Landmannalaugar Region, Iceland
However, weather has always been a challenge in Iceland. It's nothing new! In fact, the only thing you can really predict in Iceland is that your carefully laid plans will change. Is this a problem?
On this last trip, seven days in Iceland, we had planned aerial flights on the Wednesday. Tuesday's weather (when the photo above was taken), was postcard perfect, but a large storm system meant there was zero chance of flying on the Wednesday. On Thursday, the weather was forecast to be better, so we turned up to the airstrip early hoping to fly, only to have a thick sea mist arrive early and cancel operations for the rest of the day. No trouble, we'll just try again on Friday, except our 'plans' had us overnighting in a hotel several hours away. Our amazing guide and driver Evan just smiled and did the miles. All our group got great shots from the air and had huge smiles, but it meant eating on the run and takeaway instead of a planned farewell dinner in town.
First world problems, no doubt! And no one complained - because this is what travel photography is - an adventure. If you start your journey with the expectation that nothing will go to plan, you won't be disappointed. And if you can remain flexible, you might not get what you expected, but you could get something just as good or even better!
And the above photo of Landmannalaugar? The Tuesday began with a cloudless blue sky and I have to say a little uninteresting, but by the afternoon as we were dropping down from the highlands, some late cloud and sunshine conspired to create this wonderful backdrop. While my earlier photos from this area have rich, almost radioactive greens (and they were still there in places on this trip), much of the area in autumn seems to take on this wonderful golden patina.
There's plenty to see in Iceland, just be prepared for the massive crowds. Even the lesser known locations seem to attract lots of attention.
