Welcome to Iceland!

We’re so happy you’re coming to the workshop in Iceland, and we look forward to meeting everyone! To make things a bit smoother for you, we’ve created this landing page to introduce the group and help structure the days we’ll spend together in a clear way. Also, it’s nice to have information like vendors and contact details all in one place, so hopefully this page helps with that. Let’s go!

Quick Tips

• If you’re looking ahead to weather and aurora forecasts, we recommend Vedur.is – it’s what locals use, so presumably the most accurate.
• Upon arrival April 28, we recommend preparing snacks for our day together April 29. While we will stop for meals throughout the day, having snacks to keep you going is highly recommended.
• Dress warm. Warmer than you might think you need. The wind can truly ruin your day in Iceland, so while the forecast might not look that bad, wind can really make things miserable.
• Having hosted a lot of these workshops, we know you’ll ask “What’s the plan” with regards to food, coffee, and locations – however, please be patient. There are many factors we can’t predict right now – weather being the most obvious one, because in Iceland, it can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Also, experience has taught us that reading the group plays into the flow of the day. If we feel we can push things, we push. If we feel it’s time for a break, we break. Please know that your well-being is our top priority, and we are constantly thinking about the plan. So, resist the urge to ask “What’s the plan” unless you can resist no longer 🙂
• For gear, we do not recommend packing everything you own – pack what you need. It’s typical to see one body with two lenses (long, wide) or two bodies with one lens each. We recommend a travel-friendly tripod in case the northern lights are out. Overall though, think “mobile friendly” because we’re moving around a lot (think jumping out of car, back in the car, to the next spot, repeat – so we move quickly).
• One common sense tip – batteries. If it’s cold, your batteries will drain faster and we won’t be spending too much time in a hotel or restaurant throughout the days, so having extras is a wise move.
• All these tips aside – just dress smart. We can’t emphasize that enough – weather in Iceland can ruin your day mighty quick.

WhatsApp Communication

WhatsApp will be our primary communication channel both before and during the workshop. This is where we’ll share important updates, meeting time changes, and quick announcements with the group rather than trying to reach everyone individually.

To join our workshop group, please use this link:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/IJYRXzQc1MDJsqhn6dSKCG

We recommend installing the app and joining the group as soon as possible if you haven’t already done so.

April 28, Meetup

If you need a ride to Snæfellsnes, we will meet at 17:00 at this location: Norðurbakkinn (https://maps.app.goo.gl/zdeg7qWvYT7aczDE6).

This is just a small cafe that closes at 18:00, so it’s really just a meeting point. When we arrive, we will park the cars here for pick-up: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jhp41FfPTGdhjgU29

From there, we will be en route to Grundarfjörður, where we will be staying that evening. So if you don’t need a ride and we are not relying on you to drive anyone, there’s no need to meet at Norðurbakkinn and we’ll see you in Grundarfjörður.

En route, we will stop at Bónus in Borganes (https://g.co/kgs/nNYHu7f). This is a grocery store, and the reason we are stopping is that the next morning nothing will be open when we leave. So if you need some basics to get you by for breakfast, that’s the point of the stop.

When we arrive in Grundarfjörður, it’s safe to say it’ll be about 20:00 or 21:00. We’ll see how it goes for a “family gathering” to grab dinner and drinks, but we’ll leave that open-ended based on what you’ll read next for April 29th…

April 29

Departure Time: 04:35 (Sunrise: 05:06)
Departure Location: Old Post Office Guesthouse

For car arrangements, you’ll see at the bottom of this page how we’ve arranged the seating. However, nothing is set in stone, and we’re easy-going, so you’re welcome to shuffle around to whatever car you want.

It’s an early morning, we know, but our time together is short and we want to nail this workshop. So, weather permitting, we will leave at 04:35. Our drive to the first location is quite short, and we’ll get right at it. The general plan for the morning will be a few locations, we’ll be out for a couple of hours, but then we’ll return for breakfast at approximately 08:00 or so. When we return, we will have a rest until 10:00 – this rest is primarily for the couple, but of course it’s time for you to chill as well and recharge yourself.

Once you’ve rested up to 10:00, at 10:30 the cars leave and we will not return to our accommodations, so bring your things. The plan for the majority of the afternoon then revolves around Snæfellsnes – which we will “attack” with as many locations as possible. We have a loose plan for lunch approximately 14:00 / 15:00, but keep that very loose and we’ll see how the day (and weather) unfolds.

