A photography workshop in the Faroe Islands with Magnus Lindbom and Creative adventures

 

Arrival at the airport

We arrived at the airport on the island of  Vágar in mid afternoon. The original plan was to check in to the hotel in Torshavn and rest before dinner but the weather and light were ideal and before we knew it we had all been easily persuaded to pack up boots and tripods and change into outdoor clothing right there at the airport. Without further ado we drove to Gåsadalur on the west coast of Vágar for our first session

Above is the iconic view looking towards the north and below  an eastward view towards the island of Mykines on the horison with rock-pools of sea water and white sand in the foreground.

After this we drove to Torshavn on the Island of Streymoy and checked in to the Foroyar hotel.

The next morning started with an early trip to Sydradalur an area of lava rock formations and small waterfalls.

After a brief return to the hotel we drove back to Vágar island for a three kilometer hike along the lake Sörvägsvatn to  the large waterfall of Bösdalurfosur where the water from the lake narrows into a relatively narrow creek and plunges almost fourty meters into the sea. By now the weather was darkening and the wind was picking up. In order to take the shot it was necessary to get very close to the edge and to photograph from a sitting position, mainly for safety reasons.

We had intended to continue and climb higher to get a view back over the lake but this idea had to be abandoned due to the worsening weather

The next morning we started early and drove to Gógv a little natural harbour on the north eastern point of Esturoy. By now the weather had worsened into heavy showers and high winds. The forecast had, however,  predicted an opening in the cloudy weather and indeed this actually happened for a short while.

The first view is the island of Kalsoy shrouded in heavy showers

On the way back from Gógv we stopped at some waterfalls. The wind had now increased to gale force gusts and a couple of us were literally blown over onto our backs. We had intended to walk out on the cliffs to get a view of Funningsfjordur but decided it was too risky in the high winds.

  

The rain and wind continued the next day and once more we abandoned a planned trip to Funningsfjordur. Instead we drove to Tjörnuvik. The rain and wind were persistent and decent photography proved to be difficult. Below is the best effort after many attempts. The sea stacks; the witch and the giant, can be seen on the horizon.

 

Because of the persistent rain we decided to abandon photgraphing for the day and retired to the hotel for a Lightroom session with Magnus. On the way back we passed the largest waterfall on the island, Fossur. I asked a colleague who was sitting in the front passenger seat to take a shot with my mobile. Both she and my mobile got drenched in spray but the shot shows the intensity of the fall

The next morning we drove once again hoping to walk out on the cliffs overlooking Funningsfjordur but the weather and the light were stubbornly against us so we drove on to Gógv for the second time. The weather combination made it difficult to get any decent shots. We would need to get windshield wipers for our lenses! We decided to head eastwards over and sometimes under the islands of Esturoy and Bordoy to Vidareidi on the island of Vidoy in search of a break in the weather.