‘Even I can’t mess this up’: Behind the lens in Iceland with the ‘actually dangerous photographer’

As the outdated adage goes, an image is price a thousand phrases. Light, shadows, depth of subject and color can all be used to seize a way of place and inform a vacation spot’s story. Icelandair, nonetheless, determined to show that principle on its head.

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And usually, when an airline launches a seek for a brand new photographer, you’d anticipate a pristine portfolio to be a part of the applying. That was not the case with Blanche Mortemard, who had one thing slightly totally different: a “camera roll of bad photos”, as described to Euronews Travel.

Out of 127,642 individuals who got here ahead to share their, nicely, lack of photographic expertise within the hopes of being topped the “world’s worst photographer”, it was Mortemard’s assortment of snaps that stood out.

The service got down to show that even somebody with zero pictures abilities can take nice photographs of the Nordic island as a part of its “Really Bad Photographer” marketing campaign.

“This is part four of our ‘Real Unreal’ umbrella,” Gísli S. Brynólfsson, Icelandair’s director of world advertising, advised Euronews Travel, including that since 2025, the service has been emphasising the nation’s authenticity and realness as a vacation spot of alternative in opposition to the rise of AI-generated pictures and unfold of deceptive journey data.

“When it comes to representing Iceland in images, there simply is no need for AI.”

Real Unreal began when Icelandair shared images on its social media platforms of eruptions within the volcanic Reykjanes Peninsula in addition to scenes from the Northern Lights.

“This sparked conversation about whether the photos were real or not, and we realised people had just stopped trusting images on the internet related to Iceland,” Brynólfsson mentioned.

So, when it got here to their newest marketing campaign, the concept was easy: the actual Iceland doesn’t want filters to impress, nor a talented photographer both.

“We believe that Iceland is that real and that beautiful that even the worst photographer is able to take a beautiful photo in Iceland,” he added.

What made Mortemard’s portfolio stand out? Well, as you may think, selecting one dangerous photographer out of a mountain of functions was no straightforward job.

In Mortemard’s case, nonetheless, her “lack of talent isn’t something you can imitate”, Brynólfsson mentioned.

Ten days in Iceland

Over the course of 10 days, Mortemard, a Paris native who till just lately had by no means visited Iceland, took as many as 7,000 photographs of the island.

“I knew what the country looked like, thanks to there being so many photos of Iceland online,” she advised Euronews Travel.

“Before ever visiting, I had seen the landscapes, the glaciers, mountains and waterfalls, but I never would have believed there would be so many different landscapes all around me that I would see during such a short period of time.”

Her tour started recent off the aircraft, in Reykjanes, round 50 kilometres away from the capital, Reykjavik, as she launched her unconventional profession as a nasty photographer.

With her trusty digicam in hand, she noticed the peninsula’s lava fields, the geothermal water of the Blue Lagoon, met locals and even challenged a fellow vacationer to a worst photographer battle to see who may snap a horrible image.

After working up an urge for food, she was handled to freshly baked rye bread, which reminded her of French “pain de campagne” – a country sourdough loaf.

The remainder of her pictures expedition took her to Icelandic sights such because the picturesque Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and the Hverfjall volcano.

Along the way in which, she additionally had a bingo card of challenges, which included taking an “iconic selfie”, witnessing a geyser erupt, taking a photograph with a humorous highway signal, and seeing 20 waterfalls.

Exploring the nation’s exceptional landscapes, nonetheless, didn’t shake her dangerous photographer crown, even an inch.

“There were lots of times where I would see the mountains and waterfalls and think, ‘even I can’t mess this up’, but I’m still credible as a bad photographer,” she mentioned.

Perusing by means of a sneak preview of her current portfolio, this journey journalist did spot her finger often making an look within the body.

“As time went on, I did improve,” she mentioned. “I started thinking more about what I wanted to capture and where my fingers are – in fact, most of my photos had my fingers in them,” she mentioned, including that there should be a minimum of one award-winning snap within the bunch.

While a coveted pictures award is probably not within the bag simply but, what’s for sure is she is leaving the expertise along with her personal private favorite snaps.

“I feel the best photo of the trip was at Kerlingarfjöll,” she mentioned, including that the colors of the mountain vary, plus her newly discovered composition abilities, confirmed up so nicely on her digicam.

“The second would be at Vestrahorn – here I think was a turning point for me,” she mentioned.

“I managed to capture the atmosphere: the mountain had a crown of clouds and the sand was gliding across the ground. This was one of the first times I didn’t just press ‘click’, I decided the angle and what I wanted to share with everyone through my picture.”

Not solely does she depart the expertise with new-found pictures abilities, Mortemard mentioned she’s now a special traveller, too.

After her highway journey by means of Iceland, the place she acquired to see and expertise various things in a single journey, she sees herself doing that sooner or later: “I’ll think more about road tripping, rather than just staying in one place for too long.”

If, like this journey journalist, you’re desperate to see the ultimate product of Mortemard’s distinctive fashion of pictures and meet her in individual, her photographs shall be gracing the partitions of London’s White Rabbit Studios from 11-12 September. There are additionally future plans to showcase her skills throughout different cities in Europe and North America.

Exploring Iceland with the ‘really bad photographer’

Where Blanche Mortemard went

• Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest Iceland
• Gígjagjá cave (in any other case referred to as the “Yoda Cave”), in Hjörleifshöfði. Mortemard was particularly fascinated by the black sands
• Stuðlagil canyon, in Jokuldalur Valley
• Hverfjall, in Mývatn the place Mortemard went mountain climbing
• Önundarfjörður Pier within the Westfjords
  A full map of the place her Icelandic travels took her may be discovered here.

New meals she preferred (and maybe didn’t like a lot)

• Rúgbrauð: Icelandic rye bread
• Kjötsúpa: Icelandic hearty lamb stew and Mortemard’s private favorite from the journey
• Hákarl: A fermented shark dish, which, in accordance with Mortemard, is “nice to try… but only once”.
• Plokkfiskur: Fish stew made with a béchamel sauce and potatoes
• Pönnukaka: Thin pancakes