Join me on this once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the amazing landscape that is Iceland. I am so fortunate to have visited many amazing places around the world, but there is nowhere quite like the ‘land of fire and ice’.
You will start your journey after being collected at Keflavik airport before visiting many of the most iconic locations Iceland has to offer including the stunning Reynisdrangar sea stacks at Vik, the iconic glacial lagoon complete with icebergs and the black volcanic beach of Jökulsárlón with its huge chucks of blue ice. The impressive 1,500ft beach located mountain of Vestrahorn, and the beautiful churches of Hofskirkja and Myrdal. Not to forget the mighty 200ft waterfalls of Skógafoss, and Seljalandsfoss as well as the lesser known Kvernufoss waterfall.
There will also be a couple of opportunities to stop en-route to capture those wonderful fleeting moments of magic as and when they happen, be it a herd of reindeer walking in isolation across the grassy fields or a stunning storm front drifting over the landscape.
Of course, no trip to Iceland between September and April is complete without some northern light action. We will be out at night chasing the truly stunning sights of the aurora borealis dancing above your head. If you have never experienced a full on aurora, take it from me, it is one of the most magical experiences of your life. It often leaves me speechless, and that’s saying something.Â
This photography workshop in Iceland will leave you with long lasting memories. There are just six places in total ensuring a small, friendly, informal group with plenty of personalised 1-2-1 tuition on offer.
Here is a detailed itinerary outlining our schedule. While the itinerary looks fixed, it is really only an indication of the locations we will be visiting and the decision to alter our plans depending on the weather and light will be taken if needed.
Day 1 – Saturday 9th November 2024
Keflavik Airport – Skogafoss
I will arrive in a nine-seat minibus (so plenty of space for luggage, clothing, and camera equipment) and collect you at 3.30pm from the airport before heading to our first location for sunset, the impressive 200ft Seljalandsfoss waterfall. This location is best photographed at sunset due to the direction of the sun.
We shall then head to our accommodation for the evening, the perfectly positioned Skogafoss Hotel. Once we have dropped off our belongings, settled in, we will enjoy our ‘get to know each other’ meal in the hotel’s restaurant. If the northern lights happen to show, we are perfectly placed to take the two-minute walk to the thunderous 200ft waterfall and capture it with the magical colours above it.
Day 2 – Sunday 10th November 2024
Skogafoss Waterfall – Kvernufoss Waterfall – Diamond Beach Jokulsarlon
The day starts with a pre-dawn shoot at the hugely iconic and impressive 200ft Skogafoss waterfall before heading back to the hotel for breakfast.
Late morning will see us head east to perhaps Iceland’s most popular and inspiring location, Jokulsarlon. Both the iceberg filled ice lagoon and the black, sandy beach with both blue and crystal clear icebergs on it awaits. Sunset will be shot on the beach before moving onto our accommodation for the evening, which will be the beautiful Fosshotel Glacier Hotel. Our evening meal will be taken in their restaurant while we talk about our experiences from the day.
Day 3 – Monday 11th November 2024
Jokulsarlon Ice Lagoon – Diamond Beach, Jokulsarlon – Vestrahorn, Hofn
Today will see us return to Jokulsarlon to capture the beach at sunrise before returning to the hotel for breakfast. We shall then return to the ice lagoon to hone your compositions on the floating icebergs that slowly drift into the ocean.
Late morning will see us head east to the furthest point of on the workshop to the mighty Vestrahorn. This 1,500ft mountain sits on a black, volcanic beach complete with shallow water for some amazing reflections as well as the beautiful yellow grass that nestles in the black sandy dunes. We shall shoot sunset here before heading to our accommodation for the evening, the wonderfully titled The Milk Factory.
Day 4 – Tuesday 12th November 2024
Vestrahorn, Hofn – Reynisdrangar, Vik
Today we return to Vestrahorn to capture sunrise before returning to the hotel for breakfast. After check out, we shall venture west to the iconic town of Vik, where we will be visiting the beautiful black sandy volcanic beach of Reynisfjara, where we will be photographing the stunning sea stacks at sunset. There are huge basalt rock columns present, very similar to those found at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.Â
If the northern lights are visible, we will head out to photograph them over the sea stacks tonight as we are staying at the impressive Hotel Kria in Vik
Day 5 – Wednesday 13th November 2024
Dyrhólaey, Vik – Myrdal Church Vik – Reynisfjara Sea Stacks Vik – Reykjanes Peninsula – Keflavik
Sunrise will be spent photographing the iconic sea stacks of Reynisfjara before breakfast in the hotel.Â
After check out, the Myrdal Church in Vik that overlooks the town will allow us a few opportunities to hone our composition skills before visiting the towering cliffs of Dyrhólaey near Vik will entertain us until late morning. From here you will be photographing sea stacks on the beach from high up on the edge of the cliff faces. This really is a spectacular place to spend a morning.
The afternoon will see us head to the volcanic lava fields of Reykjanes Peninsula, located thirty minutes south-west of Keflavik. Here we will find a plethora of subjects to photograph including bubbling mud pools, futurist looking geothermal power stations, a lighthouse, a bridge that spans two continents, and some of the finest sea stacks in Iceland.Â
After sunset, we shall check into our final accommodation for the workshop.
Day 6 – Thursday 14th November 2024
Departure Keflavik Airport
It is an early flight home to reflect on what will be a trip of a lifetime. If you have always promised yourself a photography holiday of a lifetime, this one will take some beating. I hope you can join me.
