OUR MISSION Our mission is to provide you with the best photographic experience, combining learning, both in the field and classroom, with unparalleled access to the best image making opportunities. We also make it a priority to ensure that you are surrounded by a fun and creative environment that fosters your individual growth. It is our guarantee that you will go home with stunning imagery and a memorable/joyful experience. Our trips/workshops are meticulously planned with attention to detail. From hotels, food, transportation and shooting logistics, all arrangements come together to provide you with a photographic adventure that runs smoothly and maximizes your shooting opportunities. All of our itineraries are tailored to get you to the best locations, during the right season and at the right time of the day. “Very few people have the opportunity to go to the places we go.” Tracking the sun, the moon and the stars are just some of the elements that go into our planning process. You will have in the field coaching to make sure you get the best rendition of the scene in front of you and that you are able to make that image in camera with little or no post processing. During your down time, we provide one on one critique sessions to make the most of your learning experience.
John Kelly’s impression of the trip to narrate the adventure: “It’s 4 AM in the morning and I’m awake in my bed in Iceland thinking about my trip. I fly home tomorrow. Thanks to Raul Touzon, our guide and photographic mentor, for making the trip to Iceland such a memorable experience. Raul has spent over three years perfecting this trip. We traveled over 1200 miles, often on unpaved, snowy, and icy roads, to be at the right place at the right time.The cold, the wind, the icy rain, and the snow made this a very challenging experience. We walked between two and four miles a day in boots and four layers of clothes to get to the best vantage point. One day I climbed 535 steps to get a shot. We stood on beaches in 30 mph winds, and had waves of freezing water wash over our boots and tripods. There was no time for shopping and barely enough time for peeing, sleeping, and eating. We would arrive at a location an hour before sunrise and wait in the cold hoping that the sun would peak out of the clouds for a few minutes so we could photograph a white-capped mountain with a pink glow. Often it didn’t happen, but when it did, it was magical and rarely lasted for more than five minutes. We usually skipped lunch, eating protein bars and snacks while driving to the next photo shoot. If we did stop to eat, it was at a gas station for a bacon wrapped hot-dog while using the bathroom or refueling.It was worth every painful minute. I don’t know how we did it with one bathroom break a day. But I’m sure we saw the most beautiful places in Iceland and some of the most beautiful places in the world. One of the guys on the trip loves it so much that he has done it four times. I still have 100’s of panoramas and 1000’s of HDR images to process when I get home”
John Kelly
FALL IN ICELAND - PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP Around Iceland, A Photographic Saga Iceland is my favorite place in the world, not only because of its stunning landscapes, but also because of the warmth of its people and mysticism born from the ancient Viking Sagas. Every corner of this land is blessed by nature, and it is, without a doubt, God’s Masterpiece. The weather is unpredictable, magnificent and key in the creation of stunning imagery. Photography in this realm is about chasing the light and being able to react to nature’s whims. Sometime ago I wrote: “I love changing weather, as it shows nature’s ego,” and in Iceland, that ego is bigger than the universe. It took three years of research, scouting and planning to design the perfect photography adventure. During the 10 days of driving around Iceland, we visit places rarely visited, where we photograph at the perfect time and under the best light. We shoot these key locations several times: dawn, dusk and at night seeking the optimal moments to create great images. The ability to react to evolving situations and to stop any place at any time is one of the pluses of this adventure. This trip is designed to travel beyond the tourist spots of the Golden Circle as we explore and photograph the magnificent Icelandic countryside. It is our guarantee that you will go home with stunning imagery: the product of memorable and joyful experiences. It is fair to say that you will witness the majestic beauty of all of Iceland’s key sites. Very few people have the opportunity to go to the places we go. Monitoring the sun, the moon, the stars and the magnificent Northern Lights are a few of the elements that go into our planning. You will have in-field coaching to make sure you get the best rendition of the moment evolving in front of you. During down time, we provide one on one critique sessions to make the most of your learning experience. Around Iceland, A Photographic Saga is the best photographic experience available in the market, combining learning, with unparalleled access to the best image-making opportunities, all in a fun and creative environment.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS DAY 1 Reykjavik
Welcome to Iceland. After landing in Keflavik International Airport, you will be taken to the hotel in Reykjavik where you will have time to rest. At night, you will meet the group, receive a full brief of the days to come and have dinner at a local restaurant. We will spend the night in Reykjavik.
DAY 2
DAY 5
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
Lake Myvatn Area
After an early pick up, we start travelling north to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, which will be our home for the next two days. On our way there, we will stop to photograph Barnafoss, where hundreds of small waterfalls flow from within the lava plains into the mighty Hvítá River. Upon arrival into Snæfellsnes, we will photograph Budir with its iconic black church and sunset in the Arnarstapi coastal park, where the sea has carved arches and majestic cliffs into the lava flows. At Night, we will shoot at Kirkjufellsfoss and Mt. Kirkjufell one of the most recognizable mount/waterfall images in Iceland. We will spend the night in Grundarfjordur.
We welcome a brand new day at Godafoss, one of the most beautiful waterfalls in all of Iceland. This is a site that yields many images as you can photograph from many different angles. The sunrise here is exquisite, and full of color. From there, we will drive up the Bárðardalur valley to the majestic waterfall Aldeyjarfoss, one of Iceland’s most photogenic waterfalls. Our next stop is the Hverir thermal area, where boiling mud pots and steam vents thrive. You will be confronted with colors galore on this Icelandic representation of hell. After a short drive, we climb the Viti crater with its stunning turquoise lake at the bottom. A night shoot might be at hand depending on weather conditions. We will spend the night in Lake Myvatn Area.
