Return to Iceland Part 1: The East

Iceland was the last international trip I took before the pandemic - in September, 2019.  As a photographer, I never really am not thinking about going back to Iceland, but I thought about it even more than normal during the early months of Covid, imagining how amazing it would be to be there without all of the tourists.  Fast forward to early August, 2021.  I was supposed to be going with a buddy on a Jeep trip in the San Juans, but he had to cancel unexpectedly.  Looking to salvage the time off, I immediately started putting together an Iceland trip in my head.  Everything came together in a matter of days, from research about Covid policies to purchasing the plane ticket to getting connected on Instagram with Thor, who would provide me with a two-day tour of the highlands  I’ve had some logistical challenges on other international trips, but this one went off without any issues at all.  My flight to Keflavik arrived early, I was the first person through immigration and the Covid procedures and was in my rental car and on the road by 7:00 am.

Day 1 - Sunday
My first two nights were going to be in the East, an area I had never visited.  The main draw was Vestrahorn, one of the iconic peaks forming a headland near Höfn.  I had seen so many beautiful compositions of this mountain with the black sand beach in the foreground that I had to experience it for myself.  I did a bit of research on some waterfalls in the area, but Vestrahorn was going to be the main event.

About 3 hours into my 6 hour drive, I was running on fumes, so I pulled over near Vík to take a 30 minute power nap.  I woke up feeling a bit more energized, so I pushed on.  I had planned to hike at a remote canyon called Múlagljúfur on my return from Höfn, but on a whim figured I would give it a shot before heading to the town and my hotel.  Sidebar:  I often see this referred to as “Múlagljúfur Canyon”, which is kind of like “ATM machine” since gljúfur means “canyon” in Icelandic.  The weather was cool and misty, perfect to invigorate me for what ended up being a pretty strenuous hike, at least for my out-of-shape body.  As I continued up the trail, the clouds got thicker and it started raining more steadily.  In addition to the waterfall in the image above, there’s another one at the end of the canyon, but by the time I got there you could barely see it.  I started my hike back down and ended up sliding in some serious mud and falling, getting my pants, jacket, and camera bag all covered.  Small price to pay for what I had just experienced even if I looked completely ridiculous in the grocery store I stopped at on the way to the hotel.

Day 2 - Monday
I woke up on Day 2 and Vestrahorn was totally covered in clouds, so it was going to be a waterfall day.  I drove another 1.5 hours up the coast with my destination being Hænubrekkufoss, a multi-tiered waterfall along a mountain pass.  As I was climbing, I noticed a waterfall off to my left, but kept going.  A few minutes later, I was in a complete fog.  Hænubrekkufoss wasn’t in the cards and I headed back down to stop at that other waterfall, Folaldafoss.  Turns out Folaldafoss was a pretty awesome second choice and I spent quite a lot of time here shooting both intimate and wide compositions.  From here, I went to another nearby waterfall called Nykurhylsfoss.  On my way back south, I visited one more waterfall, Skútafoss, which I almost skipped.  I’m so glad I didn’t because it really was a hidden gem.  First, I had the whole place to myself unlike the crazy tourist spots in the South.  Second, the formation was pretty unique.  There was a larger waterfall that started as a plunge and then spread over some rocks/moss that kind of reminded me of chocolate drizzled over a dessert.  To the left/south, there was a smaller waterfall that created some additional composition options.  In addition, there was space carved out below the ledge from which the water was falling so you could go in there and get some “cave” type shots.

I got back to my hotel and Vestrahorn still hadn’t come out, so I decided to visit Hoffell Glacier.  The lighting conditions weren’t good and I didn’t get any shots there I was happy with, but it still was amazing just to sit back and observe nature’s power.  After the glacier, I went back to my hotel and called it an early night.

Day 3 - Tuesday
This was my departure day from Höfn and my last chance to see Vestrahorn, so I drove there and hoped for the best.  The peak still was mostly in fog and there were a lot of people (and footprints in the sand), so I had to get creative with my compositions.  I ended up with a few good images, but have struggled to edit them as I got a lot of red noise in the sky for some reason.  I definitely didn’t get the prized shot I was looking for, but I still was overall happy with my time in the East.

Retracing my steps, my destination for the evening was the Hrauneyjar Highland Center but I planned to make one or two stops along the way.  I passed several spots I had visited on a prior trip that I would have liked to photograph again, including Foss á Síðu, Systrafoss, and Reynisfjara, but I had to keep going or I wouldn’t be able to see any new locations.

First stop was Kvernufoss, the less well-known neighbor of Skógafoss. Like Seljalandsfoss, Kvernufoss is a waterfall that you can walk behind, which made some interesting compositions but also created challenges as there was a constant flow of people behind it taking selfies.  At times I have to remind myself that I’m not the only tourist and their selfies are just as valid as the images I’m trying to take.  Speaking of that, I have a love/hate relationship with Skógafoss.  The sheer size and power of the waterfall make it such a perfect photo subject, but it’s kind of the worst of the worst in terms of tourist traps.  People everywhere, drones flying around, etc.  Skógafoss is the biggest, but just one of many waterfalls on the Skógá and I suspected that hiking even just a little upstream would cause the crowds to thin significantly.  The rain started coming down pretty heavily, however, so I tabled that hike and got back in my car.

My next stop was a waterfall called Gluggafoss and by the time I got there, the rain had stopped and the sun even had come out.  Gluggafoss was right by the roadside and didn’t even require a detour from my route.  It was unique in that holes or “windows” had been carved out in the rock such that the upper part of the falls were visible inside of the windows.  After taking quite a few shots here, I drove to the Highland Center, got some dinner and went to bed.