Visiting Iceland is on the bucket list of most every landscape photographer, and it's easy to see why. Iceland is a small country that nevertheless feels vast. It is a landscape of extremes, where aquamarine glacier tongues are neighbored by steaming volcanic vents. The changes from black-sand beaches and ancient lava fields at sea level to the snow and ice capped mountain peaks are sudden and dramatic. The weather changes from hour to hour, and from one side of a mountain range to the other. The island lies just beneath the Arctic Circle. During the summer months, the sun just barely dips below the northern horizon, replacing night-time with a colorful twilight that lasts for hours.

This photo collection highlights the beauty, quality, and diversity of Iceland's landscapes and wildlife as it was experienced and photographed by Mick and Jimmy Rollins during their tour of the country in the spring of 2017. The images are converted to timeless black and white, to memorialize one of the greatest adventures of their lives.

Introduction

"In the year leading up to our trip to Iceland, I became increasingly restless and weary from a life that seemed mundane. I was 26 years old, and apart from a few family vacations, had never really done anything I would have called adventurous. I knew I wanted to travel. I wanted to see and experience someplace different. 

The 2013 film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, is where I was first introduced to the idea of going to Iceland. The film's messages -- stepping outside your comfort zone, casting off a mundane day-to-day grind, traveling the world, rediscovering yourself, and becoming the person you want to be -- really resonated with me. The film's dramatic portrayal of Iceland as the place to do it certainly didn't hurt, either.

As a budding landscape photographer, the opportunity to experience and photograph some of the most impressive and awe-inspiring scenery on Earth was a dream come true. Jimmy and I agreed that if we were going to take this trip, it needed to be more than just a week-long vacation. We wanted an adventure. We wanted to be immersed. We agreed that our trip should be at least a whole month long. We ended up spending 37 days touring the entire circumference of the island."

From Mick Rollins:

A land unsoftened by age, composed on a titanic scale. Looking in any direction gives one the feelings of isolation and insignificance. Horizons stretch flatly into the imperceivable distance or tower above you. Low hanging clouds give mountains the appearance of rising nearly to the roof of the world, and some even beyond.

We discovered two rock ptarmigans, female (left) and male (right) living amongst the ruins of a centuries-old farmstead. It was an eerie feeling, seeing them. As if they had been left behind when the farmers moved on.

In a landscape brimming with natural spectacles, the massive waterfalls and amazing geological architecture found on the south coast are among the most easily accessed.

Gljúfrabúi, meaning Dweller of The Gorge, falls into an open rocky mouth far above, and cuts a very narrow crack through the moss and grass-studded cliff wall. Walking upstream into the grotto at the hidden fall's base is one of our most unique and memorable experiences.

Volcanic black sand, and immense rock formations meet the unforgiving north Atlantic. This area of the south coast is often buffeted by powerful storms. 70mph winds, kicking up all the sand, kept us sheltering in our car for 3 days, darkened the sky and turned the deep blue ocean water to a dark and agitated black. 

The cliffs and rocky promontories of the south coast make an ideal nesting location for Iceland's most famous bird resident, the Atlantic Puffin. We only had a few chances to photograph these beautiful birds, and we made the most of those opportunities.

At the roots of the southern mountains, Skaftafell, part of Vatnajökull National Park, is a pocket of Icelandic paradise. Snow-capped mountain ranges on either side shield the nature reserve from the worst weather systems allowing for an abundance of plants and wildlife to call it home.

In a place of such enormity, judging distances becomes uncertain. That mountain could be smaller and closer, or it could be very big and much farther away.

Columnar Basalt can be found in every corner of Iceland. The distinctive geometry is the result of a very natural process where deep rivers of molten rock are slowly cooled. As the rock cools and begins to contract,  energy is built up, then released. The rock cracks. The energy releases in the most efficient manner possible, forming cracks at roughly 120° angles. The result is the beautiful, crystalline structures found throughout Iceland, monuments to its past and ongoing volcanism.

Towering Eastfjords. Where the crowns of snow-capped mountains pierce the clouds and their feet meet the ocean. Where the alpine snow melts, waterfalls of an epic scale cascade down the steep mountain faces.

Downstream of Hengifoss, Litlanesfoss is flanked on all sides by some of the most breathtaking basalt columns. The steep embankment down to the base of the falls made a good nest site for a family of geese. Hopefully the hat we lost there made a warm addition to their nest.

The second tallest waterfall in Iceland plummets 421 feet into a gorge of beautiful geology. Bright layers of red stand out vibrantly from the layers of darker basalt.

