Photography Workshops & Photo Tours: Iceland Aurora Borealis Photography Tour March 16-22, 2013

Iceland Northern Lights, Ice Caves, Icebergs, and South Coast Late Winter Landscapes 2013 Photography Workshop and Tour III, March 16-22, 2013

6 days, 6 nights, March 16-22, 2013
$1500 USD, all inclusive from Reykjavik
6 of 6 spaces filled  - fully booked

Please Note: Included will be accomodation starting on March 16th night, and the trip will finish March 22 afternoon, for a full 6 day and 6 nights included, for this unbeatable price of $1500 usd. One downside to these dates is that the moon phase will be fuller and in the early night sky, so any aurora borealis before 1am will be slightly faded by the bright moonlight, although of course strong displays are still clearly seen and able to be photographed, as well as having darker early morning hours. However, one potential benifit of these days is that the aurora borealis displays statistically are more common around the equinoxes. Also, we'll have long 13 hour days available for our landscape photography.
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This unique 6 day /6 night photography tour and workshop around Iceland, the legendary land of fire and ice, is meant for outdoor photographers and nature-goers who desire to see and photograph Iceland's winter beauty and the Aurora Borealis and crystal ice caves. This hybrid trip focuses on bringing you to outstanding rural locations in Iceland, away from all the day-tours from Reykjavik, and finding photographic crystals in the late wintery landscape during our long 12 hours of daylight each day. We will especially search for ice caves to explore and photograph inside, which have stunning transluscent blue colors!  Then, at night, hundreds of kilometers away from the city lights of Reykjavik, we'll search the skies and wait to photograph the Aurora Borealis - with phenomenal landscape backdrops. We will be based out of cozy rural guesthouses along the south coast, allowing a comfortable schedule yet filling our days and nights with rewarding photography opportunities all around the region. 

Itinerary:  
March 16th: Arrive Reykjavik, airport pickup, hotel included. If clear night skies and forecasted aurora activity, I'll go out with anyone interested.
March 17th: Depart 8am (tentative). Daytime (which includes sunrise and sunset location shoots) photography of Golden Circle sights of Thingvellir, Gullfoss, Geysir. Stay near Gullfoss waterfall, potential aurora over the falls.
March 18th: Daytime photography of south coast waterfalls and Vik region, Drive to Skaftafell National Park, daytime photograph Svartifoss waterfall and glaciers in region, aurora potential over glaciers; stay in Skaftafell 
March 19th: Daytime outing to inside of ice cave with a local glacier guide, aurora potential over Jokulsarlon, stay near Jokulsarlon. 
March 20th:  Daytime photography to Vatnajokull glacier regions on the way to Hofn and the East fjords region for day trip, coastal photography, aurora potential over eastfjords region;  stay nearJokulsarlon glacier lagoon and iceberg beach, aurora potential over Jokulsarlon
March 21st Daytime photography around Skafafell National Park, drive to Vik; nighttime aurora potential from Dyroley headland, stay around Vik 
March 22nd. Drive back to Reykjavik much of the day, depending on weather, with ad-hoc photo stops along the way. Trip ends late afternoon. Night in Reykjavik on your own . 


Photography Instruction: A maximum group size of 6 photographers ensures you will receive ample personal photographic coaching in the field from a full time working pro, and provide an intimate small group adventure experience. This photo workshop is all about in-the-field field photography and situational instruction working alongside your leader, although we can also do image critiquing on client's laptops in the guesthouse in the evenings. Each day the group will photograph diverse landscapes and natural wonders of Iceland, in the quiet and peaceful setting of the Icelandic wintertime. Then, each evening and night the group will enjoy home-cooked meals and a cozy guesthouse, while always being prepared to go out and photograph the Aurora Borealis should it occur. The chances of us photographing this phenomenon are very high, given that we're out for six nights, and way away from the city of Reykjavik and the southern coast of Iceland. Photographic topics that will covered while shooting include nighttime and austral photography, Aurora Borealis photography, classic landscape photography composition and technique, HDR (High Dynamic Range) imagery, panoramic photography, adventure and travel photography, tilt/shift focusing, and slow shutter -speed effects. Our full 6 days and 6 nights of photography potential, allow us to see a variety of well-known Icelandic natural wonders along the Golden Circle, South Coast and East Fjords, ice caves of the Vatnajokull glacier region, along with more subtle icy details, and combined with austral wonderment, enabling each participant to get the most out this once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Pro Leader: Johnathan Esper of Wildernesscapes Photography LLC in the USA will be leading the trip, his 10th to Iceland in the past 3 years. Johnathan is a full time photographer and international photo trip leader, and has a unique background and an intimate knowledge of Iceland from living out of a car, exploring and photographing Iceland intensively for months at a time, and he specializes in wide panoramic landscapes and adventure photography in Iceland and the Adirondack region in the USA. Johnathan is also very experienced in leading workshops, having led successful photography workshops around Iceland since 2011 which are often sold-out, and also sometimes works with the very best native Icelandic photographer, Örvar Þorgeirsson. 

Trip Details  : The cost of this tour is $1500 USD (or Euro equivalent), all inclusive, and includes all photographic opportunites and professional instruction, glacier and photographic guiding, all ground and 4x4 transportation, all meals and food (breakfast served in our guesthouse, lunches sourced from local cafes or bagged lunches, and hot dinners at our places of accomodation and/or restaurants), and accommodation for 6 nights (in cozy rural authentic Icelandic guesthouses; accommodation is based on double occupancy, and will be comfortable, clean, cozy, and with shared bathrooms; private bathrooms in-room or single supplement may be requested for an additional fee).  Accomodation and potential night aurora shooting starts on the evening of March 16, and the trip concludes in the late afternoon of March 22 without accomodation for that night. A $500 deposit is due at the time of registration, and the remaining balance of $1000 is due by the trip start. Refunds are allowed at the discretion of the trip leader, with a mix of cash refund and future trip credit, depending on cancellation date. This tour is open to photographers of all skill levels, and a recommended packing list will be provided to participants. There is a maximum group size of 6, and a minimum of 2. We'll be so immersed in the Icelandic countryside for our entire time as a group, that we have left no time to enjoy the sights of Reykjavik, so we encourage you to stay in Reykjavik for a couple days on your own, either before or after the tour. If you have additional questions, the trip leader will be happy to answer them over the phone or email.

To register for this trip, please contact the trip leader directly, through the contact page on this website. Additionally, to secure your place, please make a $500 deposit payment through my website generic payment page at www.wildernessphotographs.com/payment.php.




Leader:
Johnathan A. Esper
Wildernesscapes Photography LLC
PO Box 326, Long Lake, NY
United States
johnathanesper@gmail.com
phone: 001 518 624 6675
www.WildernessPhotographs.com