The small town of Vik sits roughly in the middle of the south coast of Iceland, nestled on a bed of glacial moraine between two high volcanic ridges. It stands just in from the sea, bounded by a sweeping black-sand beach with vista-like views of the headlands and their punctuating sea stacks, pounded by the ferocity of the North Atlantic. Like most Icelandic towns, Vik is functional rather than pretty, low-rise, steel-clad with corrugated iron roofs. As the largest settlement by far in the area, it has all the essential services, shops and a smattering of hotels.

It is the landscape that steals the show, however. Jagged brooding basalt mountains, covered with algae-like green, loom over the valley like broken teeth against an atmospheric sky. The bright, white and red church stands sentinel on its small moraine hill, visible from everywhere round about. And everywhere you look, the valley floor is carpeted with arctic lupins, their shades of purple, blue and lilac and eye-catching contrast to the sombre tones all around.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105 f4 L IS

June 2015

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