june 2026From Höfn to Refsstaður, Vopnafjörður - road 1 to 85 to 920 to 919
Day 4, Friday June 5th. Leaving the hostel in Höfn, another day of alternating rain and sunshine along the way. First a fuel stop, then on to Refsstaður near Vopnafjörður. The car I rented through Sunny Cars is a Hyundai i30, a great car to drive. I am glad I have an automatic for me, as a Dutchie only used to flat roads with an automatic car one less thing to think about. Though that lane assist is sometimes really annoying. During the drive I listened to music and podcasts, I put together a special playlist for this adventure on Spotify and my favourite music list is on Deezer.
I am driving along the 1 , the ringroad, following the coast, then the 85 and after that the 920 and 919. The first stretch along the ring road took me through mountain roads in the mist, occasionally a bit suspenseful and at the same time beautiful with views opening up whenever the mist cleared.
Along the way I stopped in Djúpivogur for Eggin í Gleðivík, the artwork by Sigurður Guðmundsson with 34 large eggs along the water, each representing a different bird species. Interesting and inspiring to stand there in front of it, lovely to see all those different shapes side by side.
Back on the road through the tunnels into the mountain and out the other side. After the darkness of the tunnel, suddenly a wide open view again. The last stretch along the 920 and 919 was a pleasant surprise a great view. An unpaved road, first over the mountain and down into the valley, then through the valley to the farm, a road with small bridges over the river, sheep and horses along the way and Vopnafjörður visible in the distance.
Arrived at Refsstaður around 5:30pm. A great location, I was immediately taken with it. After dinner a tour along the meadows with Berglind, the owner of the horses. She has around 50 horses, a lovely mixed herd, spread over different fields . Friendly horses in many different colours. As a rider colour does not matter much to me, but as a photographer it is wonderful. It lets me show in my photos just how varied the breed is, with so many different colours and markings. Now I just need to learn all the Icelandic names for them.
Refsstaður, Vopnafjörður, Oost IJsland
Yesterday, June 6th was day 5 of this wonderful adventure. I am still at Refsstaður near Vopnafjörður. I had to hold myself back this morning and not head straight out, but I wanted to make sure the photos from the days in the south were properly saved, back everything up and charge all the batteries. So I have space again on my cards to photograph freely here. There is plenty to choose from.
I started with the group with the pink stallion, which is what they call a dun here, with his mares. Spent a good while there, then had a quick look at another group a little further along, but they were all the way at the back of their field. With dinner time approaching I decided to slowly head back. Another time I will take the time for that group. I stopped once more to photograph some lambs. All those lambs in different colours and markings made me want to do portraits of each one, but for the kind of photo I have in mind I really need to get closer. So that idea also needs a patient sit-down session.
After dinner a nice walk to another area through the field with the riding horses to where stallion Prins Polo lives with his harem. Prins Polo is named after an Icelandic sweet.
For those who do not know much about Icelandic horses yet. There are Icelandic horses in many colours, around 40 colours with more than 100 variations with many different markings.
Dun is a horse with a darker line along its back, along the edges of the ears and in summer sometimes zebra-like stripes on the legs.
Sunday June 7th 2026
The day started beautifully. Over the past few days I have been listening to the different bird sounds, which are fascinating here. Like the hrossagaukur, the snipe, which I hear a lot when I am in the fields. A unique sound. That bird makes no sound at all except when it flies, the wind vibrating through its tail feathers. This time I went to the meadow with Dimmalimm and her friends. All the horses here are friendly and people-oriented. There was a light breeze. Every now and then back to the car to check things, have lunch, warm up and test some sweets. I have received various tips and favourites from my previous trip. I am trying Bingo, Ris, Opal and Pístur. And then the mist came in. I waited a little longer, but after checking the weather app Veður I could see it was not going to improve and some rain was on the way, so I decided to drive back. Along the way I tried again to capture the different colours of the lambs and sheep. When I am on foot they run away the moment they see me coming. From the car I can get closer, but I would rather photograph at their eye level or lower. Zooming in to get real portraits of their heads. My 70-200 works fine for sessions in the Netherlands, but here I notice it sometimes is not enough. For shy animals like these, more zoom reach would be useful, so you can stay at a comfortable distance for them and still get portraits. For now I cannot get close enough, but I keep trying, persistence pays off, or maybe not. Back at the farm I transfer the photos to the laptop and back up to the hard drive as quickly as possible, so that if a foal is born I can be ready to go immediately. There is quite a lot of computer work involved in photography, more than most people realise. To capture as much detail as possible I shoot in RAW. These files need to be processed, it is not a format that looks its best straight out of the camera. That happens on the computer, what you used to do in the darkroom: editing the way I saw it or the way I like it, then exporting as JPEG so I can print them as large art pieces or use them on social media or my website. So that means importing, sorting, editing and exporting. Plus other tasks like website and social media. Surprised with a baked treat, vatnsdeigsbollur, made by Berglind. A kind of cream puff with whipped cream and jam, and in this house also with chocolate spread. Delicious. My kind of treat. In Iceland they normally eat these in February. Then time for a shower and a bit more computer work. I could not resist taking a look at the photos from earlier in the trip with Anna and Janneke, editing the shots from their competition in Reykjavík. That does not go so well on a laptop with a touchpad, which is why I want to do most of it at home on a screen where I know the colours are accurate, with my Wacom tablet and my own software, so I can do everything properly in one go. Ended the evening with a good pizza, more editing and a series on television.