Shards of ancient ice stand out brilliantly against black sand at the aptly named Diamond Beach. Each diamond sparkles with refracted light, and is so pure and compacted that, holding a piece, one can easily make out their fingerprints through many inches of ice.

Some ice is only the size of a baseball and some is as big as a bus. The larger chunks are still dense enough to hold their aquamarine hue, absorbing all but the blue light waves.

The glacier lagoons are home to an array of wildlife. Ducks, geese, and shorebirds can be seen winding through the icy, ever-changing maze and seals frequent the surf where the icebergs float out to meet the Atlantic. 

Everywhere in Iceland is evidence of its past and ongoing volcanism. Particularly, the landscape of Northeastern Iceland is a grand display of geothermal activity. There are vast fields of hardened lava, frozen forever in wavelike patterns. The more recent the flow, the more jet black the surface. Gargantuan volcanic craters, some dormant, and others more lively, dot the otherworldly landscape. The land between, torn by steaming cracks in the ground.

The landscape is stark. Very little plant and animal life can be sustained in the vast volcanic desert. In some small places, tucked in low against the wind, some plants have found root in the rocky porous surface of hardened lava. 

The peninsulas of Northern Iceland provided us with the best opportunities to observe wildlife. Harbor Seals, uniquely patterned with different colors and spots, could be found hauled out on the black sand or on rocky islands, frequently sharing their turf with a myriad of bird species. Arctic Terns put on dazzling aerial displays as they hunted for unsuspecting fish. The streamlined birds fly over the surface until they locate prey, then they begin to hover in place, lining up their trajectory, before diving like a dart into the water for the catch.

We couldn't pass up the chance to take a whale watching tour out into the northern bays between peninsulas. Though it was a calm day according to our tour guides, the 60-foot boat still rose and fell sharply with each wave. Although no whales did any sort of dramatic full-body breach, it was still awesome to see their massive tails rise up and then slide below the surface.

The weather during our exploration of the Westfjords was mostly bad. Cold, rainy, and windy. The turbulent conditions increased the sense of the Westfjords being the wild frontier of Iceland.

The Westfjords of Iceland were unlike anything we had ever seen before. Narrow channels of ocean, miles long, are lined by mountain peaks, some pointed and snow-capped, others flat-topped and treeless. Small towns are nestled at the roots of the mountains, clinging to the slopes above the water, and accessed by roads, paved and unpaved, that skirt along the waterline, following the in-and-out geography of the fjords.

At the westernmost tip of Iceland, indeed the westernmost tip of all Europe, the land abruptly stops and falls a thousand feet to the ocean below. The sheer cliffs, miles long, are the nesting grounds for birds numbering in the millions. Many species can be observed tucked perilously onto a tiny shelf above the ocean far below. And that's the way they like it. No predators can reach them there.

In contrast to our time in the Westfjords, our time exploring the Snæfellsnes Peninsula had some of the nicest weather of our trip. Days were sunny, windy, and on occasion almost hot.

We spotted this small mountain from the road, a high point between two lakes. On a whim we decided to climb to the top. It was a short but very steep climb, and the wind was howling at the top. But the views across the lake through the mountains and out to the ocean on the horizon made the climb a worthwhile and memorable experience.

Glacial meltwater flows out from between two enormous shelves of lava rock, making these remarkable cascades appear to spring from nowhere and tint the river a bright turquoise-blue. Hraunfossar translates literally as Lava Waterfalls.

As the end of our trip drew near, we finished our circuit of the island by visiting Þingvellir National Park and the other iconic locations of the Golden Circle. Once again, we found ourselves drawn to the impressive waterfalls. Brúarfoss runs a brilliant aquamarine color. It seems almost like a crack in the Earth, right down the middle of the river. Water cascades down into the crack on all sides. And Gullfoss is the crown jewel of the Golden Circle. The massive waterfall, tinted a pale green, drops over a hundred feet into a narrow, sheer-walled canyon. The walls of the canyon cause the mist to billow straight up, creating a constant wall of mist and fog.

Our final stop on our trip was the oft-photographed, pointy mountain peaks in the southeast corner of Iceland, Vestrahorn. The high winds that batter the point create rippling sand dunes of black volcanic sand. Indeed the wind was very strong during our stop. Bleached-white pebbles stood out on the black beach, each pebble with its own ridge of sand, protected from the gale. Heavy clouds obscured the jagged peaks of the mountain formation, but coupled with the strong wind, the black sand beach, and the crashing surf of the north Atlantic, it seemed to summarize much of Iceland's natural offerings on our adventure. A fitting end to it all.

for spending time in this exhibition. Putting together this collection was the work of years. We are very proud of this completed body of work and we hope you found it comprehensive, immersive, and enjoyable.

Thank You