Bird Photography Workshop – June 6-16, 2008 (Sold out)
The main focus of this workshop will be on the seabirds, divers (loons) and waders (shorebirds) breeding in Iceland. We will visit some of the most important seabird colonies and nature reserves for breeding birds. The workshop is led by Daniel Bergmann, who is the leading bird photographer working in the country today. He is also involved in bird research and conservation, as well as having important roles in the publication of Iceland's two bird magazines, being the editor of one and the photo editor of the other. Few if any Icelanders have as much in-depth knowledge of bird photography sites in Iceland.

This workshop will last for 11 days (10 nights) and the areas visited will include the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Látrabjarg seabird colony (the world's largest), the Flói Nature Reserve in the South, Cape Ingólfshofdi seabird colony and Jokulsárlón glacial lagoon in the Southeast. We will be staying in regular hotels and will only be doing moderate hiking on level ground. A telephoto lens with a reach of 400mm or greater is required. This workshop is limited to 8 photographers, so the workshop leader will be able to work with each participant on a personal level in line with their educational interest, sharing techniques for bird photography, with an emphasis of capturing behavior, flight and birds in their environment.

The species we will photograph include Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Common Guillemot (murre), Brunnich Guillemot (thick-billed murre), Arctic Tern, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Red-necked Phalarope, Red-throated Diver (loon), Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and many more.

The cost for the workshop is $4500 US. This is an all-inclusive price, but excluding your airfare to Iceland. What is included is local transportation in a specially equipped bus, food, drinks (excluding alcoholic beverages), tuition and accommodation, which is based on two persons to a room. Payments are made in two installments. A deposit of $1,500 must be made within 2 weeks of registration. The balance of $3,000 is due by March 1st, 2008.

Contact us at info@danielbergmann.com for registration and further information, including a detailed itinerary.

See Daniel's portfolio for images of birds in Iceland.

 

Nature Photography Workshop – July 12-21, 2008 (Sold out)
The main focus of this workshop will be on Iceland's wild landscapes and nature. It will include a visit to one of Iceland's best Puffin colonies at Cape Ingólfshofdi.

About the workshop
This workshop is about photographing in the field. There will be no classroom sessions, no lectures and no slide shows. It is not the place for absolute beginners as there will be no basic photographic instruction per-se. Participants and the group leader will work side by side, sharing their knowledge, vision, philosophy and experience. A small group of participants guarantees that the workshop leader is available to work with each one on a personal level at some point of the trip. This is a unique opportunity to travel and shoot with an experienced professional who knows the country intimately and can take you to the best photography locations that are off the beaten track, and at the right time – when optimal light shines upon them. Iceland borders the Arctic Circle and receives more than 20 hours of daylight during the day. This means that the best light is often between 20.00 and 8.00. Shooting in Iceland in summer can be hard work and challenging, but great fun and very rewarding. It is an adventure unlike any other!

Travel and accommodation
We will be traveling in the South, Southeast and interior parts of Iceland. Some of the areas are very remote while others are just off the main Highway, which circles the island. During our second night we will be staying in mountains huts in the Kerlingarfjoll region. Apart from that we will be staying in good hotels. During our 9 nights we stay in 5 different places, some are used as base camps to explore from while others are drop-ins along the way. We will be traveling in a 4x4 bus, specially equipped for highland travel in Iceland. The bus has 20 seats so there will be plenty of space on board for the 10 workshop participants and their gear. There will be some hiking over rough and sometimes steep terrain, so a reasonable level of fitness is required for this trip.

Nature photographers have a different clock than the regular tourist. We want to be out and shooting when the light is good, which means that we’ll have to adjust our schedule to the light. On some occasions we will therefore be shooting until 23.00 and are back in the field by 3.00. Compromises will have to be made though, because sometimes we’ll also have to be tuned to the normal hotel schedules, otherwise we’ll starve. In the most remote locations we’ll have picnic lunches in the field, otherwise we’ll dine in restaurants and the hotels. Given the vagaries of the weather in Iceland there will be time to rest and work on images when it rains, and it will most certainly rain. The weather conditions during the workshop are dependant on luck, although the time of year is chosen for the best possibility of good light.

Location highlights
We will be photographing along the Kjolur highland route, in Kerlingarfjoll mountains, along the South and Southeast coastline, in Skaftafell National Park, at Ingolfshofdi Puffin colony, at the Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon, the Vatnajokull glacier and in Landmannalaugar and other places at Fjallabak Nature Reserve.

