Jakub Polomski’s Iceland: Seven Aerial Perspectives

A familiar Iceland view can become a new picture when the camera rises. In these seven photographs by Jakub Polomski, a lighthouse becomes part of a headland’s outline, a glacier becomes a branching texture and a waterfall reveals the plateau above it. The change in viewpoint is the subject as much as the places themselves.

Dyrhólaey headland and lighthouse above dark cliffs and pale water — Dyrhólaey: the elevated view reveals the shape of the headland. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

Polomski photographed Iceland during a July 2015 journey. His Iceland drone project is the original source for the aerial work. This small selection concentrates on recognisable landscape settings; the larger companion essay examines recurring shapes.

Coast, ice and volcanic ground

Dyrhólaey’s lighthouse sits within a much broader geometry of cliffs, grass and water. The old article mentioned a short-lived 2015 accommodation promotion at the lighthouse. It does not establish current accommodation availability.

Blue lake enclosed by irregular volcanic rock and patches of snow — Lakagígar area in the original photographer’s series. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

Top-down view of Jökulsárlón ice and a curving shoreline path — The shoreline separates two strongly contrasting textures. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

Floating ice under a low grey sky at Jökulsárlón — A lower aerial angle brings the horizon back into the picture. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

The volcanic lake has a contained, irregular outline. At Jökulsárlón, the subject opens out into scattered ice. Comparing the overhead frame with the lower view shows what the horizon contributes: one image looks almost like a map, while the other restores a sense of distance and weather.

Follow the direction of the water

Crevassed glacier spreading between dark mountains towards muddy water — Fláajökull in the original collection. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

Tall geyser plume rising above paths and green ground — The Geysir geothermal area from above. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

Skógafoss falling from a green plateau into a shadowed pool — Skógafoss: an aerial angle reveals the land around the fall. Credit: Jakub Polomski.

The glacier runs towards its foreground, the geyser rises vertically and the waterfall drops over an edge. Those three directions give the photographs different kinds of energy. A strong aerial image does more than show a place from high up; it gives the eye a line or shape to follow.

For current flight planning, consult Vatnajökull National Park’s drone guidance and the relevant rules for each other location. Some areas and times are restricted. The permissions applicable to a new flight cannot be inferred from a 2015 photograph.

For a ground-level comparison, explore Polomski’s Iceland landscape essay. To look more closely at circles, curves and repeated textures, continue to twelve patterns in his aerial collection.

Glacier, lagoon and geothermal area are different landforms

Fláajökull is a glacier tongue, while Jökulsárlón is a lagoon containing ice that has separated from a glacier. Their proximity within a photographic sequence can conceal that difference. One image concerns flowing land ice and its edge; another concerns water and detached pieces moving within it. Naming the landform helps a reader understand more than its colour or texture.

Lakagígar adds the pattern of a volcanic fissure system, while the Geysir area introduces geothermal activity at the surface. A reference to Geysir should not become a promise that the named geyser erupts on a convenient schedule. The different processes are part of what makes the collection varied, rather than evidence that every Icelandic attraction is some version of the same volcanic spectacle.

The lighthouse's setting is more enduring than the accommodation promotion attached to it in 2015. Look at how the building supplies scale within the headland and how the cliff edge divides land from water. From above, those relationships can become clearer than the structure's individual details. The short-lived lodging arrangement belongs to the history of the feature, so it should not guide a current booking. Polomski's photograph still has plenty to offer as a view of a recognisable building within a much larger coastal shape.

Sources, photography and further reading

Original feature and image attributions:

Jakub Polomski’s Iceland: Seven Aerial Perspectives

Coast, ice and volcanic ground

Follow the direction of the water

Glacier, lagoon and geothermal area are different landforms

Sources, photography and further reading

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