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Gunnar G. Guðmundsson
@gaukurfromiceland
Photographer based in Iceland
I was raised in Reykjavík, a city life that drove me to seek nature. To search for a place to escape and let my kid’s imagination run free. But most of my passion derives from my mother and family traveling with us at a young age around Iceland. It’s an Icelandic tradition; family road trips once a year in summer.
My trips to my mother’s summer cabin, which is located near the largest lake in Iceland, also introduced me to the most geothermal active mountain with trails and canyons. So as a young curious boy I went on adventures and there was so much to discover. All the memories of Iceland and its nature, the midnight sun, the waterfalls, canyons, trails… This sparked my passion for nature.
"My favorite idol was Indiana Jones and together with my mom, they served as a lead to the path I am currently following."
"My mother took pictures of everything and everyone, which is how photography began to be a part of my life."
The pandemic from 2020 induced action and made me take photography more seriously. I heard how people were becoming more dark and negative, diagnosed with depression, and increasingly anxious – A worldwide pandemic hitting us in various manners. All the media spoke about it and everything else was forgotten. As a result, I made a choice to remind people of the beauty in nature and all the magic that is still part of the world and our lives, other than solely chaos and uncertainty.
The Icelandic countryside, our natural beautiful backyard with its glory and wonders, ever-changing weather, the midnight sun, waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, and geothermal baths was the perfect playground to start with. Icelandic nature is where I feel at peace, where my mind is calm, and I was sure it would have the same effect on others. I wanted to show everyone a real place, existing on Earth, where imagination comes alive. This is what pushed me to become one of the “light-bringers” of 2020. I got tired of seeing how people were starting to give up on life because they got locked indoors with uncertainty.
"My new goal was to show people our world and remind them of the positive side of nature through pictures and videos."
Tell people about how nature can give light, coming from one of the darkest places in the world. We have around 4 hours of daylight in December, the rest is darkness. We are forced to learn how to adapt to the dark harsh world. Two generations before me, 90% of the population was living in turf houses with heat from animals since coal was expensive and mostly not accessible. Through stories from my relatives and grandfather, I know how difficult our past was. I knew I could have an impact on people, and help them see nature as a healthy and easily accessible remedy to stress. I try to inspire as many people as I can and give them the breadcrumbs to follow to visit similar places themselves aiming to bring spark and admiration back into their lives. I have gotten feedback from a couple saying that it’s saved their marriage and from a boy saying he finally found his passion after not knowing what he wanted in life for a long time. This is what drives me. I want to have an impact of positivity and creativity on people, using nature as a resource, and guiding people back to nature.
I try to photograph and film sceneries since people are inspired by different things, and I’d like to offer something for everyone. I remember a quote I heard: “music makes the world move”. Creativity is being sparked by a simple song or the perfect conditions after a storm, and I’d like to use that in my videos and photos. Creating in nature fulfills every need I have. It makes me aware of my surroundings and brings my mind to a satisfying, resourceful, and calming state. Those moments when the perfect conditions arise, it’s like a symphony from Mozart for your eyes; the shades, the sun, the subject, the sky…. It just hits you. I get so excited sometimes that I jump out of happiness when I get my shot of something special in a few seconds timeframe which was the only moment I could be able to capture what I had in mind. I usually take a video of that moment too to make a great story.
Many astounding events happen in nature and when you expose yourself more to nature, you allow yourself to see more of them. The most impressive moment I’ve experienced in nature, although hard to choose, should be my trip with my friend Julien during the summer solstice. I felt alive for the first time in my life; it was just us traveling around the north part of the country with no people and then we ended up in the west fjords on a black sand beach watching the lowest point of the midsummer solstice. We saw the sun hit the horizon and hover there for a while before going back up, with in front this ice cloud filtering the sun into hue layers. It was one of the most unreal things in this world I had ever seen and shared that experience with my best friend.
Another incredible experience was my 41st trip to the Volcano in Reykjanes Peninsula. It was surreal; friends were made at the spot, joy was in the air, people tearing up with happiness, sounds of laughter, and silence of shock. Every eruption made life feel so special and taught me over and over again that we are tiny beings next to Earth’s power.
I try to convey all these emotions also in my shots and videos, so people can almost feel what it must have been like to actually be there. Enough to motivate them to live it and see it themselves, in real life. When editing a photo, I try to use the conditions that the location and the weather are giving me, using light and shadows to make the photo pop and come alive. I know what my audience likes and doesn’t like and I try to learn from them every day. My Stories, where I connect with my audience and ask questions, are my source of feedback. I take their reactions into account for the photos and videos I post on my Instagram account as well as for the content that I am going to create. If my main objective is to spark energy and wonder, to activate, to achieve positivity, I need to follow (to some extent) what people like and need to be able to achieve that.
My favorite photograph is from the south coast, taken on a day in November, when the sky opened up after being cloudy most of the time that day, over a muddy golden brownish lagoon. It’s a picture with the best composition I could imagine as if it was destined for me to take the shot. The sun was at the right height and spot, creating amazing shades. The glacier tongue had the perfect contrast with the most dramatic clouds. My all-time favorite shot. I was so proud of that shot that I gave a print to all of my family members for Christmas.
In essence, this is what I feel photography and videography are about – sharing beauty, wonder, and happiness. Showing all that is possible and motivating people to go out there as well so they can feel the magic too.
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