Almost every photographer or tourist visiting Iceland have been to Seljalandfoss, one of the most popular waterfalls. Very few of these have been to, or even heard of Gljúfrabúi which is right around the corner.
Gljúfrabúi is in my opinion among the most impressive waterfalls on Iceland, and surprisingly it is still somewhat unknown. The waterfall is located just 500 meters away from the highly trafficked Seljalandfoss, there even is a small sign that leads you to it.
Now, I must admit that I was also one of these people who didn't know the name or location of this beautiful waterfall. I had seen images from it before, but I was not aware about where it was. When we discovered this small canyon and I realised where that this was the place I had seen a couple shots of before, I forgot about Seljalandfoss and gave all my attention to this beauty.
We had arrived Seljalandfoss a while before sunrise, hoping to get some classic shots of this place. Even tho the sun was yet to rise, two tourist busses and more cars were already on the parking. For those who have been to Iceland, you know that the weather is tough to predict, and during the winter you don't really know what awaits. This morning was a grey morning, and the shots I got from Seljalandfoss were rather boring. Therefor it was a easy decision to take the walk further up the path.
This shot turned out to be one of my most challenging shoots so far. Due to the wind and power of the waterfall, I was constantly getting sprayed. I was performing the well known waterfall technique "wipe-shoot-wipe". Even tho the lens only was exposed to the water for 0.6 seconds, it was soaked. I'm just happy I bought a rain cover for my camera the day before!
The few images I had seen from Gljúfrabúi before was a person standing on the rock. Surely I had to get this selfie for myself too, but I also wanted to get a different angle then what I had seen before. I decided to get my waders, and ended up in the middle of this rushing river. Even tho the water only was knee deep, the current was surprisingly strong. I planted my tripod as deep into the ground and held on so it didn't shake.
Gljúfrabúi waterfall on Iceland
If you are planning a trip to Iceland, I strongly recommend you to give a visit to Gljúfrabúi. During my trip to Iceland, this place still remains as one of my favorite locations. Also it is very likely that you find yourself at Seljalandfoss, so do take the short walk and enjoy this scene for yourself!