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Marina Weishaupt
@marinaweishaupt
Traveler and landscape photographer based in Germany
Settled by Vikings from Norway sometime in the 800s, Iceland is one of the last places on earth to be settled by humans! This fact makes Iceland a fairly “young” country when it comes to settlement, plus, although this country is the size of Ohio (about 39,000 square miles) and there are no forests to be explored, the amount of untouched beauty one can find is still quite impressive!
Marina, best known as @marinaweishaupt in Instagram, has been inspired by Iceland and its gorgeous landscapes for a while now and luckily for us she has been capturing and sharing some of the most wonderful landscapes around the island in a beautiful manner. The amount of care and precision that Marina puts into her work is astounding and she has become one of the top landscape photographers in Instagram. The way she captures her vision of the world could not be more delicate and inspiring and today her art motivates thousands of people to go outdoors and explore the natural beauties surroundings us.
In order to understand a little bit better who is Marina as a traveler and to dive into her photography I asked her 10 questions. The following was the outcome!
Welcome Marina! You have been to many EU countries already! What country has impressed you the most and why?
Thanks for having me! Before visiting Iceland the first time back then in 2015 I literally had no idea that it would be able to inspire me that much. I just love the diversity and uniqueness that Iceland offers. From black beaches to lava fields covered with moss, from glaciers to hot springs. From wide green landscapes to black deserts and beyond. It may sound super cheesy but I never had so much “fernweh” when thinking about a country.
You have been sharing amazing pictures of Iceland actually! If you had to choose, what three places in Iceland would you recommend visiting to our readers?
The first place that comes to my mind is the view from the top of Mount Valahnúkur. Located in the Thórsmörk region near the well known Eyjafjallajökull. This place combines crazy rock formations, glaciers and a marvelous view over the valley!
My second favorite place probably is Stokksnes, a promontory located in the south eastern part of the country. The massive Vestrahorn combined with the black sand beach are just beyond beauty. Couldn’t get enough of this view while I walked around through the dunes!
Last but not least I go with Landmannalaugar. Sadly we weren’t able to spend more time exploring it but I’ll be back some day, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen more colorful mountains than in this area. Some are red, some were still covered with snow while others were black or beautifully green.
What is your approach when it comes to planning your trip and finding your ideal locations?
On one hand I’m super structured when it comes to planning a journey. I need a timetable to roughly know when I’ll be at a certain place. I feel way better while being on the road when I know that I’m sticking to my plan.I often check as well when the sun will rise or when it will set, and I decide the optimal locations for each since both sunset and sunrise are my favorite moments to shoot. Besides that, it’s no secret that I get a lot of inspiration through Instagram but if I’m planning a trip I also spend a huge amount of time searching for “less known” spots. When it comes to finding great locations Mapify is starting to become a real alternative because people are sharing their experiences and you get to see not only a good collection of pictures but also a panoramic view, and maybe even the perfect Airbnb nearby!
"But after all the planning I'm still open to spontaneous adventures, finding beauty beside the beaten paths and always trying not to produce the same pictures like so many others already did. Most of the time the best moments aren't planned!"
Where or how do you find inspiration for your photography?
Nature is the thing that inspires me the most. When I’m at a great location everything just goes automatically, I really just go with the flow of that particular moment. My friends have also an important influence as well since together we push ourselves to get out of our comfort zones in order to find some beauty. Besides that, music is an important part for me also when it comes to edit my pictures afterwards!
As a photographer I am sure that you feel attached to all your photos. They all represent unique moments of your life. However, among your works, do you have any picture that you really like? Which photo is your favorite?
This is probably the hardest question because it really changes a lot! I tend to like my pictures depending on how I felt in that very moment I took them. And I know I already talked about that place and even more about Iceland but I just feel so happy while looking at this picture.
Before visiting Thórsmörk I’d never thought I’ll ever reach this exact location. And before visiting Iceland I was super afraid of heights but I had this exact picture in my head so I just had to go there. And guess what – suddenly I wasn’t afraid at all while standing there in one of the most amazing landscapes I’ve ever seen with the most beautiful golden hour happening right in front of me!
If you had the opportunity of going back in time to capture an experienced moment again, which one would be?
Definitely one of the two nights during August, when I saw the northern lights for the first time in my life. Not only because I tried different things to capture the lights, but also because there’s no doubt that this was just such an intense experience, I still have no words for it.
Can you tell us the most crazy anecdote that ever happened to you being outdoors?
Oh a lot of funny things happened to me and my friends while we were exploring different countries. When three friends and I were visiting the Isle of Skye back then in August of 2016 we didn’t find a place to sleep. It was raining heavily so camping was not an option and the night before we already had to sleep in our fully packed car. No B&B or hotel had space for us because of the Highland Games which took place during the days we arrived. The sun already went down just like our mood. Suddenly one of the hotel owners we spoke to called us back and invited us to stay with him and his family in their private home. We really couldn’t believe our luck! We spent a wonderful evening somewhere in the most northern area of the island. I’ve never met such kind strangers before.
Learning a new skill always comes with practice and time. But useful tips can accelerate our learning process! What are the 3 most important pieces of advice you would like to give to young talent pursuing a career as a landscape photographer?
Okay, there are some important things for landscape photographers to be successful. First, leave your comfort zone and go out there as often as you can. Wake up at 2am, go to that location and experience the sunrise there.
Sometimes you have to visit a place a second or a third time until you get the perfect picture. For me it’s not only the talent of the photographer which makes a good shot – nature and it’s weather conditions are also a huge part so you have to be ambitious about exploring places again and waiting for the right moment.
"Stop comparing yourself and your pictures with others and find your own kind of style"
It’s easy to say and hard to do that, there are times when I’m still struggling myself. But please don’t just go to the same places and copy photographs of others. Try to experience those places yourself and maybe you’ll find new angles and perspectives of the well known spots.
Can you name your top 3 landscape photographers in IG?
That’s another complicated question! I’m looking up to a lot of people but the following are the first three photographer that came to my mind: I just love the minimalism Cody Cobb (@codycobb) is capturing in his photographs. I like how Reuben Wu (@itsreuben) uses light to turn landscape shots into art as well. Finally, I’m really inspired by the eye of my good friend Michael Schauer (@michaelschauerphoto) because he can see beauty in the simple things!
Can you fix the world in one sentence?
I wish I could but in the end we all should try our best to be responsible for our actions which are affecting the environment and the people around us.
