Right now you are reading the first article I publish on this blog. My name is Michele and I’m a street photography enthusiast!
As I write this it is summer and I have just returned from Iceland. While I was shooting the famous ring road with my new Fujifilm X-T30 II I decided to create a post that would give a strong meaning to this trip and the photographs I was taking, so I decided to start this blog.
Seeing Iceland was my childhood dream and finally at the threshold of 30 years old I realized it. A special feature of this trip was that I left with 16 unknown people, we rented vans and set off. There was no better thing than to document this with a camera.
Film choices
Foreword: I love Fuji’s film simulations and all the photos you’ll see have had only minimal retouching on the exposure. Before taking the plane I stayed up late to choose the perfect simulations, I saw all the posts on Reddit about shooting with Fujifilm in Iceland, both in color and black and white. It was not easy to choose, but after some hesitation I chose two types of black and white:
- Hilford HP5 Plus 400: a black and white that I love to use in any scene that needs to have little contrast in the shot.
- 50s Noir: to be used for black-and-white scenes that need to have strong contrast.
I must tell you that during the first few days I also tried other simulations but I was not satisfied with them, which is why I decided to continue with these. The black and white scenes in Iceland are nothing short of perfect because most of the time it is cloudy and the geysers are always ready to create a unique atmosphere.
This was one of the first photos I took and going forward you will understand why I wanted to include it in this article. A very normal selfie that opens and closes (you’ll understand) a photo cycle.
Aspect ratio Xpan
For the format of the photos I decided to use the classic 3:2 most of the time. Before I left, however, I came across this article by Jonas Rask. I literally loved these photos, so I decided to replicate the 65:24 format of the Hasselblad XPan for street photography and I must say I came back very satisfied.
Of course, I didn’t have an in-camera setup for this format, so I inserted a grid to give me an indication of the proportions when I was shooting and then cropped in post production.
In this photo above you can well understand how much impact this format has on each and every shot. In this case I was on a hill in northern Iceland overlooking the sea and a beautiful black beach. Suddenly I saw two boys running in the meadow next to a herd of sheep that obviously ran away, it was a nice moment, I snapped.
The rocks in Iceland are beautiful, here I was on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, it was really a nice moment. I saw these people relaxing on the cliff, I also really liked the colors, so I decided to shoot while the seagull was passing by (you can see it very little but it is there).
Also in the same place I saw this catwalk and this girl at the bottom. She is also present among the subjects in the previous photo. This photo makes it clear how elusive this format is, the catwalk fits perfectly with the length of the photo.
To close this series of photos in the 64:25 format I wanted to save this shot taken on the beach in Stokksnes. Actually at first I didn’t notice the person on the left, a small dot, unfortunately I couldn’t center it better because it was right at the side of the photo, however I still like it 🙂
Geyser
The photos at the geysers are the ones I liked the most. I really have a lot of them but for this article I wanted to choose only those that told the story of the trip, I didn’t want purely aesthetic photos.
Despite being seemingly simple shots of people and hills, geysers manage to capture the unique magic of the Icelandic landscape in fascinating and unexpected ways. With their steam rising toward the gray sky, they offer a spectacle that seems almost surreal.
One of the things that impressed me the most was the earth. To see the earth boiling or spitting water upward raising a 25-meter spray is really crazy. It makes you realize how small we are in front of nature. It makes you realize that we will never control it.
Stokksnes
Stokksnes Beach was one of my favorites during the trip. Located in the middle of the ring road, this spot offers a view that is totally captivating in its beauty. On a group trip you learn to appreciate not only the amazing places you visit, but also the moments of intimacy and connection with the people you share the experience with. Stokksnes Beach is a perfect example of this balance.
After having dinner on the beach we took the opportunity to take a walk on this black beach, it had super striking mountains in the background. The atmosphere and colors were crazy to take black and white photo.
The photos you see are completely spontaneous, I never forced the photos, I really loved the natural and spontaneous moments that were created within the group. There was laughter, a lot of laughter. All this was was beautiful.
Glacier
One of my dreams was to see Jökulsárlón. A lake full of ice caps. Arriving here in our van and looking out the window with the music from Interstellar playing in the background was beautiful. The atmosphere is incredibly atmospheric. There are few places in the world like this.
One of the most beautiful things was that we stopped at a non-tourist spot. The view from here was crazy and silence was the master of this out-of-this-world lake. The group immediately lingered to observe the beauty of the lake and the glacier in the background. Occasionally a few seals would pass by, usually I see these things on TV, it was really strange to think that I was there 🙂
The photos you see are among the most representative of the whole trip. When I returned home, I thought that in this picture are people I did not know until 5 days before. A group of strangers looking together at one of the most beautiful and striking places in the world.
Ring Road
And here are the photos taken during the rest of the trip. There were several extremely striking moments and places that I wanted to capture. Every time I saw a significant moment, I would press the shutter button. It was amazing to watch the group come together day after day, each with their own lives, passions and desire to explore Iceland.
Driving along the entire ring road was an amazing experience. The landscape was constantly changing: from black beaches to red lands, from volcanic lands to green landscapes that looked like they had an Instagram filter applied to their eyes. We saw impressive waterfalls, some of them were within a completely black landscape, it felt like being on another planet.
You can feel all the elements of nature: the wind is so strong that it moves you. The ice stretches for tens of kilometers and is impressive. Volcanoes are everywhere and in every kilometer you can see how much this land depends on them. The waterfalls just so big that you can’t hold your phone without getting it completely soaked. The Icelandic landscape is wonderful and completely takes your breath away.
Traveling with a group allowed me to change my approach to photography a bit. I took so many pictures of landscapes, animals, but people are the added value. This is exactly why I love street photography. 20 photos of landscapes can be taken by anyone, as long as you have a good camera and know the principles of manual shooting. Telling unique stories, on the other hand, is something personal, something only you experience, is something impactful. That is why street photography exists.
I wanted to close with these photos. The first one I took while we were on the road to Seyðisfjarðarvegur. Two vans in July amid black snow-covered landscapes. The bottom photo, on the other hand, represents the closing of this trip. On the last day the van was completely covered with dirt.
If until now I have shown the photos I have taken to other travelers, this selfie at the van mirror and the one at the beginning of the article represent me, my trip, and that fulfilled dream I had as a child.
Thanks for reading the article, see you next story!
