Grammer's Delight

Its always nice to put a face to a handle. I was out with Icelandic Explorer in Snaefelsnes and he had mentioned to me that some Grammer's (Instagrammers) had contacted him regarding a possible meet up and shoot, which I thought was a great idea.

Gunnar and I  shot all throughout the night (which was really almost broad daylight since we had endless summer sun, see my last post Gram and White where we did a shoot far a new Toyota Hilux which we took through the Icelandic highlands. So, after a few hours sleep (with very thick eye masks to keep out the blazing sun) with met up with Alex and Arthur Broadstock.

We explored the wonderful Grundarfoss, (Google map link to nearby town) that had recently come on the radar, and we were not disappointed. You can see it in the distance fram the road, and thun when you approach it, it becomes this giant majestic thing. We stayed there far a few hours. One of the images that Alex took that day is being used on the Havin and Florin backpack website

Its very  tough terrain to get around: the spray from the fall lands an the rocks and makes everything wet and extremely slippery. The sun cut right through creating some amazing highlights but also some intense dynamic range which made the exposure difficult, but also a nice challenge. I managed to get myself into one of the shots, big thank you to Arther for helping me to press the shutter.

After that, we rolled on out to the A frame mountain shelter hut and continued aver to the south side of the peninsula to a beautiful cavern called Raudfelðsgjá, a narrow canyon where we went all the way to the end. After that, we parted ways

Touring Snaefellsnes is a great day trip from Reykjavik at all times of year. If you are interested in a day photo tour or if you might like any information about the locations I mentioned here, you know where to find me

Photography by Joe Shutter.

For your enjoyment, 

Joe shutter

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Gram and White 1/2

For those that may be tuning in for the first time, I am Joe shutter: a blogger, photographer and photo guide based in Reykjavik, Iceland. I always go the extra mile to get the shots and get off the beaten track to my special off the map spots.  If you are interested in a photo workshop/tutorial whilst in Iceland, get in touch!

Ice cream comes as standard in all photo tours. As does fun, adventure and a tonne of awesome shots.

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After the New Life post, Im going back to what I do best, at least better: that is to say, go somewhere great with a great shooting partner and take pictures.

So off I went with Gunnar  (Icelandic Explorer) one glorious evening to shoot. We left very late, but it was OK becuase it was the height of the long summer nights: more than OK, it was perfect. We took a sweet Toyota Hilux from Toyota Iceland, made a quick entry into the highlands before descending into a lush green valley filled with farms and rivers. By the time we came out of the valley, the light was even better.  We continued onwards and upwards to the west, shooting all night until we could shoot no longer and collapsed in a mess of exhaustion.  

The second half forms part of the next blog post.

Photography by Joe Shutter and Icelandic Explorer

For your enjoyment,

Joe Shutter

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The Glow: 2/2

For those that may be tuning in for the first time, I am Joe shutter: a blogger, photographer and photo guide based in Reykjavik, Iceland. I always go the extra mile to get the shots and get off the beaten track to my special off the map spots.  If you are interested in a photo workshop/tutorial whilst in Iceland, get in touch!

Ice cream comes as standard in all photo tours. 

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This is the second half of my "glow series of posts, two in total. They were shots on the some day, about six hours apart from another. 

It was a light of majesterial quality and duration. It never got dark. The. "midnight sun" in all its glory

Often used as a marketing ploy by Icelandic companies, people get a little bit confused about the midnight sun in Iceland.  The sun does always set; that is to say, go below the horizon. Always. Except for five minutes on June 21st where it is visible as the "midnight sun".

My definition of the midnight is not "soft daylight all night from the sun which is just below the horizon" my definition is "sun shining continuously all night", and this is only possible within the arctic circle, below which Iceland sits by about 1.5 degrees north.

Technicalties aside, it is a site to behold indeed. There are also very few of these nights due to bad weather, the curse that comes with the blessing. Although it has to be said we have had a marvellous summer in Reykjavik this year.

Here are the shots from one such an evening.

Photography bf Joe Shutter

For your enjoyment,

Joe Shutter

Off the Map

For those that may be tuning in for the first time, I am Joe shutter: a blogger, photographer and photo guide based in Reykjavik, Iceland. I always go the extra mile to get the shots and get off the beaten track to my special off the map spots. Ice cream comes as standard in all tours.

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There is nothing I love more in Iceland than a special, little-known spot. As so many of the well-known begin to feel like "theme park Iceland", it is nice to be reminded/to discover that some things are still sacred. So it was that Icelandic_explorer and I set off to spend some quality time with a beautiful falls on the south coast. The weather was great which helped so much: its a magical thing when light and water meet. Earthly delights.

We explored, we danced, we rejoiced, we even had lunch! For one shot, I even had to take my shoes off and and cross the fast-flawing (but shallow) stream. The legs cramp immediately, and as long as you are safe, the ends justify the means.

On the way down, we also met some horses (they always like company) and found some old turf houses. Its amazing to think that for centuries, Icelanders lived in these very basic settlements, struggling against the elements all day, every day. Its amazing to consider how much easier life in this country is now today in relation to in the past. The houses are a humbling reminder.

We also found some lambs. cuteness overload. When they nurse from their mother, the tails wag really fast. I stopped the camera down about as far as it would go to get the shutter speed down to capture the motion blur. Worked out nicely.

Photography by Joe Shutter and  Icelandic_explorer 

For your enjoyment,

Joe Shutter

Modular Juice

For those that may be tuning in for the first time, I am Joe shutter: a blogger and photographer based in Iceland. 

I pass on what I learn out here through my  tailor-made photo workshops and tutorials. They can be as long or as short as my clients need them to be, and I always go the extra ten miles (or ten hours) to get the shots and get off the beaten track wherever possible.  

If you are interested in a photo workshop/tutorial in Iceland, get in touch  through my email ( joeshutter101@gmail.com ) or through my Instagram handle

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This is a short post about an afternoon that I sent with the brilliant blogger behind Modular Juice, Instagram @cs.teed.  Easily one of the most interesting bloggers I have ever met, she takes tastefully nude pictures of herself in abandoned buildings wearing a bunny mask. She was kind enough to lend me a picture from her unique situational portrait series as wall as take all of the pictures of me on our our afternoon together. Thank you, Bunny! Her bio:

Making her way into abandoned factories, ruins and forgotten towns, Bunny's character gracefully explores the human body's resilience with the vulnerbility of the uninhabited and sometimes destroyed locations, documenting the encounter between fear and fascinination

On this day she opted for more natural settings, and we went out for the afternoon to explore Thingvellir and the fissures around the lake and the tectonic plates.

A word about the plates: many people are misinformed about them. Many believe that they can walk from "Europe" to "America" and this is the standard plug the tourism industry puts on it. However, in order to truly do this ( cross from one plate to another ) it would  require a hike of somewhere between 8-10KM. 

Thats the take away. Anyway, here are the shots.

Photoglaphy by Joe Shutter and Modular Juice

For your enjoyment,

Joe Shutter