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What is the reason why a person in the full possession of his mental faculties should go to such an extreme, distant, disadvantaged and almost uninhabited place, and in the winter?
The question has its own legitimacy, but just for a normal person. Landscape photographer, from this point of view, is not so normal : he always fits himself into situations at the limit of endurance; He is willing to suffer the pains of hell in order to bring home with the much-desired photograph.
And then the question must be completed: why would a landscape photographer take part into a such uncomfortable and cold trip for some photography?
The answer, is very, very obvious: Because Iceland is somewhat paradise on earth, though relatively close to us, which offers incredible photographic opportunities to the landscapist, as well as the animal photographer or reportage, as well as the mere passionate traveler. And, especially in winter, it offers glimpses of the most extreme places, such as the Poles or Antarctica.
Anyone who goes to Iceland, therefore, usually does so because he knows that he will find an extreme nature of far more distant places and take photographs of landscape types much harder to reach.
And then let yourself be involved in this experience: imagine the frozen waterfalls, the geyser's fire in the ice, the blue vaults of the galleries under the glaciers, the icebergs on the beach between the ocean waves, the nearby and numerous animals and so much even more. |
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The tour will take place in the south of Iceland and exactly in the area that has the western end in the city of Reykjavik, the point of arrival, and as the extreme east in the little maritime town of Hörn.
In addition to being more temperate, the South area is rich in waterfalls, glaciers, gorgeous promontories and spectacular glacial lagoons. |
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Iceland is universally considered the place of the landscape photographer and it is certain that the glimpses for this kind of photography are almost infinite. Wherever you aim the camera, there is something interesting to photograph.
Waterfalls, glaciers, icebergs, snow-capped mountains, bushes, islands, boreal sunsets, spectacular sunsets and whatever else you may want, are always there at our disposal.
But Iceland is also a place for photographing animals: from large and small mammals, such as reindeer, seals, cetaceans and foxes, to countless plethora of bird species, especially marine, with species such as seaweed, alchea, hunger, gannet and dozens of species coming from the atlantic, Europe and even the Arctic.
So the photographer of nature, both landscapers and animals photographers, will find bread here for his teeth and photographs environments and species that, otherwise, should reach in much more extreme places. |
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| The tour will take us to travel the legendary Ring Road. This is a paved road (and in Iceland it is not so obvious) that starting from Rejkyavik, after a ring of about a thousand kilometers around the island, will take us back to the starting point. Within this tour we will visit practically all the places of greatest interest photographic (and cultural) of the island. From the fjords of the North to the majestic waterfalls of the East and the South, from the glacial lagoons to all those iconic places that you absolutely must visit in Iceland. |
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The climate in Iceland
Nothing is more uncertain in Iceland than its climate:
There is a saying in this country that says more or less like this: "If you do not like your time, wait 5 minutes." Time is, in fact, really changeable, and if you move along the island, you will certainly find different kind of climates, even at relatively short distances.
But the good news is that all of the southern part of the coast, being lapped by the hot Gulf Stream, is the most temperate part of the island. However, the climate will always be cold, though dry.
Temperatures between -5 ° and +5 ° are possible in sunny days (or moments).
Our real enemy will be the wind that when it blows (and here it really blows) will lower our perception of temperature much.
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Climate and photography
We will not find particularly stiff temperatures at least during the day. We will not have much dust either. What we will find in abundance will be water in all its forms. In particular we will have to defend from:
Steam - especially in geysers and geothermal areas
Condensation - especially at night and in dawns
Sprayed water - will be everywhere on the thousands of waterfalls that we will see on the beaches.
Also perhaps our greatest enemy will be the wind. Iceland is windy. The wind will disturb us because it will cause problems in the photographic phase and because it will lower the temperatures.
Because of this, it is absolutely necessary to have a plastic cover to protect the equipment in the operational phases as specified in the section on the equipment.
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How to dress
In theory the climate in this part of Iceland and in this period should not be very cold.
In practice, we are riding the 64th parallel north and in a place where the winds make it master. So the clothing will have to be winter and heavy.
We must also consider that if we are lucky, we will photograph the boreal aurora at night.
We will also be taking photos in the early hours of dawn that are the coolest ever.
The secret of a clothing suitable for rigid climates is to dress overlapping layers (so to say "onion").
Some advice on clothing analytically:
Inner T-shirts:
Do not put in contact with the skin cotton t-shirts:
That's the worst thing we can do. In fact they are soaked with sweat and then freeze on.
