Iceland Photography Tour
6 Days along the Icelandic South Coast
Your Dream Photo Destination
Discover the natural beauty of the Icelandic South coast. This well-organized dream photo tour offers a trek by comfortable car along all those great photography hotspots dotted along the coast. Unique about this tour is that we offer time to explore the more obscure parts of this volcanic landscape. Your teacher is with you to really develop your own vision in the most spectacular of places.
We’re visiting lesser visited locations in South Iceland like Þakgil, Múlagljúfur and Hoffellsjökull.
Small group of like-minded people.
Includes thorough post-processing sessions, with all the latest trends explained.
Includes breakfast, accommodation and transfer to and from the airport.
6 days and 5 nights stay in hotels, cottages and guesthouses.
Why Choose this Tour?
Many iconic locations too
We'll drive as far east as Vestrahorn, visiting sights not limited to Skógafoss, Vík, Vestrahorn & Glacier Lagoon Jökulsárlón.
High Chance of the Aurora Borealis
There is night photography on this tour. We're putting you in the best spots for capturing the northern lights!
You Matter to Us
Any personal guidance you need, whether it's camera settings or finding better compositions: We are here for you.
This Tour in a Nutshell
Bookings: Scroll down to Payment and Reservation
Dates: October 15th - 20th 2025
Available Seats: 3 out of max 3
Tour Leader: Daniel Laan
Language: English
Price: 3999 EURO
Single Room Supplement: 900 EURO
Registration Deposit: 1000 EURO
Start: Keflavik Airport, October 15th, 13.00.
End: Keflavik Airport, October 20th, 13.00.
Included: All tuition by professional landscape photographer. All Transportation between Keflavík international airport (KEF) and workshop locations. Entry fees where applicable. All lodging. Breakfast. Multiple post-processing sessions.
Not Included: Flights to Keflavík Airport and associated costs. Private insurances, taxes, duty and visa fees. Lunch or dinner and any personal items including (alcoholic) beverages, snacks, souvenirs and travel insurance.
Why Choose a Workshop with Daniel?
I teach like this:
1. You watch me work.
2. You mimic the way I work and I assist wherever the need arises.
3. You then freely choose compositions in the workshop location, to let the landscape speak to you. I’ll do the same, not pressuring you all the time.
4. Whenever I see a new photo-opportunity, I’ll come get you and we’ll repeat steps 1-3 until you’re satisfied.
I’m open to your approach to photography, but know that:
I’m doing lots of digital composites.
I point the camera down more often these days (intimate & abstract).
I value unique locations more than the ones that have been visited lots of times.
I’m easy going:
No drama (other participants have pointed this out, which I find bizarre that this apparently happens elsewhere).
I like deep conversation.
If you want to see another location, I’ll do my best to accommodate you.
Most participants are return customers for these reasons.
I’ve won 4 major awards just the last 4 years:
#1 World’s Top Landscape Photographer (One Eyeland 2021)
Black and White Photograph of the Year (ILPOTY 2022)
#2 World’s Top Landscape Photographer (One Eyeland 2023)
#2 World’s Top Landscape Photographer (One Eyeland 2024)
Itinerary*: Highlights of the Iceland Tour
* While I do plan to take you to the locations discussed below, there are more interesting targets here and there. Sometimes these shots are taken very close to the most iconic locations of Iceland.
We will be visiting many different waterfalls, glacier lagoons and even venture into lands that aren’t well mapped. Not all these locations are listed here though. However, I would like to introduce you to some of the highlights that are included on this tour.
Reynisdrangar and Vík
Near the fishing village of Vík in Southern Iceland, a couple of craggy rock formations dominate the shoreline. Poking out from behind the black sand at Reynisfjara beach, these pillars are one of the coolest backdrops you could find in Iceland if you’re into photographing seascapes. But on the other side of Vík, there’s also a great place to capture them which isn’t that busy.
During blue hour, preferably when it’s raining, there’s an unrivaled atmosphere here. As gulls and gannets soar from the cliffs and out to sea to catch their breakfast, you would do well to dial in a faster exposure time to catch the waves crashing into the rocks that look like a shipwreck. The story goes that a couple of trolls tried pulling the ship out from the Atlantic, but their efforts were foiled by the rising sun, turning these poor guys and their prized ship into stone.
Jökulsárlón & Diamond Beach
Let’s start with one of the reasons photographers book a flight to Iceland. This iconic glacier lagoon is the setting of icebergs breaking off from the Breiðamerkur glacier and drifting out to sea, only to wash up again on “diamond beach.” I love to visit this place at night too. because a change of the aurora makes the ice appear green in your photos!
Diamond beach, as the black beach near the famous glacier lagoon is called, is the ever-changing location that's dotted with icebergs big and small. Ice calving off from the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier crashes into the lagoon nearby and takes a few days to weeks until the ice is small enough to pass through a narrow outlet and into the Atlantic Ocean. There they will be carried away or washed back up on shore, depending on the ocean currents and the rending winds that often plague Iceland.
