Jokulsarlon !

Winters are here so it is befitting to write about a pretty but a cold place on the planet:
The diamond beach, Jokulsarlon.

One of the signature locations of Iceland is a large glacial lake on the edge of Breiðamerkurjökull glacier near the famous Vatnajokul national park that developed into a lake after the glacier receded from the Atlantic ocean and grows each year at varying rates as the glacier melts. The lake has amazing chunks of huge icebergs separated from the glacier, spread over it which creates an otherworldly landscape. This lake is popularly called the glacier lagoon.

The lagoon is accessible from the route 1 between Skaftafell and Hofn. The road divides the lagoon and the sea where the mouth of the glacier meets the sea. The huge icebergs float in the lagoon and the smaller ones come to the beautiful Beridamerkursandur beach through a small river called Jokulsa that connects the beach and the lagoon. Given the tides and the times of the day, amount of icebergs varies that flow down to the beach. The Sunlight sparkles the ice chunks like diamonds giving the beach its very famous name the diamond beach.

Driving down from Reykjavik, the parking lot is just a left turn after crossing the bridge. As expected, this area near the lagoon is most crowded as it has office for the boat trips and icebergs and lagoon are best seen from here. A little walk away towards the hill gives a panoramic view of the whole lagoon, as can be seen from the picture below.

“time stands still” by swapnil.

Driving towards right after crossing the bridge or taking a right turn before the bridge brings to the Breidamerkursandur or the diamond beach. Famous for its sunrise shots , when the icebergs look like diamonds , it is one of the most amazing spectacle of the landscape.

“Jokulsarlon Diamond” by Wojciech Kruczynski

The entire landscape offers amazing perspectives for creating great photographs and it is therefore one the most visited places in the country.

Making long exposure images of the icebergs and waves hitting them is a very famous recipe of making pictures here. The leading lines created by receding waters and the still icebergs create a wonderful visual.

“Wild Ice II” by Juan Pablo deMiguel

Clicking the strong waves hitting the icebergs at the right instant is also an approach used by many. The power of Atlantic Ocean cannot be felt better than that.