Behind the Image - Mt Stapafell in Iceland

Iceland is one of those places that I highly recommend everyone see at least one in their life. It is other worldly in the most amazing and surprising ways. One of which is the delicacy that is Domino’s Pizza. You laugh but it’s true! In Iceland, Domino’s is AMAZING! Why did I eat Domino’s in a place like Iceland with all of the different cuisines to try? Well, that’s for another story. Back to this photograph.

My wife and I set out to hike and photograph the cliffs and the Gatklettur Sea Arch in Arnarstapi (Still in Iceland). This sea arch is located along the south west coast of Snaefellsnes Peninsula. After a nice lunch in Arnarstapi we set out to hike along the cliffs, find some great compositions of the cliffs and waves crashing in and ultimately the Sea Arch.

At the start of our hike the rain started back in on us, although it was heavy at all. Well, that all changed as we approached the sea arch! I’m from Texas and the saying goosing something like, “if you don’t like the weather just give it 20 minutes.” Nothing could be more true for Iceland. The weather shifts, changes, get more intense, etc. almost by the minute. In this case the light rain turned to a much harder and steady downpour (luckily my LowPro Backpack has a waterproof shell I can pull over it!). But like I just said, weather changes so fast. By the time I made it our to the Sea Arch things turned from wet and annoying to down right crazy. Camera in hand, we were fighting the ice that was pelting us not only from above but because the winds were so strong ice from the ocean blew up the cliff face. I fought for a shot of the arch and managed to get some pretty cool images but little did I know I was about to be blessed with an epic view!

Just as I was wrapping up the rain, ice and wind stopped. Well not really the wind but at least it was blowing 50mph anymore. What I didn’t notice was the parting clouds and sun. Turning to start back I saw Mt Stapafell being blasted with this great sunlight, the snowy mountains in the background off to the right and this gorgeous yellow grass blowing in the foreground. I just reacted…didn’t have to think about composition. I knew it and I dove (literally) into the grass to get angle and stabilize my camera. One exposure and done.

This was such an amazing experience. Going from weather extremes and being in complete amazement of the beauty of the Icelandic landscape!

Glacier Lagoon - Iceland and the Unexpected Reaction

This journey was going to be the biggest, or furthest from Reykjavik during our entire trip. Let me remind you, this was our first chance to travel to Iceland but it was a bucket list trip for me and we figured turning 40 was the perfect excuse to leave our kiddos behind and journey to the land of fire and ice! Side note, we’re already planning another trip back and want to take our 3 kiddos along for the adventure! I’m going to do a little journal entry on taking kids along for the adventure in the future but let’s get back to Glacier Lagoon.

So, if you don’t know, we went in mid November and during this time of year in Iceland they have about 5 or 6 hours of daylight everyday. We really tried to factor that in and be realistic with what we just absolutely wanted to see and knew we’d just have to come back to continue exploring the rest of the country and what we missed. I also knew I wanted to hit Glacier Lagoon first for sunrise if possible so we’d have to wake up about 5am and head out shortly after. We didn’t hit the road quite as early as we needed but hey, it’s a vacation and you just have to go with it sometimes.

With all of our winter gear on which include the best Columbia cold weather water proof boots (late this day I ended up submerging them in the arctic ocean to get a shot and didn’t feel a thing. Completely dry! Anyway, We headed out and right as we were making our way our of reykjavik the snow started in and just are heavier the further we drove. Did not expect that since the previous day was full of partial snow on the ground depending on how high we traveled up the mountains and mostly sleet. My smart self thought it definitely wouldn’t be worse in the southern portion of the country. well it was! And let me be clear I love this kind of weather, especially for photography! Driving on the other hand? Well, it makes things interesting.

40 mile an hour wind blew in across the roads along with what I’d call a blizzard. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic but for a guy from Texas it was a blizzard! Lanes, what lanes. My thought was to utilize the entire road and not hit anyway. And, by all means do get pulled off the road by the growing snow drift that was filling the right side of the road.

All in all we went up and over a few large mountain passes and zoomed along in the dark until the sun started peaking out. This was alway cool. The sunrise is at about 9:45 every day in November so I really didn’t know what type of scenery we were driving through until the first light started breaking. Every time I was blown away with what was surrounding us! At one point we were cursing at a pretty good speed in a very flat and straight stretch of the ring road. When the sun broke it hit the mountains creating a beautiful pastel look. I had to pull over for an image and when I stepped out of the car I realized just how much ice was on the roads! I guess the tire spikes were doing their job! Anyway the view was stunning. Not an “official attraction” but breathtaking!

Well, we made it to Glacier Lagoon after 5:30 hours in the car!

When we arrived at the car park there was already a couple rows of cars parked but it really wasn’t overly crowded at all. It was getting there when we left but not while we were there. The first glimpse of the lagoon took about a 15 second walk from “Dusty the Duster”. Jaw. Fell. To. The. Ground. Yup, I was shocked with the beauty of the Icelandic landscape that set before my eyes.

INSTANTLY, I went into Mr. “Photographer” mode. I saw compositions everywhere. Started thinking about shutter speeds, and the such. Deciding the feel I was going for. All that landscape photographer stuff. It was amazing but do you want to know the most amazing part of it? My wife walked up and I pulled myself away from the camera and just opened my eyes. What I mean is I really just put photography aside and experienced the scene around me. It was in that moment I started crying. I mean really crying and I super glad nobody was around! I felt connected to the nature and creation around me and felt right with the world. All the mental garbage was erased in that moment. It was such a spiritual moment between me and my creator.

I LOVE taking fine art landscapes and other fine art photography. I mean I can’t hardly stop thinking about different ideas. And, I enjoy it all. The gear. The exploration, and the final printing of an image. But that moment I had at Glacier Lagoon in Iceland are those special moments I treasure. That was my unexpected experience to Glacier Lagoon

Why Professional Headshots Matter

So, Why do getting professional headshots matter? BECAUSE THEY DO! Okay, but really, do they matter or make a difference? People tend to make all sorts of judgements of us based on our appearance in a matter of a few seconds. Psychologists call this “Thin Slicing” which is our ability to make intuitive decisions about people and other things rapidly and with little actual data. Why is this important regarding headshots? Well, simply put, how we represent ourselves to certain people and in certain context can make people have a positive or negative view about us. If you’re a business owner, you want to attract your ideal clients! therefore, your headshot needs to represent and appeal to that ideal client. Also, people can tell the difference between a professional headshot and one taken from your phone. The lens and camera in our smartphones are incredible for what they are and what they are intended on photographing…but they are not setup for taking they most flattering portraits of people. Plus it’s hard to pose yourself! Even as a professional photographer it can be hard to pose myself without visual feedback or direction…unless you’re a professional model and have had hours of practice in front of the lens!

Here’s a headshot of an amazing interior designer. She aims to attract affluent clients that are down to earth and friendly, among other things. So, for her headshot we created a nice professional yet casual look.

This young man was starting a Financial Advisor practice and wanted to obviously look professional while also appeal to a younger market. We used this yellow color backdrop that really made his suit pop and give a touch of youthfulness to it. We also went for a more engaging pose rather than the traditional sideways chest up style headshot.

Here’s A Few More Examples!

So, no matter what industry you’re in, if you’re an entrepreneur (I love working with Entrepreneurs!) or just needing to update you dating profile you need professional headshots and marketing material. If you want to learn more feel free to smash the button below to contact me about your own personalized session!