Photographing the Youngsters
Photographing the herd of Reyr with two new mares added to the herd
Photographing around the farm
Monday June 8th
A photo day. Photographing horses and sheep around the farm. Iceland is wonderful, the weather is beautiful and I am so happy to be here. Light is incredibly important for photography. At home my favourite time to shoot is around sunrise and sunset, when the golden hour kicks in and the light is soft. I love photographing with the light coming from behind the horses so they get a beautiful rim of light around them, and I sometimes use trees to filter the light. Here in Iceland I have to figure out all over again what works and what does not, how to best show the landscape, the horses, the unique colours and characters. Wide open landscapes, wonderful views. The sun sets here at around midnight and rises again around 1:45am. In my head everything has to be perfect straight away and I immediately think of all the great photos of horses in Iceland that scroll past from other people. I have to keep reminding myself to enjoy the process and try things out. Figuring out at what time and where I can best photograph on a sunny day, at what time on a cloudy day. Which people and horses in Iceland I work well with, and that in order to improve I really am allowed to take bad photos, so that I learn and hopefully eventually make good ones too. Just like with the rest of life, I find that difficult, making mistakes. In my head I want everything to be perfect. Often my fear holds me back, but I am allowed to be myself. Since my treatment, because I have less feeling in my feet and have become slower in my head, I have become clumsier, and with that more of a blooper person. Films like Soof and Bridget Jones feel like a feast of recognition to me. Tripping over the tall tufts of grass, half getting stuck climbing over a fence, thinking my car will not start and then realising it is already in gear and that is why it will not start, standing in a meadow at sunset and realising I could have been in a better spot for this light. I also have to figure out all over again at which moments it is best to photograph in the meadow and which moments it is better to use the fence as protection. Reading the light and the weather for the best photography moments. And even more important than that, or actually the most important thing, is getting to know and read the horses every time, with every new group. The interaction within the herd, the behaviour of horses. The composition of a group of horses in nature, things like whether there is a stallion or not makes a difference. New horses in a group makes a difference. A herd with or without foals. A mixed group of different ages or a group of mainly young horses. The size of the space they are in. The character of each individual horse: what they are comfortable with, what they find interesting or exciting. Anticipating behaviour so I can create a certain image. Sensing when horses feel I am too close and want to move away, when they are about to roll, run, yawn or flehmen. For me and my work and the project that also means it is more useful to stay longer in one spot, or to come back more often, so I get to know the horses, the location, the weather and the light better. Getting to know the owners better and understanding what their wishes are. And the other way around too: the animals getting to know me, and knowing what my way of working is and what to expect. I must not freeze when I find something exciting, but scary, and stay in my safe bubble, but find a balance, sometimes really get into action, go out, make mistakes, to learn more and take better photos.
A photosession with Jodís and her horse Óslogi and dog,Ugla
While I was busy exporting from my cards, backing up and charging batteries, Berglind came to my room. One of the mares in the herd of Reyr was in labor. She saw the signs when she watched them from the house with her binoculars. So I needed to be quick and grab my gear, my raincoat and trousers. The rest were waiting in the car.
On the grey rainy day the grey mare delivered a chestnut filly with a star. Unfortunately we were a bit too late, she was already out. But it was beautiful to watch the herd meet the herds new addition, trying to stand and drink from her mother. The mare was very sweet and patient and helped her foal along the way, lifting her leg so she could find the udder better.
An early morning for a daytrip PUFFINS. I am so excited! Next to photographing herd of Icelandic Horses a big thing on my photography bucket list.
An early start to be there before it get’s really busy. A gorgeous roadtrip. It took me a bit to find the right spot because google dicided that it was in the middle of the village instead of some kilometers later outside it.
What an amazing spot to watch these colorful, clumsy birds. I could photograph them for days. This made me so, so happy.
On the way back going back down a the mountain weird sounds come from the car. I give him a little break. After I start him up again it like nothing happend.
I use google maps to guide me, but I wonder some times does it always the choose the save, smartest roads?
Outing to Bustarfell old farmhouse life in Iceland
Really smal short beds, lot of people in small rooms and beatifull hand craft
ending the visit of with a chocolate feast warm chocolate milk and a big piece of chocolate cake
Youngsters group and photographing sheep
Tried a piece of shark (frozen)
A fun outing with the family to photograph dog, Ugla
The plan was to go to Elephant Rock – too foggy so we picked a beach closer to Vöpnafjorður to photograph Ugla
Time to leave Refsstaður for the next fase of the adventure.
I hope to come back to this nice place
Icelandic I learned at Refsstaður:
Good dayGoede dag - Góðan dag
Thank you for the nice meal - Bedankt voor het lekkere eten. - Takk fyrir mig.
Podcast list https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6TMc94FzhUJc3M2ugcLEUI?si=PjXK4vmASG-EAtK02gSZdQ&pi=FXQpxxwtSrCX4
Music list https://link.deezer.com/s/33tDW4tvQyBrXruhLU62H
Thank you Berglind, Skuli, Jódís, Stefan and Gíslína for your hospitality. So kind of you to share your house, food, horses, sheep and dogs during my stay. Takk fyrir gistinguna og frábæra gestrisni ! Hlakka til að koma aftur.