There are a total of five quality hotels during our five night stay in Iceland. This ensures that we are as close to the locations that we will be photographing as possible meaning less time spent travelling in the minibus.
You will each have your own double en-suite room. Breakfast is included. There is no single occupancy supplement charged.
See below for a list of the hotels we will be staying in.
Click on the hotel name to be directed to their website.
Tripadvisor Reviews ( Read all reviews here )
Tripadvisor Iceland Reviews below (click on the review headers to read in Tripadvisor)
Trip to Iceland – Feb 2022I decided to go back to Iceland with Melvin. I had previously been with him and had enjoyed the experience. This trip we had a great group of fellow-photographers who all got on very well. the choice of hotels was first class.
Although the weather was challenging at times Melvin worked very hard to ensure that we reached our destinations each day in order to get some fantastic photographs. We had a large comfortable vehicle to take the six of us around – with plenty of space for our luggage and all our camera gear.
He was always upbeat and positive and we felt extremely safe and in capable hands. The driving conditions were challenging to say the least -but Melvin pulled out the stops to navigate us around. It was an extremely enjoyable workshop and I would highly recommend it. We even raced out at 22.00hours one evening after dinner when we thought there would be an aurora. We all drove off excitedly and were not disappointed. We had a lovely light show with the Vestrahorn as a backdrop – what a joy.
Sue Critchlow – UK
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Iceland Photography Workshop – Feb 2022After being let down with a different photography workshop tour guide, we was dubious about booking another one until I spoke to Melvin.
What a Fantastic workshop & Fantastic Workshop Leader. Highly Recommended.
Melvin took excellent care of everyone , fantastic accommodations, and a well planned itinerary. Booked another trip before we even finished tour.
Looking forward to our next trip with Melvin.
Allison & Darren Kidd – UK
I have just returned from a wonderful workshop to Southern Iceland with Melvin and group. Even though I’ve been home nearly a week, I have still have the sense of excitement when I see my photographs. Melvin took us to the most beautiful places and we stopped for photo opportunities, which added to the excitement of the day. I feel that I have learnt so much in 5 days, (I am a beginner) and Melvin helped me out when I had technical difficulties, by lending me a camera, which was a wonderful gesture. The trip, Melvin’s warm manner, professional advice, itinerary, choice of hotel/restaurants and the other group members, made this a magical and memorable trip for me. I will return, both to Iceland and other trips.
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I love going on photography holidays and Melvin does a particularly good one. On our first night he organised a spectacular Northern Light display and we visited at least 3 locations until 1am to make sure we all got some fantastic photos in iconic locations. Melvin is well organised and flexible to cope with changeable weather. This is an excellent trip if you are looking to take some good photos, learn more about your camera and composition and enjoy the company of like minded people.
Sophia Spurgin – UK
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Just a quick review on what was an amazing photographic trip with Melvin Nicholson. This was my first photography workshop so I didn’t really know what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Iceland.
Melvin is a professional landscape photographer whose photos, antics and escapades I’d been following on Facebook for a few years now, and after admiring his landscape photography from afar, it was nice to gain an insight into how he shoots a scene and goes about capturing the stunning images I’ve seen online.Â
We had some horrendous weather in Iceland (sods law), but Melvin remained chipper and professional throughout. Everything was organised well, from the meeting at the airport, to hotels and locations for the shoots. There was a relatively wide range of skill-sets in our small group, from complete beginners through to advanced amateurs and hobbyists. Melvin was able to identify those who needed more advice than others, and tailor his tutoring and time spent accordingly. It never felt like he was short-changing those who were more capable with their cameras, something which I imagine is quite tricky in a group of people dying to get a shot they’ve seen on Game of Thrones.
I also learned a few valuable tips and tricks from Melvin, some of which I’d never have considered without a push in the right direction. He’s happy to share composition tips, post-processing techniques (we had a 2 hour stint during a rainy day) and anything to help your photographic journey. It’s a shame we didn’t bump into Queen Margaery, but you can’t win them all 🙂
I’d most heartily recommend a photographic workshop with Melvin to anyone passionate about their photography. On top of his clear love of his job, photography and the photographic world around him, he’s also a funny and friendly bloke. That said, I can’t say I was too disappointed to miss out on his carpool Karaoke though, but at least we didn’t have to throw ourselves to the icy tundra to escape his dull-set tones 🙂
David Hopkins – UK
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Iceland in Winter – Jan 2019
A surprise Christmas present from my wife, I found out only 4 weeks before the trip that I was going to Iceland on an organised photography trip with Melvin Nicholson Photography! After getting over the initial surprise, Melvin talked me through the itinerary and gave me some further suggestions regarding camera equipment, clothing etc that would be required, though all of this was also extensively detailed in his comprehensive written workshop instructions given to attendees (Melvin even gives full day to day travelling details, showing where you will be for sunrise, sunset, how much travelling time is involved, plus full details of the hotels you will be staying in).
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The trip itself was amazing, helped by the recent fall of snow and two fantastic display of the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis which I was really keen to see. We visited a number of well known photographic locations (Kirkjufell, the Ice Beach etc), all scheduled at sunrise or sunset to catch the best light, in addition Melvin was always ready to change the schedule as circumstances dictated, either due to the weather or if we had some spare time to visit some less well-known locations (on the way back from Vik we stopped to see a glacier – we were virtually the only people there).
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Melvin was always available to give advice on the best locations, compositions and camera settings etc, with specific advice at locations due to his local knowledge. I would highly recommend this trip to Iceland with Melvin – it was a fantastic experience, well organised and I came away with some brilliant landscape photos and memories!
Chris Beesley – UK
