Iceland is a sparsely populated Nordic island nation defined by its dramatic landscape. Iceland’s stark, pristine scenery has been shaped by fire and ice: More than 200 volcanoes juxtaposed alongside numerous glaciers form the country’s landscape. It’s a frozen land that’s always letting off steam. Its U-shaped valleys, jagged lava fields, monstrous ice caps, hot springs and geysers have carved a rugged, bizarre landscape you simply will not see anywhere else on Earth. In fact, Iceland’s landscape and natural beauty are so unique; we are going to bring it to you in two parts! Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder after all, and we thought it would be interesting to compare the perspectives of two different artists in their efforts to capture this fabulous destination on film. So, be sure to come back and see us early next week for another Icelandic point of view.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need the fortitude of a Viking to enjoy Iceland. The popularity of traveling there has skyrocketed in recent years. Roughly 1 million tourists visit Iceland each year, far exceeding its total population of just over 350,000, ranking Iceland as the least populated country in all of Europe. Most of it residents live in either the capital city of Reykjavik or the surrounding areas in the southwest part of the country.

In Part 1 of this month’s Travel Video Share, we feature David Varga’s work entitled Colorful Iceland II. David, a native of Czech Republic who has traveled to Iceland several times to capture its beauty on film (including his first edition of Colorful Iceland six years ago), took a road trip through the Icelandic highlands area to feature the more remote but breathtaking parts of this spectacular island. For this film, he used a drone for the first time in order to capture Iceland’s dramatic landscapes from the air. As you will see, this perspective is perhaps the best way to really appreciate the country’s raw topography and lava-scarred tundra. So now, we invite you to sit back and enjoy Part 1 of this month’s aerial tour of Iceland. There really is no place else like it on Earth! Stay tuned, because on Monday of next week we will bring you Part 2 of Dramatic Iceland, featuring Jeroen Schrage’s recently released Iceland-inspired film entitled, Beyond the Lighthouse.

The Avant Team