Colorful Iceland

Arjan Wilmsen March 20, 2019

Cold, windy, wet and raw. That’s what comes to mind when you think of Iceland. And you are right. Iceland can be a very dark, moody and “hard” place. Personally I like that a lot.
This cold and dark vibe gives a nice and moody touch to your photography. Something I like to capture, and with me tons of other photographers too. Take a look at other work on my website and Instagram for that type of work…. But okay, the title of this blog is “Colourful Iceland” so there’s a bunch of vibrant and colourful photographs in this post. Iceland can be very very colourful and bright as well. In summer when there’s a lot of daylight, and no setting sun. But also in winter, with short days and the sun rising and setting throughout the entire day. You will get some crazy good conditions and amazing light if you are lucky. Last month I was on a photography workshop with Páll Jökull, and oh boy.. we got lucky!

Take a look at these images below, popping colors, nice light. All shots were taken on my previous workshop in Iceland.
Also, Páll and myself are offering a Summer photography workshop in Northern Iceland this summer.
Check it out right here: NORTHERN ICELAND - SUMMER WORKSHOP

The Reynisdrangar sea stacks seen from Vik

See Páll Jökull’s work by clicking the logo below

Ice cave tour in Iceland

Arjan Wilmsen February 26, 2019

On day three of the Photography workshop Páll Jökull and myself were giving we went on a trip to the Ice caves in Breiðamerkurjökull. This Ice cave tour was led by Siggi from “South East Iceland” The day started out being very windy, and almost a complete white out. Lots of snowy wind gusts limiting vision.

Arriving at the Jökulsárlón Glacier in the early morning with Páll and our own workshops participants we met up with Siggi and his big big big truck. On the tour we were accompanied by another small group of friendly photographers that were on a tour with Icelandic photographer Olgeir Andresson. A couple of hello’s, some hand shakes and then it was time to get into the truck, and head out. Into the vast, wide open. Towards the ice and the ice caves.

Siggi did an amazing job of driving the big truck with inflatable tires over the rugged terrain. It was a bumpy ride, but not as bad as I expected it to be. Siggi also shared a bunch of interesting information about the glacier and the national park whilst we were making our way towards the Ice caves. This was very informative and entertaining. His sense of humor more then once got the entire truck burst out into laughter. Best bumpy ride of my life.

Below you can see a selection of images of the tour, with some guiding information here and there.

Páll Jökull shooting inside the cave together with the workshop participants.

Hi there, Páll captured me looking in, from the other side :)

The group of people we explored and photographed the cave with (Photo by Páll)

The shape of the Ice. Breathtakingly beautiful

Once at the Ice cave Siggi gave some clear instructions, shared some more information and knowledge about the area. And showed us how to go about entering and photographing the cave. Siggi took us to 3 seperate caves/locations where we had a good amount of time to enjoy the locations, and to be able to take our photographs. The fact that we had Siggi, Páll and Olgeir taking part in this tour, all being experienced in what they do and extremely pleasant guys to be around with it was obviously a very good experience. For me, but also for the whole group, How do I know? Because everyone was smiling from ear to ear, all the time. The atmosphere between the people in the group was amazing.

The shape and color of the Ice is just incredible

Páll taking in the beauty of the Ice cave.

I just couldn’t get enough of Siggi’s big truck, look at those wheels!

Cramp ons, necessary piece of equipment in this environment.

Ice, and untouched snow. It doesn’t get much better then this!

Blue, is just all I am going to say about this shot.

Páll and the group, having a great time on the ice.

I hope you enjoyed these images. And to end this blogpost I want to shout out to everyone who has made this Ice cave tour the succes it was.

Siggi / South East Iceland
Páll Jökull
Olgeir Andresson

Here’s a video I shot together with Páll of the Ice cave tour.

"BIG" Iceland Panorama

Arjan Wilmsen February 20, 2019

Here is the BIG Panorama I was talking about on Facebook. 50 images stitched to become one.
This gave my computer quite a hard time, rendering and processing. It is the biggest panorama I’ve ever shot.

