This is the second part of my retrospective blog about a trip that took place in Greenland and Iceland two years ago. Equipped with X-T1 and X-E1 with 55-200, 14, 18-55 and 35mm lenses and little prior experience of landscape shooting I trekked some of the most beautiful landscapes on this planet. The trip was organised by Icelandic Mountain Guides. The Icelandic part of the trip was overwelming by its combination of increadible landscapes, light, weather, textures and colours. There is so much beauty packed on this island that once you have visited it - it will always stay in your heart. I was surprised to find out that X-T1 with vertical grip and 55-200 lens attached to it was used most of the time to reach as far and high/low as I could when in the mountains. 14 and 18-55mm lenses were used on a few ocassions when a grand view presenteditself. I guess it also reflects my personal vision of landscapes too. Also my apologies for those who expect large waterfalls - I have not selected any for this blog. The idea was to show Iceland the way it looks from a trek, on the go without a tripod, away from the main tourist path. Post-editing was done in Iridient Developer and Lightroom 6. Click on any image to adjust it to your screen size.

Our first camp was at Þórsmörk, south of Iceland between the glaciers Tindfjallajökull and Eyjafjallajökull, the latter home for the famost trouble maker Eyjafjallajökull vulcano. Þórsmörk is a beautiful mountain ridge that was named after the Norse god Thor with breathtaking views.

One of the Þórsmörk glaciers under the clouds, the glacier ice folded and scrambled like a frozen image of crashing waves.

Layers of ice and rock….  Þórsmörk — Layers of ice and rock…. Þórsmörk

Glacial ice contrasting with the rock of the mountains and the green moss and grass, Þórsmörk

Our second camp was at Skaftafell, south east of the Vatnajökull national park. The only heavy rain we had during the trip gave way to a beautiful sunset. The following days we trekked along some spectacular routes.

Ice and fire - sunset at Öræfajökull and Hvannadalshnjúkur as seen from Skaftafell.

The great skua is a pirate of the seas, deliberately harrassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. Jökulsárlón area.

On the way to the third camp and Landmannalaugar.

Landmannalaugar highlands was our final destination and a base for the third camp.

Two hikers "lost" in the vastness of the Landmannalaugar Highlands.

Trek with a view... Landmannalaugar Highlands

The colourful mountains of Landmannalaugar Highlands

Nature's palette, amazing colours of Brennisteinsalda Mountain, Landmannalaugar Highlands. For scale reference - there is a tiny speck of a hiker on a trail just left of the hill's top.

Beautiful colours and patterns of Landmannalaugar Highlands

Layers of colour and light, Landmannalaugar Highlands

A fellow hiker walks on the backdrop of Landmannalaugar Highlands, Iceland - one of the most beautiful places to travel to and have a hike among spectacular landscapes.

So, what is next? Definitely more trips to other parts of this beautiful island in the nearest future. I am also looking forward to using the new X-T2 cameras with new weather proof 50-140 f2.8 and 16-55 f2.8 lenses. Having two camera bodies with dedicated lenses works best when trekking, unless one is pressed for weight. In that case X-T2 with 50-140 f2.8 will do just perfectly for me. Changing lenses on the go, with winds carrying dust and volcanic ash is complicated. The new combo may not be as light as the kit that I had on my first trip, but it certainly gives a huge bonus of weather sealed lenses and superior optics combined with bigger sensors of XT-2 and dual cards - less card swapping on the go. Looking forward to writing a new blog next summer.

Icelandic Mountain Guides