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Tamas Szajko
@szajkotoma
Landscape photographer based in Iceland
During my high school years I began to feel intrigued by the world’s diversity. I remember looking at the map during the Geology class which was one of my favourite subjects, and dreaming of exploring all of the countries on Earth one day. With this vision in mind I grew older and more passionate, and so embarked on various adventures. Ever since I’ve moved abroad and started travelling I’ve realised that photography provides me with the greatest opportunity to capture all of those special moments I get to live and it enables me to share my experience with everyone.
At the beginning I was primarily using my phone to take pictures, which was good enough back then. As my interest was growing continuously, I decided to buy my first GoPro four years ago to capture all the unforgettable moments with more versatility. Especially in the past two years, my interest in photography evolved into passion. Travelling across the scenic landscape of Bali in 2019 was the tipping point that made me purchase my first mirrorless camera (Lumix GH5). As soon as I got my hands on that camera, I knew that it was the beginning of something very exciting. I had no previous knowledge of handling any mirrorless camera so I started to educate myself through YouTube videos (i.e Adorama, James Popsys and Nigel Danson), photography books (i.e Michael Freeman’s books) and online blogs.
"In my opinion photography is one of the most powerful tools to translate how we perceive the world with our own eyes."
"Like many photographers, I was dreaming of visiting Iceland and so I went last year - it was a week of being impressed constantly."
Every time I changed the direction of my gaze was another enchantment. It is stunning how untouched the whole island is and the types of landscapes it has. At that time I wouldn’t have thought I’d ever call this country my home, but at the end of February this year I decided to move to Iceland hoping to escape city life just before the whole world shut down due to the pandemic. Every single day I am glad that I made it; I currently live in Húsafell which is located on the western side of the island surrounded by Iceland’s second largest glacier, lava fields, mountains, canyons and crystal clear glacier rivers. Having grown up in Budapest (Hungary), followed by five years in the United Kingdom makes me appreciate even more the nature and the life I’m living now in such a secluded place.
I personally think living in Iceland as a foreigner is like constantly being on a holiday while working full time. As I’ve never lived so far away from a city permanently before I moved to Iceland, nearly every aspect of this countryside lifestyle was a new experience to me at the beginning. One of the major downsides of living in Iceland in my opinion is the absence of a variety of products such as food for my taste, clothes, electrical products etc. Also, as I live far outside of any city, every single essential shopping is a commitment I’ve got to make by driving 40 minutes just to get to a supermarket, so that explains how uninhabited the whole country is. After all, that’s the price I pay for the pristine surroundings. Nevertheless I’m quite satisfied with the food I can get in restaurants as they’re fresh and simple (horse steak is a must if you visit Iceland, and the Icelandic lamb which tastes distinctively delicious). Also personally speaking, social life is one of the most lacking aspects of Icelandic lifestyle as Reykjavik is the only place for a night out, cinema or any city based entertainment so it is definitely worth taking this into account before moving to Iceland. But on the other hand people in general are very welcoming and easy going, most remarkably the vast majority of them speak English fluently which is a great advantage for people like me who don’t speak any Icelandic. Based on what I experienced so far, I can tell that everyone is trying to help each other which reflects a nice togetherness in their community.
"Simply the fact that the country generates 99% of its energy from renewable hydroelectric and geothermal sources, helps me to understand how naturally rich Iceland is."
Although my initial plan was to live in Iceland for around a year and move to New Zealand, which probably isn’t going to work out due to the current pandemic, I’m just enjoying every single day I get to live here in Iceland for now and get out to explore the land as much as I possibly can. With all its natural beauty such as the northern lights, midnight sun, thousands of waterfalls, volcanoes, glaciers, craters and mind-blowing landscapes, the opportunity for photography presents itself everywhere. There are plenty of places to explore however the weather can become one of the biggest enemies when aiming for the perfect shot as it gets severely harsh and can change instantaneously. Another obstacles to overcome when chasing unique perspectives are the Icelandic F-roads which are challenging but inevitable in order to get off the beaten path.
I have been fortunate enough to travel the Icelandic Highlands with three of my friends at the end of this summer and it’s fair to say that those few days have been the highlight of my Icelandic adventure so far. We spent the first day at Kerlingarfjöll, roaming through one of the most impressive geothermal sites in Iceland, steaming vents, boiling mud pools, and rainbow-colored hot springs. Honestly this place truly makes you feel like you’re taking a stroll on Mars. After that we headed to the southern part of the Highlands and on the way we had the most unforgettable moment of the trip.
I literally felt like we passed a border somewhere on the way and entered another planet. We spent two entire days around Landmannalaugar, luckily the weather was really great for hiking both days. On the first day we took the Brennisteinsalda hiking trail which provides a perfect perspective of the diverse landscape throughout a short hike. The following day we were trying to find grænihryggur (green spine), which we weren’t able to achieve. Instead we ended up on one of the most spectacular hiking trails within the whole country. We crossed more than 20 rivers on foot and did some steep hikes (sliding downhill sometimes), with no tourists around us whatsoever, so overall it was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to get back and find the mysterious Grænihryggur.
"Every photo I take is a glimpse of a memory I lived."
Alongside with most of my pictures I upload on Instagram I generally like to share a piece of information/geological fact related to the places I captured as I believe it makes the whole story more meaningful and engaging. I’m trying to keep all of my photos as naturalistic as possible so I do not mislead viewers and set false expectations of any locations. In order to reflect what I have caught with my own eyes, I intend to avoid any exaggeration or unreal illusions. I’m slightly underexposing my images most of the time to retain as much detail as I possibly can from the entire image so I can easily bring back the shadows and highlights whilst maintaining quality. Personally I’m not keen on any presets as I like sacrificing my time for editing and looking at each image individually, although I do have some in case I have to edit a very similarly captured photo series such as an outdoor adventure.
"I just love to grab my camera and immerse myself in nature, lose track of time whilst feeling free."
‘Practice makes perfect’ this is probably one of the best proverbs which describes what I get driven by every time I grab my camera. The whole process of choosing the best picture from an insane amount of shots I take, can get easily overwhelming, my idea of the perfect picture is hard to capture. One of my favourites is ‘The Midnight Sun’. Capturing the natural phenomenon of the midnight sun casting its golden rays on the mountain ridge which reflects itself on the river surrounded by the blooming lupins perfectly showcases how beautiful some of the summer days are in Iceland.
One of the main purposes of my photography is to represent places I visited and by doing so encourage other people to travel. In my opinion photography is one of the most powerful tools to translate how we perceive the world with our own eyes. In addition to landscapes, I like shooting abstract or minimal. The reason why I’m passionate about travel and photography is simple: Travelling to new places means freedom, new experience and inspiration, this is what makes me feel the most alive. I just love to grab my camera and immerse myself in nature, lose track of time whilst feeling free. Waking up early to witness the first glimmering rays of the sunlights is my favourite way to kick off a day…
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