As the day transitions to late afternoon, the plan is to start heading back to Reykjavik. Because sunset is 21:46, that’s going to turn into a very long day (especially for the couple) if we push things all the way to sunset. So what we have decided is we will make a call around 18:00 when we’re approximately in Borganes about what the remainder of the day will look like. This decision will be predominantly made based on the weather and fatigue. If we wrap at this time, we will head to our hotels in the city, check-in, and gather for a group drink (or straight to bed, which often happens at these workshops 🙂 ).

April 30

Departure Time: 09:00
Departure Location: Fosshotel Rauðará

This day gives you a bit of rest after a very long day prior. So have breakfast, ease into things. From Fosshotel Rauðará, our plan is to go directly to Valahnúkamöl – so if you are not needing a ride and you’re not taking passengers, you’re welcome to meet us there at approximately 10:00 (give or take).

Reykjanes is an unpredictable region at the moment due to volcanoes, so we’re hesitant to give exact locations and times for the day. However, we know the area very well and it’s full of remarkable locations, so we’ll explore as much as possible.

Fast-forward to later in the day, and our final location will be Kleivatn at approximately 18:00. Our plan upon wrap is to then head back to the city, leave our things, and enjoy a group meal together at Hlemmur Mathöll (plenty of food options for all dietary needs, plenty of seating).

Hosts

Cole Roberts

Gävle, Sweden

Cole is the co-founder of Way Up North, Nordica, Hop Farm Beach and has been a Fujifilm X-Photographer since 2016. His passion for photography is matched only by his love for the great outdoors and country music.

Instagram

Website

Taylor Jackson

Waterloo, Ontario

The Canadian who can’t decide between photos and videos, so he does both. When he’s not convincing 591k+ YouTube subscribers that hybrid shooting is the future, he’s out proving it at weddings. His book “Wedding Photography: After 1000 Weddings” is basically his diary, minus the embarrassing bits.

Instagram

Website

Special Co-Host

Who doesn’t like a little surprise, right? We’ve added prolific YouTuber, Magic, to the workshop. He’s tech-friendly and ready to share his expertise!

Magic

Warsaw, Poland

Instagram

Youtube

Guests

Brenton Cox

Australia Orange

Main Goal: see a different world of photography

Instagram

Website

Elliot Govier

Devon, UK

Main Goal: Portfolio building, getting inspired

Instagram

Website

Katina Raschke

Forchheim

Main Goal: Learn from the best and enjoy the beautiful landscape!

Instagram

Website

Liam Good

Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario

Main Goal: Meeting new people, taking photos, hanging with my friend Taylor, and exploring Iceland with my partner.

Instagram

Website

Sam Baly

Bristol, UK

Main Goal: Travel, fun, portfolio greatness!

Instagram

Website

Tom Attridge

Cambridge, UK

Main Goal: Meet like-minded people, see new places, have some adventure

Instagram

Website

Couples

Day One, Anna + Niklas

@annaandniklas @annamachtfotos @niklasriesch

Anna-Lena Schindler

Stuttgart, Germany

Main Goal: Improve creativity and communication

Instagram

Website

Day Two, Andreea + Matthias

Andreea Mercurean

Iceland

Main Goal: Have fun & network!

Instagram

Website

Vendors

Florals, @thordisz

Anna’s Jewelry, @goldmarlen

Anna’s Dress, @looui_portfolio @angelooui

If you’re a couple being photographed at the workshop and can share more of your vendors, we’d love to list them here – so please provide them (if you have any).

Rides

Logistics

This spreadsheet looks hideous on mobile, but is here if you need it.

After The Workshop

What might be unique about this workshop is that afterward, we compile all the photos everyone took into one gallery. We do this for two reasons:

• It provides easy access to the vendors who contributed their time and resources, as well as the couples.
• It’s an excellent exercise for everyone to review the work of others—you’d be surprised at what you see in their edits and what they noticed during the trip.

We set a deadline for this so it doesn’t linger forever, and the deadline is May 27th.

You can email your photos to [email protected]. High-res or low-res, 2 photos or 20,000—it doesn’t matter. We don’t police what you send, but we kindly ask that you send something.