Diamond beach truly comes alive at night, though. Because while the ice shimmers brilliantly during the day, the mysterious green colors of the aurora will be reflected inside the most transparent icebergs. And what's more is that the shapes found on this volcanic beach are never the same.
Imagine the photographic opportunities here. Now imagine you standing here with your camera.
Múlagljúfur Canyon & Þakgil
Few places feel as secret-garden as Múlagljúfur. It’s a narrow, emerald canyon cut deep into the foothills of Öræfajökull. The short but steep trail climbs through lush heath and pillow-moss until, suddenly, the chasm yawns open beneath your boots: sheer tuff walls draped in lime-green vegetation, and twin ribbons of water, Hangandifoss and its unnamed neighbour, plunge more than a hundred metres to the glacial river far below.
Because the canyon faces south-east, the first light of day paints its misty spray gold, while late-afternoon sun backlights the waterfalls and ignites every tuft of moss. On clear evenings you can frame Svínafellsjökull’s crevassed tongue in the distance. It is a location that rewards patience as cloud inversions waft through after rain, ravens wheel between the walls and the mood can shift from ethereal pastel to brooding charcoal within minutes. This is a tough location to access and it’s a demanding hike for untrained legs. You decide if you’re up for this, but it’s definitely worth a visit.
Þakgil on the other hand, is hard to access only because of its a slow, long and very bumpy drive by 4x4 car. It’s tucked behind a labyrinth of black-sand tracks north-east of Vík. It’s a sheltered oasis of moss-carpeted ridges and cathedral-high basalt walls. Formed by ancient Katla outbursts and sculpted by ice and wind, the valley feels worlds away from the bustle of the Ring Road.
Vestrahorn at Stokksnes
Since we’re very close to a graphic mountain now, we might as well stop in the black sand dunes of Stokksnes. The military base here is home to tall yellow grass growing in fertile volcanic sand. It’s also the foreground of the much photographed Vestrahorn mountain. And there’s definitely some cloning to do if you come here thinking to shoot the sunset in late summer. When I was here shooting the sunset last year, this place was packed with people carrying tripods. While early in the morning, there’s not a photographer to be found. The first sign of life I spotted the next morning, was a local man walking his dog.
Skógafoss
This photogenic waterfall is on our list too. There’s a lot of material here to create original art, even though this location (and many others along the coast) are some of the most photographed subjects in the world. But I’m sure that alone will appeal to some of you who read this. It doesn’t matter in which camp you are, since there’s enough to go around. This is Iceland after all. ;)
Hoffell
A bit northeast from the famous glacier lagoon you’ll find the small community of Hoffell. It’s about 10 homes, a farm and a church. A very typical town in the land of ice and fire. A bumpy track leads you to an outlet glacier that’s part of the Vatnajökull, the largest (in volume) glacier in Europe. Here, I have found the effects of climate change leaving a profound impression on me, but that sparse trees here and there make for great intimate landscape too. I love this place.
Payment & Reservation
Pay the deposit here:
Supply your correct email address at checkout and I’ll contact you (check your spam!) for the details and the final payment.
Cancellation and refunds
For tours and workshops, we understand that plans can change. If you need to cancel, please let us know as soon as possible. To make it all fit on our end, we have a strict cancellation policy for workshops in place:
🔹 The full amount of any workshop is due 90 days in advance.
🔹 Full refund for cancellations made 90 days or more before the workshop starts, minus a €200 service charge.
🔹 50% refund for cancellations made 31 - 89 days before the workshop.
🔹 No refund for cancellations made within 30 days of the workshop or for no-shows.
In the event of severe weather or unforeseen circumstances, we may need to reschedule or cancel the workshop. If this happens and it’s on our end, you will be offered a full refund.
Physical requirements
Some locations are reached by demanding hikes. You don’t have to be a marathon runner (I’m certainly not!), but we do ask that you are in reasonable physical condition to be able to keep up with the group.
Please do not come on this trip when you are in poor physical condition. This will hinder our ability to show you everything we have in store, but more importantly, it will jeopardize the positive experience of your fellow participants.
Daniel Laan ~ The Netherlands
Moody, ominous landscape photography is as much my passion as it is my career. For 15 years now, I've had the mindset of developing a specific dark and moody style of photography that shows a part of myself through my images. I have a deep appreciation for the landscape, the weather and find something of beauty in trivial subjects. You could say that I have an instinct for inbound northern lights, as I photograph the Aurora Borealis pretty frequently as far south as the Netherlands too.
With a degree in design and visual communication and over 25 years of experience in Photoshop, it's my goal to train you to look at the landscape differently. I’m known for venturing into digital art, don’t shy away from doing composites and don’t really care what others may think of my art.
I’ll explain everything from pre-visualizing to exporting for the web or for print The most important aspect is not to bag the best locations, but to appreciate your surroundings; to become aware of things that others walk straight by and develop an artistic vision that transcends landscape photography.