DAY 3
DAY 6
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
East Iceland-Djúpivogur
We start our day with a dawn shoot at Kirkjufellsfoss and Mt. Kirkjufell. We then drive to Londrangar, where there are impressive lava formations emerging from the ocean, providing a unique photo opportunity. In Djupalonssadur, we walk down to the lava flows covered in green moss down to the coastline for some interesting shots. We will then capture the sunset using the Snæfellsjokull Glacier as a background. Many fishing villages and small towns adorn Snæfellsnes, so expect many un-scheduled stops along the way, all depending on the photo opportunities arising. At night, we return to Kirkjufellsfoss and Mt. Kirkjufell for more night images. We will spend the night in Grundarfjordur.
Rise and shine, off to Dettiffoss, Europe’s most powerful waterfall, 100 meters wide and 45 meters deep. After a short hike, you will be able to capture amazing imagery of this wall of water. Right after this shoot, we head east over the mountains into the fjords that line up Iceland’s east coast. On our way, we will photograph around the Modrudalur Area, which is surrounded by magnificent peaks and we will stop to photograph the Rjukandi waterfall. We will spend the night in Djúpivogur.
DAY 4
DAY 7
Lake Myvatn Area
Vatnajokull National Park
We start our day with another dawn shoot around Mt. Kirkjufell looking for reflections and the glorious morning light hitting the mountain. After that, we start our journey to the north as we migrate to Lake Myvatn, the epicenter of Iceland’s thermal activity. During the drive, we will look for photo opportunities that might arise during the transfer. We will spend the night in Lake Myvatn Area.
We travel to the Vatnajokull Glacier, Europe’s largest glacier and national park. Many photographic opportunities will arise as we drive along the fjords. Stokksness is one such opportunity where you will be able to shoot the wonderful reflection of Vestrahorn Mountain on the wet black sand beach during sunrise. We will be spending three days nearby Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon. This is a great location for us to capture the phenomenal huge icebergs floating on the ice lagoon in a constant ballet of movement and amazing light. We photograph at sunset and night hoping for the majestic northern lights. We will spend the night in Jokulsarlon.
DAY 8 Vatnajokull National Park
DOWNLOAD OUR BROCHURE
VIEW OUR VIDEO We start our day before sunrise right across the street from the lagoon at the black sand beach where some of the icebergs float to shore. The stark contrast of the white and blue ice and the black sand sets the stage for some unique imagery. The constant pounding of the waves provides the perfect opportunity of slow shutter speed photos to capture the movement. After the sunrise shoot, we explore several of the glacier lagoons on our way to Skaftafell National Park to visit Svartifoss the magnificent basalt column studded waterfall. We head back to Jokulsarlon to photograph sunset at the black sand beach. A night shoot at the ice lagoon completes our day. We will spend the night in Jokulsarlon.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
DAY 9 Vik Area
SIGN ME UP!
We catch the sunrise in the ice lagoon as hints of pink and orange adorn the floating ice. We then move to the two most famous waterfalls in Iceland. Skogafoss, one of the biggest falls in Iceland with a drop of 60 meters and then off to Seljalandsfoss to photograph the waterfall from behind. For sunset we have a treat, the black sand beach in Reynisfjara with massive basalt walls and a stunning view of Reynisdrangar; the basalt pillars that protrude from the ocean floor. Depending on the weather, a night shoot might be at hand. We will spend the night in Vik.
DAY 10 Keflavik International Airport
PACKAGE PRICE: $ 4,100 Sign up deposit: $ 500
Price includes: Includes 10 days/9 nights of accommodation, welcome dinner on the first night, all breakfasts and Inland transportation, airport transfers Price is per person, SINGLE occupancy Airfare from/to your home cities, meals not listed above, alcohol, personal expenses, visas if required are not included
We start our last day by walking up the face of Solheimajokull Glacier. As we explore the exposed ice wall you will be able to see and photograph millennia of ice layers as they melt into the nearby river. Because of its secluded location you will have the felling of walking into another planet. Time to hear back to the airport to catch your afternoon flight
This workshop is limited to 10 participants
YOUR WORKSHOP LEADER
RAUL TOUZON is a Documentary and Natural History Photographer who specializes in making images
Raul will guide you in creating unique images. We have several photography workshops that will provide you with a learning experience in some of the most unique places
that convey what he refers to as “THE ETERNITY OF THE MOMENT.” Raul has traveled extensively, exploring the remote corners of the earth never visited before. Amongst his expeditions are the completion of the Northwest Passage, Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic, the Sea of Okhotsk and the fjords of western Greenland. He has built a collection of dramatic photographs that have been featured in many publications including: TIME Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler and the National Geographic Magazine, where he has published four feature stories. In recent years, Raul has focused on visual-storytelling, documenting the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala and the ever-changing Habana. For over a decade, Raul has been a full time educator and instructor. He produces and teaches his own workshops and photography expeditions around the world as well as for National Geographic Expeditions. National Geographic Creative, Getty Images and Corbis represent his images. His list of clients includes the U.S. National Park Service, Apple Inc., and the United Nations for whom he documented their operations in Sudan. These images can be seen in his book SUDAN THE PRICE OF WAR, THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE. Raul has pioneered the production of large-scale multi-frame panoramas, images that are featured in his two limited edition landscape books: VISIONS OF MY WORLD and JOURNEYS. Some of the images in these books have been sold by Christie’s Auction House. Most recently, his work is being featured at The National Geographic Fine Art Galleries opening all over the United States.