Exploring Iceland on Film!

My recent trip to Brynjudalsskógur was a great success! Or at least, the overall experience of photographing rock ptarmigan became a reality for me. After chasing an experience that I thought would never come my way, I was truly gifted with an awesome encounter with a rock ptarmigan that was perched and posing for my camera. Initially I had scheduled to film a video for YouTube in an area which I knew these birds were quite active. However, I was determined to record a video about film photography, using my point and shoot to capture the beautiful greens and browns of Brynjudalsskógur’s forest. In all honesty, the decision to record something for YouTube was actually quite spontaneous and unlike previous videos, I had no script planned or outcome of any particular shot in mind. This was truly one of those cases where visiting an area and having prior experience of it in the past lead me to create something rather cool. My encounter with the rock ptarmigan was however, completely random and unexpected as in 2025 I walked away with no good photographs, experience or even video of this truly invisible bird!

I remember driving towards the location, a road which bypasses a very small forested area by the ocean and initially seeing a perfectly white ptarmigan on a fence that separates the main road from this area. I really wanted to stop, but I knew that stopping wouldn’t guarantee anything and there could always be a chance later on… I took this as a good sign!

Below is a screenshot of the area which I initially considered stopping, however I proceeded to Brynjudalsskógur and continued with my original plan of creating a video for YouTube.

Screenshot of nearby forested area where I initially spotted a rock ptarmigan

Film photographs!

The film photographs were also a success, the point and shoot camera which I have is of course nothing special but it does create some great memories. One of the main reasons why I decided to create a video using my point and shoot is due to the fact that I find shooting on film to be very restrictive. This does sound counterintuitive, but in essence it’s good practice! As a landscape photographer, searching for the perfect shot, the best composition and the optimal light is of course never a guarantee, with film less so. I like using film precisely because of this, it’s an exercise in patience and acceptance.

My main subject was of course the forested area of Brynjudalsskógur, but more so the actual colours themselves. The day was relatively overcast so it made for filming perfect, with next to no wind and no rain the conditions were ideal for taking shots with a very uniform colour pallet. Below are some of my favourite images from the shoot, I aimed to pick subjects and or compositions of interest but like I mentioned, colour was the main focus here.

One of the most successful images from the film roll, a balance of composition, light and colour.

The Rock Ptarmigan

My encounter with the bird was truly amazing, below are my favourite shots from this experience as well as my latest YouTube video which showcases some pretty cool footage of the rock ptarmigan in slow motion! As I mentioned previously, the encounter was rather random, the bird was in it’s perfectly white winter coat and due to the lack of snow in the area it made things much easier for me to spot the bird from a distance. What I did not expect, was the amount of time I would have to record, photograph and witness this creature. Rock ptarmigans are quite scared of humans as we are ultimately one of their predators!

At the closest point, I was around 5 meters away which is truly something. Using my 400mm telephoto lens I managed to get quite close and captured some amazing footage which you can check out by clicking the play button below. It’s ultimately hard to say if I will have the same or a similar experience with this type of creature again, their nature is one of being an invisible and mysterious thing. What I can definitively say is that photographing this bird has been one of the most difficult things I have attempted to do creatively as it’s near impossible to get the right conditions, angle, colours, perspective… But, the experience is unforgettable.