It is necessary to use internal thermal t-shirts that allow to breathe the skin and protect it from the cold.
There is thermal clothing of all kinds: t-shirts, trousers, leotards, socks, gloves etc.
This kind of garment is available at Decathlon and specialized stores.
Leotards:
Very recommendable. They sell them with thermal, but they also go well with classic woolen ones.
Sweaters:
The most insulating ones are those of Pile. The ideal would have a couple of different heights.
Balaclava:
Very useful I would say almost fundamental. Those fleeing are hot. Otherwise, thermal ones.
Neck warmers:
Very useful because it seals the space between the bust and neck that is always a critical point
K way:
An element that must not be missed is a K-Way or a light raincoat.
Iceland is a place of water and there will be a great deal of water vaporized by waterfalls and rain.
So you will need to protect yourself well.
Glasses:
Use sunglasses to reverberate in the snow. It is also advisable to wear a completely transparent type of sunglasses to protect the eyes from the wind.
Umbrella:
We recommend a small folding umbrella.
Hand warmers:
They are sachets that break for use and activate chemically for 3-4 hours. In case of cold at the extremities are extremely useful. |
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| Photo gloves |
K-way |
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| Warm neck |
Balaclava |
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| Anti-mosquitos hat |
Mosquitos repellent |
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| STATO DELLE PRENOTAZIONI |
| P1 |
guide |
P4 |
free |
P7 |
free |
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| P2 |
sold |
P5 |
free |
P8 |
free |
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| P3 |
free |
P6 |
free |
P9 |
free |
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Voluntary drivers
As a mini van will be rent for travel, we will need to indicate a second driver in addition to the driver of Adventure Photo Tour. The participant who will propose for this task will receive a discount of € 150 on the cost of travel. Presumably he will never have to drive but for any eventuality he will have to give his availability after signing a declaration. The guide in Iceland does not present particular difficulties because the spaces are immense and the cars are few. A bit of effort is required only in any off-road. |
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Healt Insurance & Release
It is strongly recommended to stipulate a health insurance valid for the country in which you go. This regardless of the type or difficulty of the trip. Participants can take out their own insurance or take advantage of the insurance plan proposed by Adventure. The cost of the insurance is not included in the cost of the tour.
All participants will be subjected to a (compulsory) release that releases the organization from health responsibilities.
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Civil and Penal Liability Insurance
For each of the participants of the Adventure Photo Tour, a Civil and Penal Responsibility Insurance is stipulated, the details of which are indicated in the appropriate form accessible from the button below.
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| Although Iceland is on the 64th parallel, it does not really have an arctic climate and the temperatures are not so extreme. This can occur for the positive influence of the arm more north of the warm Gulf Stream that mitigates the cold. This is at least on the whole south coast of the island. Different, very different, is for the interior of the island where they also touch the -35 °. This means that we will not have to use special arrangements for our equipment. It is obvious that a tropicalized camera body will leave you much quieter than a commercial entry level body. Below is a list of recommended equipment. |
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main camera body |
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secondary camera body |
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wide lens like 16-35 mm or 24-70 mm (landscape) |
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tele lens zoom like 70-200 mm or 24-105 mm (landscape details) |
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telelens 500 mm + teleconverter 1,5 x (animals and details) |
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tripod |
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remote camera controller |
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strobo |
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ND and polarizer filters |
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batteries in advance |
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You will be accompanied on this tour by Alberto B. Scalia.
Alberto has a remarkable experience in the countries of northern Europe he has known for many years and he loves absolutely.
He has been a naturalist photographer for many years, has shot the world in search of exclusive landscapes and animals, building an enviable background of enlightenment.
Teacher in naturalistic photography in Latina, engaged in teaching naturalistic themes in schools of all levels, publics and private. Administrator in the organization and curating of international and national events such as exhibitions, photo competitions and cultural events, says about photography: "What the photographer has to have is passion in the experimentation. You should not be afraid to explore different or complicated roads. What pleases me more a beautiful photo taken is to convey the passion I put in that shot to a student who tomorrow will do likewise with someone else. " |
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* Important notice- disclaimer
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The itineraries, costs and details of the Photo Tour will be subject to variations for all the causes that are independent of the organization's will, such as natural disasters and consequent flight displacement, variation of rates and taxes, modification of the tour plan etc.
Any variation will however be communicated as soon as possible to the participants. |
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The Photo Tour will subjet to variationsin regardless to the commercial policies of Air Companies and Rental operators.
Every change will be communicated to partecipants with adequate advance. |
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