Wedding photographers Anna and Mike of Luna Weddings chose Iceland for their honeymoon and decided to document their adventure not just by photographing the beautiful landscapes but also turning the camera around and photographing themselves.
Here’s what they have to say about their trip:
A Honeymoon Project In Iceland
We decided to start a short travelling project in portraiture and connection using ourselves as subjects. And it’s allowed us to create a wonderful memoir of Iceland. This said, it wasn’t easy. Switching on your love for a camera isn’t that simple, whether that’s your own camera or someone else’s. Sometimes the love between two people is private. Some aren’t a great fan of public displays of affection. And although we are very affectionate with each other its a very different thing when you turn a camera on yourself. Especially when you’re so used to photographing other people.
We fell out at a couple of spots because we couldn’t agree on what to do, or we couldn’t harness the light in the way we wanted to. Sometimes the last thing we wanted was to pose together when we actually wanted to give each other a dead-leg. But when you’ve got to spend another four hours in the car together it’s best just to get on with it! Thankfully one of the good things about our relationship is that we can hate then love each other again in the space of a few minutes.
Feeling Self-Conscious
I (Anna) am predisposed to shyness, and setting up a tripod in the more touristy areas (Reynisfjara Beach, for one) filled me with social anxiety. It made me more sensitive to those moments when we take a couple to a public place. It’s not always easy to close your eyes and cuddle up with your beloved! You’ll notice just the one photo there as we fell out over the light and I decided to stomp off and have a cup of tea in the cafe (so English, thankfully Iceland is good for tea). You’ll be glad to know we were friends again a few moments later.
Having spent just a week in Iceland we didn’t get to see anywhere near enough of it. We wish we’d taken more photos but we both enjoyed soaking in the landscapes so much. Sometimes we just wanted to take it all in, and half of the time we forgot to take photos. With each twist and turn of the road we saw more sights and we just wanted to take in and be present in the moment. It was our honeymoon after all!
Having such long days probably helped as we drew back up to our little cabin most nights past midnight when the sky was still light and the birds were still singing, which just added that bit more magic.
On Visiting Iceland
I’m no travel writer, and I’m sure there are a thousand sources to read more about this beautiful island. If you have a love for wild places and an adventurous soul – go there. You won’t regret it. Our advice? Hire a car. Do your research and stay in a different area every night. Naively we booked the same accommodation for the whole week. Although it was a great spot, it did limit our travelling somewhat.
We both feel we left a bit of our hearts in Iceland and its somewhere we know we will visit again. We’re already signed up for alerts on Skyscanner and just looking at these photos makes my heart ache a little for those big open roads.
