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How I shot dramatic portraits on a wonderful Icelandic landscape

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My wife, Vicki, and I are full-time portrait and wedding photographers. When we aren’t shooting these things, some of our favorite concepts are creating dramatic images of people in fantastic surroundings. After years of doing this kind of work I now find it difficult to photograph landscapes without placing a human subject into the image. Some of our work of this type has been featured by DIY Photography before.

We work with a lot of models and one of our all-time favorites is Sarah Maillet. When we heard she was going to Iceland for a visit I knew we would have to go as well. Sarah arranged for some gowns from some local stateside designers and we brought along some of ours, including a fabulous purple parachute dress from Alice Andrews Designs. Along with Ryan McCabe, who provided invaluable support to the project, we set out on a two week photo excursion to some of Iceland’s most scenic locations.

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This photographer shot Northern Lights reflected in a volcanic crater lake

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Photos of Northern Lights and volcanic craters are mesmerizing on their own. Photographer Sigurður (Siggi) William managed to capture them together and created a stunning photo of Aurora Borealis reflected on the water surface of a volcanic crater. We asked Siggi to share with us how he made this fantastic shot, and he shared the details with DIYP.

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Whispering Iceland is an amazingly eerie timelapse shot throughout the country

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There’s no doubt that Iceland is one of the dream locations for any photographer or filmmaker. We see a lot of timelapse films here at DIYP, and this year the bar just keeps getting raised higher and higher. So, it’s difficult for one to really stick out, even one shot in Iceland. It’s not often, though, that we see one quite as dramatic and eerie as this.

Created by photographer Nick Kontostavlakis and his team, Whispering Iceland is a truly beautiful film. Shot during October 2015, it shows locations all around the island with wild seas and stormy skies. Obviously, the Northern Lights feature a little, too, as well as the Sólheimasandur Plane Crash. The post treatment and editing goes wonderfully with the music.

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Rescue helicopter crashes wedding couple shoot in Iceland

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Everybody wants their wedding photographs to be interesting and special. This is probably why this couple chose to hire photographer CM Leung and shoot theirs in Iceland. It’s a beautiful country, which is why it has become such a popular wedding destination.

But, the shoot turned out to be a little more different than the couple had planned for. During the shoot, a rescue helicopter buzzed over the bride and crew.

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I Created Self Portraits In Iceland & The Pacific Northwest To Tell My Coming Out Story

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Over the course of the last two years following my personal coming out experience, I created a series of images to portray the deep emotions I felt while coping with my newly discovered sense of identity. At first it felt like I was isolated in a vast and unforgiving world but I quickly realized being true to the core is the most freeing thing I can do to start truly witnessing beauty. I want to share my story with others to help them realize that all our unique identities are valid, important, and worthy of affection and acceptance in the world. When we are truer to ourselves, we become truer and closer to others and the world doesn’t seem so isolated anymore. I have discovered how to love myself and I look forward to creating a second series once I discover what it means to embrace love more fully.

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A Surf Photographer’s Personal Crusade Against The Mundane

Working as surf photographer that specializes in shooting some of the most frigid and icy waters on the planet is a mentally and physically demanding career. It’s the kind where you’re putting your life on the line on a regular basis and while it might be difficult and dangerous at times, it’s also incredibly alluring to those who accept it. That’s because, to see something all the way through to these sorts of extremes, you really, really have to love it–and love can make the soul do crazy things.

Take for example, Chris Burkard. A photographer who once dreamed of a thrilling life travelling to warm, tropical paradises to photograph the surf. That is until he caught a taste for the adrenaline brought about by paddling into the wicked, freezing waters of Iceland. Pushing himself to the brink of hypothermia, becoming disoriented in overhead surf, getting lost on a wave as a light snowfall suddenly turned into a full on blizzard–these are the kinds of things Burkard lives for.[Read More…]

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