It’s the final days of January as I write this & I’m just back from a thoroughly enjoyable and productive trip to Iceland on a photo tour led by Jonathan Critchley, a world-renowned fine art photographer who specialises in black and white photography.

This tour was a first for me on many levels- the first time to Iceland, photographing horses as a subject and first time guided by Jonathan through his company Ocean Captures. My reasons for doing it was because I thought I would learn a lot from Jonathan & as a photographer who is always looking to learn that is incredibly important to me.

Horses of Iceland

Iceland is also a country renowned for its remarkable landscape and none more so than the wintertime when the rugged terrain is covered in snow. I love photographing animals in their natural environment and I think they are some of my strongest images. This therefore seemed to be a great opportunity to add the horses of Iceland to my wildlife photography portfolio.

Unfortunately, my trip almost got sabotaged as earlier in the month I started having knee problems and was diagnosed as having a Baker’s cyst at the back of my knee. Even though I had taken plenty of rest before the trip I was still walking with quite a bit of pain, so was worried what impact that might have. Thankfully Jonathan and everyone in the group were very supportive, helping me up when I fell over (which happened quite a few times). It wasn’t easy trudging through deep snow on our shoots, but it was completely worth persevering!

Photographing the Icelandic Horses

The structure of this tour was also quite different from other safaris I’ve done before in that; Jonathan organises each of our shooting days as photo shoots using different locations, different times of the days and sometimes with one or two horses and other times a heard of horses as subjects.

We got to shoot two of our “model subjects,” Pilar & Isar on a beach one afternoon and a stunning waterfall the next day. When a shoot at some dunes covered with snow didn’t work out due to the roads being impassable after a foot snow fell overnight, Jonathan and Inge pivoted and we used an abandoned barn and a snow covered field with trees as a backdrop.

The beautiful horses of Iceland

As it wasn’t getting light till 10am our days were shorter, so we made the most of the winter light, shooting in the morning till 12 pm and then back out at 3.30pm for another two-hour shoot. I really enjoyed the varied nature of each of the shoots, with Jonathan always on hand for advice. It was great to experiment with different techniques, with a focus on capturing some striking images which could become limited edition prints in the future.

The Viking Horses of Iceland

Another big take out from this tour was an appreciation of how remarkable these horses are. The horses of Iceland are one of the oldest breeds in the world. They were brought to Iceland by the Vikings over a 1000 years ago. They were revered by the Vikings for their strength in being able to travel long distances and hard work. That reverence seems to have remained with the Icelanders who seem proud to own horses as part of their family.

Not only are they powerful and resilient, but there is great beauty in their markings and colours. I couldn’t believe there were 40 different variations, and you could see many of those on display within the herds which I found captivating.

Above all else though is their friendliness. We would enter a field and get settled in a spot, and then they would start to amble over towards you. The nudging, nibbling at your shoes or hat would go on for several minutes before you shooed them away for a second and then they would return. It was a wonderful immersion into their world and in return for that respect, they allowed you to take portraits of them minus the odd photo bomb moment!

The amazing variations in horses of Iceland

Iceland is a place I would return to. The landscape has such rugged beauty especially with the snow, though shooting in minus 17 was tough! It was all good practice though for my upcoming return to Baffin Island in March.

Seifur, the blue eyed Icelandic horse

The final highlight of my tour was seeing a blue-eyed horse. This was on my wish list as they just look so unusual & otherworldly. I was thrilled that on our final morning that within a breeding herd owned by Inge’s family was Seifur, which is the Icelandic form of Zeus. I made it my mission that morning dodging and weaving the other horses to try & get some portraits of him focused on his eyes. It wasn’t easy but this is my favorite from the morning’s shoot.

So, thanks again to Jonathan for all his insights, support and company over the 5 days & also to a great group of fellow photographers- Ewa, Debbie, Jayne & Tina who helped make it such an enjoyable workshop. Our base for this trip also played its part as it was so cozy and comfortable-The Hestheimar Guesthouse (https://hestheimar.is/). The staff, food & ambience were top class & such a relaxing place to rest after a day out in freezing temperatures. No wonder it’s in National Geographic’s “100 Hotels of a Lifetime”. If you are looking for a great place to stay in the south of Iceland, this is it!