This is the first in a series of posts containing old 35mm photos from the last few years. Photos which I eagerly awaited to see developed, but then never really did anything with once i’d got them back in the post from the lab.
Occasionally I stumble across them on old USB sticks or in untitled folders on my desktop and it seems like a waste as they almost inevitably stir up memories. So i’m going to try and gather them up and give them a home, and write a few words to give them a little context.
These ones were all taken in Iceland in early-April 2015 where I spent a handful of days driving around with Finn and Nik in a small red hire car.
It feels like Iceland has become this place you go to so you can come back with photos. I was definitely guilty of sharing that mindset, and I don’t think these photos offer any new perspective, but remember being genuinely struck by how alien and bleak but beautiful things looked in every direction. Now if I come across another Instagram of a waterfall or the lagoon or that crashed plane I will probably just groan a little inside and keep scrolling.
But I have lots of small special memories, like driving through fog listening to the Interstellar soundtrack, figuring out how to pay a parking ticket in Reykjavik, and meeting our Airbnb host who was extremely proud of his internet speeds.
This was a short trip but I remember feeling like we’d seen a lot and clicked in this cool way that doesn’t always happen when you travel with friends – even good ones.
Soon after we returned home the three of us booked flights to LA where we’d spend two weeks driving through California and Oregon later that summer.