Pace and gear
Although there is almost light around the clock, the workshop is paced to create a balance between intense shooting and resting. The rest periods are important for digital photographers to charge equipment and download images to computers or storage devices. A general 35mm digital system is a good choice for Iceland, with their variety of lenses, among them telephotos for wildlife photography and macros for close-ups. Previous participants have also been carrying medium format systems, both film and digital, with good success. Large format photography is difficult as conditions are often windy.

The cost
The cost for the workshop is $4500 US. This is an all-inclusive price, but excluding your airfare to Keflavik, Iceland. From the moment the workshop begins until its end, 10 days later, all costs are included — transportation, food, drinks (excluding alcoholic beverages), and accommodation, which is based on two person to a room (single available for additional charge). No tipping is required.

Payments are made in two installments. A deposit of $1,500 must be made within 2 weeks of registration. The balance of $3,000 is due by March 1st, 2008. Please note that while spouses are welcome, this really is a trip devoted to photography, and non-photographers are likely not to appreciate the pace and timetable that we'll be keeping. Spouses attending will pay full price regardless of their level of participation.

Registrations are on a first come, first served basis and the workshops sell out quickly after being announced. Contact us at info@danielbergmann.com for registration and further information, including a detailed itinerary.

 

Extreme Highland Photography Expedition – July 1-11, 2008
This is an 11 day extreme landscape photography expedition in the Icelandic highlands (interior). The remoteness of the areas visited mean that we will have no other means of accomodation than camping. We will be staying in campsites with running water and showers most of the time, but even that will not always be possible. Midway through the expedition we will spend a night in the Hrauneyjar motel, where we'll be able to charge equipment and download images. Digital photography is not an obstacle to participating in this trip as we'll have an inverter on board our special 4x4 highland bus, to charge batteries. We will also have a cook/camp manager on board the expedition, so we can concentrate our energies towards photography. This expedition is designed for serious landscape photographers who care more about producing outstanding photographs than travelling in comfort and luxury. Doing a camping expedition will give us the opportunity to be in some amazing locations for sunset and sunrise, places that are not reachable if we were staying in hotels, and have therefore never been visited by photography tours in Iceland. This will also allow us the ultimate in flexibility, as we can change our plans more rapidly along the way, to match them to the available light and photography. A good level of fitness is required, as we will be hiking on rough and steep terrain.

The preliminary itinerary includes the Fjallabak Nature Reserve, including Landmannalaugar. We will travel what is known as the Northern Mountain Route (Fjallabaksleid nyrdri) as well as the Southern Mountain Route. Visit Langisjor and Sveinstindur by the Vatnajokull glacier. We'll also spend time in the more habituated area of the Southeast, to hike in the Skaftafell National Park. We may possibly change our route to include the highlands North of Vatnajokull glacier: Askja and etc. The final itinerary will though be heavily determined by weather. Sometimes it rains for days in the Southern part of the country, which means that it's good to have ultimate flexibility and be able to travel to the North.

The cost for the expedition is $3250 US. This is an all-inclusive price, but excluding your airfare to Keflavik, Iceland. A deposit of $1,000 must be made within 2 weeks of registration. The balance of $2,250 is due by March 1st, 2008.

Contact us at info@danielbergmann.com for registration and further information.

 

Liability Limitation
Daniel Bergmann, drivers, and cooperating agents aim to provide every participant a safe, educational, and enjoyable experience. We act solely as agents for you regarding accommodations, special activities, and travel, by any means, and assume no liability for any act, error, omission, injury, loss, delay, mishap, or damage to persons or property arising from any cause during the course of the workshop or in transit thereto. We can accept no responsibility for losses or additional expenses due to delay or changes in the services to be provided. We reserve the right to change our arrangements should conditions necessitate, or to cancel any aspect of the workshop due to exceptional circumstances. In the event that we deem it necessary to cancel the workshop we will provide a full refund which the participant acknowledges as full and final settlement.

As there is always an element of risk in any adventure associated with the outdoors, participants must read this form carefully. This liability release will certify that the participant is physically fit and capable of participating in outdoor photography exercises in field locations, and is fully and completely aware of any associated risks created by field locations and weather.

By joining any of these workshop I acknowledge that I have read the above information concerning responsibility and release Daniel Bergmann, drivers and any cooperating agent from any liability. Daniel Bergmann will assume no liability for injury, illness, or loss of personal property or expenses thereof associated with workshop participation.

Moonrise at Jökulsárlón ©2007 Daniel Bergmann