I’ve just returned from an absolutely epic journey around Iceland and I am beyond stoked to share the amazing photos from the trip! We traveled the iconic ring road, living out of a converted van from CozyCampers(100% recommend them if you want to travel ring road, too). The landscapes are absolutely breathtaking, and we found ourselves saying “this feels like it should be on another planet” more times than I have ever said in my life.

As primarily a portrait photographer, it was genuinely challenging at times setting up shots. Half of the time I would imagine a shot and want someone in the image for it to feel complete, and half the time I got the hang of it and got beautiful landscape shots I loved. It was easiest to compose shots when I felt I could imagine a subject, or there was a pseudo-subject such as the aptly placed rainbow at Seljalandfoss in the image below.

Other times, I would ask my boyfriend/travel partner/helper in carrying gear(thanks babe!) to jump into my photo to complete the vision, like at Reynisfjara or Studlagil.

I really loved both our hike in and photographing at Studlagil - seeing the basalt stacks entirely surrounding us was so otherworldly. I definitely felt a bit scared climbing down by the water for these shots, but it was so worth it! I was also surprised by how often I leaned toward black and white edits, knowing how much of a color lover I am, but the landscape lent itself so well to it.

Another place I was split between black and white and color was Diamond Beach & Glacier Lagoon(aka Jökulsárlón). The icy blue water was absolutely insane, and I could not get over how clear the ice washing up on the beach was.

The one thing I didn’t get to do that I was planning on were star trail/night photos of the landscape. Springtime in Iceland, while it does still have a sunset unlike summer, never has the light entirely go away - so while we had no light pollution from cities, we had the most unexpected light pollution of all - the sun! Still, I managed to make my tripod do some work for me with a long exposure of the clouds across the sky at the most beautiful neighborhood park I have ever been to within walking distance from one of our campsites.

All of the videos we watched in prep for this trip suggested 10 days on the ground driving ring road, so we were worried we may be rushed with our 8 days. Ultimately though, we drove the full road more quickly and had a full day in Reykjavik as well! I guess it is our Texan blood used to driving long trips from Austin, to San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas being longer than some of the distances to get from one destination to the next. I had a great time with a full day in Iceland’s capital being able to do some street photography. Going to new cities and photographing what I observe is a great way to get new perspective on “ordinary” things. I even saw a couple doing their wedding portraits as I walked the city, which I knew I had to get a sneaky photo of!

I loved the split of the groom in all black on the black backdrop, bride on a light backdrop, and none of their faces visible.

There’s no way I could keep all the beautiful sights to myself, so I have all of the edited photos for you guys to check out below! Be warned, there’s a lot. And definitely best viewed on a proper screen vs a phone!