Iceland
Photo Tours
A convergence of elements in all their untamed colours held together with lots of ice and a little fire.
Upcoming Photo Tours
Overview
Iceland is a land of contrasts, defying easy categorisation with its dynamic and ever-changing landscape. Alive with geological activity, it breathes through its volcanoes and bubbles through its geysers, presenting a spectacle of natural wonders. Having formed 25 million years ago, Iceland is constantly growing, expanding by 5 cm annually, making it the second largest island in Europe.
From moss-covered lava fields in the southwest to soaring fjords in the northwest, Iceland's diverse terrain offers a wardrobe of contrasting landscapes. Its dark hemline, with black-sand beaches stretching along the 5000 km coastline, adds a touch of mystique reminiscent of mediaeval fantasy.
Experience the convergence of elements in the sky and beneath, from vibrant hues of red, green, and violet to the tranquil blues and browns, all held together by ice and fire. Iceland is a land of wonders waiting to be explored.
How is it?
Iceland defies categorisation. It’s neither bucolic nor Utopian; neither hostile nor placid; and neither entirely frozen nor oppressively warm.
Iceland is nothing if not alive. It’s a living, changing landscape that breathes through its volcanos and bubbles through its geysers. And when things go south, looks cheerfully at you with its lush pastures and gushing waterfalls.
It wasn’t always like this. Iceland is one of the planet’s youngest landmasses, with all this geological bustle having mushroomed as recently as yesterday plus 25 million years ago. And it’s still growing, at a positively pubescent 5 cm every year.
That rate of expansion for so long would make even an ant a giant, and surely enough, that’s what Iceland is: the second largest island in Europe (after Great Britain) and the 18th largest on the planet. And the giant wears many robes.
In the southwest, moss-covered steaming lava fields are the choice outfit for some contrasting Arctic sizzle, while in the northwest, soaring fjords are the pick from the wardrobe for that flowing look. The coveted centre is attired in barren highlands to offset all the razzmatazz, while the terrain generally is bedizened with impressive peaks, plateaux and lowlands.
But the most striking aspect of this accoutrement is the dark hemline, in the form of black-sand beaches on the tortuous 5000 km coastline, striking enough to evoke memories of The Swan Queen and peculiar enough to feel like a scene from medieval fantasy, Game of Thrones, large and impressive parts of which are fittingly filmed here.
And with a sparse population and over 80% of Iceland’s area reeling in joyous desertion, experience pristine seclusion as you set about witnessing a dazzle that’s uniquely Icelandic in its ‘Arcadian rhythms’, and the convergence of elements in all their untamed colours: red, green and violet in the sky, blue and brown underneath — held together with lots of ice and a little fire.
Photo Gallery
