentic Icelandic and Faroese farmers guesthouses, bed and breakfasts, and hotels. Prices are based on double occupancy - optional single supplement may be available for an added $900; all meals and food (breakfasts provided by our guesthouses, picnic-style lunches and snacks, and hot dinners at our places of accomodation and/or restaurants) and all activity fees listed in this itinerary. Alcoholic drinks, incidentals purchased by participants on their own, extra ordering beyond standard 2-3 course dinners, and similar, are extra and not included in the price.  A $1000 deposit is due at the time of registration, and the remaining balance is due by by the trip start. Refund details are available upon request, with a mix of cash refund and future trip credit, depending on cancellation date. This tour is open to digital photographers of all skill levels, and a trip packing list will be provided.  There is a maximum group size of 6, and a minimum of 3. Our long 14 day itinerary that covers about 2400km, enables you to photograph much more than the average photo tour, with professional in-the-field instruction, at an excellent value given how much we'll see and do. We'll be so immersed in the Icelandic and Faroese countryside for our entire time as a group, that we have left no time to enjoy the sights of Reykjavik or Torshavin, so we encourage you to stay in Reykjavik/Torshavn for a couple days on your own, before and after the tour. If you have additional questions, the trip leader will be happy to answer them over the phone or email. 

• Note: If you would like, you could come for just the Faroe Islands segment. The pro-rated price is $2400 USD or Euro equivalent. This is all inclusive but does not include airfare to/from the Faroe Islands. Please contact me with any questions. Thanks!