Iceland Frozen River, Iceland

The Snæfellsnes Peninsula is full of landscapes that seem almost made for aerial photography, especially during winter. Fresh snow simplifies the scenery into an almost monochrome landscape, while the dark, winding rivers cut through it like natural brushstrokes. Combined with the layered mountains in the background, scenes like this perfectly capture the vast and remote feeling of western Iceland.

A drone is ideal for finding these abstract compositions. Look for rivers and streams with strong curves and use them as leading lines through the foreground towards the mountains. In snowy conditions, even a relatively small river becomes a powerful graphic element because of the contrast between the dark water and white landscape. Flying at a moderate altitude rather than extremely high also helps retain the texture and scale of the mountains. A tiny car on the road can additionally work as a subtle scale reference.

You can find landscapes like this throughout the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, so it is worth paying attention to the scenery between the famous stops rather than only driving from attraction to attraction. Many of my favorite compositions in Iceland come from simply spotting interesting shapes from the road and finding a safe, legal place to pull over. Winter makes the peninsula particularly beautiful, but always check road, wind and weather conditions before heading out, especially before flying a drone.