It is actually so big, that you can’t really see all the details in it.
So, I’ve uploaded the image to my Dropbox, for you to see it in a higher resolution.
Click the link to see the image in a bigger size: https://www.dropbox.com/s/st826errskjw221/ICELAND%20PANORAMA.jpg?dl=0

In the image: Mýrdalsjökull Glacier. Southern Iceland

Tórshavn by mobile phone

Arjan Wilmsen January 7, 2019

In September I’ve spent 9 days in the amazing Faroe Islands. I have been travelling through the country, shooting some amazing stuff with my DSLR. But with modern technology so advanced and available for everyone it made sense to take some snapshots with my Iphone. Like basically everyone would do right?

Below is a selection of shots that I’ve taken with my Iphone, in the capital city of the Faroe Islands. Tórshavn. You can easily go about capturing this small, but super cosy and amazing city with your mobile phone. A great picture doesn’t necessarily need to be taken with and expensive and professional camera.
Not at all. (technical) Quality matters, but not always. In my eyes, composition and “feel” is key to a great photograph. Tórshavn is so pretty, and photogenic that you will find lots and lots of good compositions and perspectives to snap a very nice photo with your mobile phone.

Have a look at the ones I took!

Down by the water at Tinganes. Kneeled down to get a little bit more of the water in the foreground in the frame.

Very famous spot among photographers, in the heart of Tórshavn. Tórshavn Cathedral and Bryggjubakki street (left) and Undir Bryggjubakka street (right) at the centre of the city

Tórshavn by night. This was the street I stayed on during my visit.

Narrow streets, down by Áarstova. One of the best restaurants in The Faroe Islands.

Old, new, big and small… all types of boats in the harbors of Tórshavn.

SMS, the shopping centre in Tórshavn. And the biggest in The Faroe Islands

I just can’t get enough of how cool these houses look!

Tinganes, the old and very cozy area of Tórshavn. Tinganes is the historic location of the Faroese landsstýri (government)

Romantic and beautiful, Tórshavn is both!!

Hey, this street smells like fish… makes sense!

View on Tórshavn, seen from the town/area of Argir.

The amazing people at Visit Faroe Islands will provide you with all information and details you need.

Lots of cozy coffeehouses to take a break, and enjoy the city, staring through the windows.

Skansin is a historic fortress in Tórshavn. And it has a nice lighthouse

Thank you for checking out my images. Keep in mind, all these shots were taken with an Iphone. They were edited on an Iphone as well. With the VSCO app. That lets you apply certain looks and feel to a photograph, and gives you control over some basic edit tools as well.

It also supports RAW files. So you can also transfer your DSLR images to your app, and edit them on your phone, on the go, very modern, very nice.

The Faroe Islands: 3 Photographs

Arjan Wilmsen October 12, 2018

Gjógv

Gjógv is a village located on the northeast tip of the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands and 63 km (39 mi) north by road from the capital of Tórshavn. The village was named after a 200-metre (650 ft) long sea-filled gorge that runs north to the sea from the village. You can see the gorge on this photograph. And even though the weather wasn’t all that I still decided to go up on the hill that overlooks the town. I slid down and fell on my face a few times, but that did not stop me from enjoying this amazing view.

Kópakonan

The legend of Kópakonan (the Seal Woman) is one of the best-known folktales in the Faroe Islands. Seals were believed to be former human beings who voluntarily sought death in the ocean. Once a year, on the Thirteenth night, they were allowed to come on land, strip off their skins and amuse themselves as human beings, dancing and enjoying themselves.
More about the saga right here: Visit Faroe Islands

Syðrugøta

At first I had this photograph up on my site, saying it was the town of Leirvik. But I was contacted by a friendly Faroese lady that told me that the village on this photograph was not Leirvik, but Syðrugøta. So I was wrong at first. Thank you correcting me misses! Many believe that the great Viking, Tróndur í Gøtu lived and had his headquarters in Syðrugøtu, among many reasons why, is because of the good view he would have had out to the horizon and the short distance to his fleet, stationed Undir Gøtueiði. There are still many unexcavated ruins of centuries old farmhouses buried in the ground in Syðrugøtu. Another fun fact about Syðrugøta: The famous Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir was born here

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I hope you enjoyed these images. And to end this blogpost I want to shout out to everyone who has made this Ice cave tour the succes it was.

Siggi / South East IcelandPáll JökullOlgeir Andresson

Gjógv

Kópakonan

Syðrugøta

Siggi / South East Iceland
Páll Jökull
Olgeir Andresson