2024 Highlights
With the 2024 guiding season over it’s time for me to reflect on the year as a whole, what photographs have brought me joy and what experiences I have had with friends. The 2025 season is now here, so stay tuned for future in-depth blog posts about Iceland’s geography, my life as a kayak guide and of course my photographic adventures!
A Small Deep Dive into my life
It’s interesting to look back at the early months of 2024. I felt that this time was a bit of a struggle for me, photographically but also personally. I found myself focusing a lot on what my issues were as an individual rather than finding solutions to those issues. This may seem like a slight tangent from my usual emphasis on photography but I found it somewhat shocking (looking back now) at how personal problems can really affect one’s love or enthusiasm for creating work. Finding work as a guide was by far the highlight of the 2024 year for me, I had some of the best experiences I could ask for and took some awesome shots along the way. From a personal point of view and after living in Iceland for three years now, I look back at the summer of 2024 and see that it was littered with experiences that I will value and great friendships that I have made.
The First adventure
Kayaking back from the glacier wall at Jökulsárlón.
Photograph of me, Plume and Paulina returning from our camping trip to the glacier wall. Our overnight camp was rough and we hit a lot of unexpected winds from the North, keeping us mostly awake at night but never dampening our spirits! This photo was taken on our return where we encountered a lot of front facing wind, making kayaking especially hard.
Sunset by the wall
The image to the right was taken on the evening of our trip to the glacier wall. The sunset was truly amazing to see and experience although the winds during the night made it a little difficult to sleep. At 7am, Plume woke up to a large crashing sound, a big piece of Ice had calved off from the wall itself! The impact was so large that the accompanying wave nearly swept our boats, given that we were far from the wall itself the sheer impact of the falling ice could be felt.
Working at IceGuide
I started working in the East of Iceland in May for a company called IceGuide. I have always wanted to be a guide or at the very least have guiding experience under my belt, so working for this company during the summer could not come at a better time. There were many experiences and of course a lot to learn (specifically regarding equipment and safety regulations), but the job itself was simple enough when it came to customer service. What I loved about this role were the many skills that you learn along the way as well as knowledge of the surrounding area, wildlife and geography of Iceland. We kayaked in mainly two locations, the first being Jökulsárlón Glacier lagoon. Literally translated to ‘Glacial river lagoon’ is situated along the East coast of Iceland, it occupies a surface area of around 18km squared with a maximum depth of around 200meters. It is by far the biggest and probably most impressive lagoon in Iceland! The second is Heinabergslón, a much smaller lagoon that is fed by the Heinabergsjökull glacier and occupies a rough 2.2km squares surface area. Both lagoons presented a variety of challenges when it came to weather conditions, namely the wind which could reach dangerous speeds and unfavourable directions. Tours would last anywhere from 1 hour to 4 and depending on group size and physical ability, our main responsibilities as guides was to ensure the safety of our customers while providing them with an experience of a lifetime! Below are some images taken from both lagoons during the 2024 summer season.
Apart from bring a super fun environment, working at IceGuide allowed me to develop my skills as a first-time guide and learn off those who have had much experience on the glacier & mountains. You can continue following my adventures in Iceland by checking out my Facebook and Instagram page as well as keeping up to date with my blog posts!
Ice caves and camping
I believe it was in July when a colleague of mine called Karolina decided to take a two-day camping trip to visit an ice cave near ‘Svinafell’. The start of our hike began in núpsstaðaskógur, finding a parking just off the main road and journeying towards the centre of the valley. núpsstaðaskógur boasts an impressive valley with various waterfalls etching the south side of the mountain. The plan was to initially bicycle north and make our way to our first checkpoint, (where we would inevitably start the long hike up the mountain). The goal was to reach the second checkpoint before sunset in order to save time for the second leg of the trip.
The first complication was sand! A constantly sinking bike began to reduce our energy and increase time. After reaching the first checkpoint, the hike up was exhausting and with no clear path, we were essentially trekking on varying terrain with constant incline. I remember feeling that my legs were pumped and my feet were sore from all the walking. The camping itself was good and we managed to close the time and get a decent night sleep before setting off the next morning to the ice cave. I remember the ice cave experience melted away any and all feelings of pain and exhaustion. It was a truly stunning experience as I got to witness first hand the varying textures under the glacier. The pure blue was almost unaltered in post-production editing as it was just as striking in person! Meeting up with our other team mates on site also gave me an enriching experience, learning first-hand the geology of the landscape around me.
Assessing cave conditions
The image on the left details Jan’s assessment of the condition of the ice before moving forward. Together with our team mate Laurent, (in the blue cap) they discuss the glaciers condition, textures of the ice and more…
Visiting the glacier & Ice climbing
The final trip of the summer season came in August, it was suggested by Jan and Plume that I accompany them for a hike on Kvíárjökull and potentially do some ice climbing once there. This trip was to mark the end of my summer experience and coincidentally the trip where I felt I got my favourite and most dramatic shot of the year. Approaching the glacier, the walk was short and a little steep but totally manageable. I managed to get some pretty nice shots of the view and upon approaching the glacier itself, we were all treated to its magnitude and brightness as it clearly stood out from the surrounding brown moraine’s and blue sky. It was quite a dramatic scene and as we slowly made our way on the ice, we clamped out crampons on and walked towards some pretty big openings on the glacier. Jan’s experience in this was evident, with Plume as support and two other guides with us from another company we decided to do some Ice climbing to which I’d eventually try it out myself. The ice was firm and difficult to sometimes get a grip on, initially I did some small training manoeuvres with Jan close by and then once I felt comfortable we assessed weather I had the confidence to try going down myself. I have to honest when I say that it takes the whole strength of your’e body and pure commitment to traverse up and down the ice in order to reach the top again. The training was hard but also gave me a very satisfying sense of achievement and after I realised what I had done, I felt that all my energy was rewarded again.
If you would like to read a little more about terminus lakes on the south side of the Vatnajökull ice cap, then check here! You can find out more about Kvíárjökull and the overall geology of glaciers in Iceland.
Overlooking the Glacier Outlet
In the photo is Jan with his arm behind his back, Plume wearing the red bad, Barbara in pink and Katka with the yellow bag. This image encapsulates the wonder of adventure, staring at the vast landscape and having experiences in nature.
A Black & White Kvíárjökull
This image was taken just before we ventured on to the glacier itself, the glare from the glacier was very strong on this day and after a couple of overexposed shots, I finally got this one correct.
The winning image
After hiking up the glacier itself and on some pretty steep terrain we stopped to pause before returning back. This image was to me at least my most interesting shot of 2024. I not only liked this image due to it’s composition but also because it balances so many elements and movements within the frame. It is a photograph that aims to represent the spirit of adventure and companionship.
