Blog.
Photographing Vestrahorn, Iceland.
Vestrahorn bears the characteristics of another planet but, at the far end of the island, it’s a world-away from the Icelandic tourist trail. Is it worth the journey?
Ever since I first laid eyes on an image of Vestrahorn, I knew it was a location I wanted to visit. With a rugged mountain at the ocean shore, casting reflections in the water that laps up on a black sand beach, it looks like something from another planet.
We didn’t particularly need an excuse to go to Iceland, but the end of Covid lock-down restrictions provided a good one none-the-less. Going there felt like a great way to experience the world again, no matter how alien it seemed.
But, at the far eastern edge of Iceland, Vestrahorn is a long way from the well known tourist circuit, and many of the island’s most famous landmarks. Getting there is a long, 450km detour, along a single desolate road.
But, for landscape photographers, it’s well worth the trip. To find out more, please keep reading.
Navigate:
– Why Photograph Vestrahorn
– Vestrahorn Photography Tips
– Recommended Gear
– Getting to Vestrahorn
I was really pleased to capture the person in this image. It really gives it a sense of scale.
Why Photograph Vestrahorn?
Vestrahorn is a famous location for landscape photography, and for very good reason: the place is incredible to shoot.
It has many of the aspects that make for beautifully dramatic imagery: angular mountains, water reflections, crashing ocean waves, volcanic black sand, dramatic weather and, if you’re lucky, the aurora borealis.
And, within its relatively small area, there’s a wide range of view points, angles, and vistas. The weather can often be changeable, making it possible to come away with a wide range of images if you plan it well and take your time to explore. And that’s such an important point, as you’ll find out in the next section.
The photographs on this page were taken within just a couple of hours in this incredible location, and even though we’d not fully researched the place and were just winging it, they remain some of my favourite shots in my landscape portfolio.
Vestrahorn Photography Tips
As ever with landscape photography, the trick is to plan ahead, and not to rush it. With such an eminent location as Vestrahorn, this is especially true.
We planned to be there for just a few hours to capture a sun-rise, then be on our way to another location and accommodation which was a few hours away. But we quite quickly realised that we could have spent all day, and possibly more, there.
A couple of hours wasn’t enough, and I feel we missed out on a lot.
So, if you’re planning to go for yourself, I’d recommend allowing plenty of time, and researching the angles and view-points before you go.
Recommended Photography Gear.
Wide Angle Lens.
I think a wide angle lens is pretty essential to capture the best of Vestrahorn. I shot using a 14-35mm ƒ4 on my full-frame Nikon Z7. If you shoot with a cropped sensor camera, then I’d recommend even wider.
Drone.
I also captured some of my favourite images with a drone. I found the extra height achieved from flying just a few feet above eye level led to some lovely images.
Tripod.
I’m usually not a huge fan of using tripods for photography. Shooting without them can often be more liberating and lead to better results. But, that said, I did find it useful to capture water movement here.
The dirt track is also one of the nice features on Vestrahorn.
Getting to Vestrahorn.
Vestrahorn is based on the south east of Iceland, pretty much the opposite end to Reykjavik and the island’s main airport.
But, true to the Icelandic nature of purity and simplicity, there’s a single road that runs around the entire circumference of the island. It’s simply called ‘Road One’.
It makes finding Vestrahorn incredibly easy: from leaving Reykjavik airport, just get onto ‘Road One’, and stay on it for 450km until you get to Hofn. Aim for the Viking Cafe and Guesthouse, where you need to pay a small toll to drive onto the main area.
We visted in October, and we were a bit apprehensive about the drive, and how the winter conditions might be before we arrived. But there were seriously no issues. The roads were clear with little traffic, and were well maintained.
I’d absolutely recommend Vestrahorn to any lansdcape photographers. It’s a stunning location, and if you can handle the long drive, it’s relatively easy to find.
Just make sure you give it the planning and time it deserves.
Thank you.