Brilliant Self-Portraits Add a Human Touch to Iceland's Epic Landscapes

“I can’t recall a single person who’s been [to Iceland] and has not been affected by its beauty.” – Jarrad Seng

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Jarrad Seng doesn’t mince words when he talks about Iceland: the place is magical, he says. It first captured his imagination in 2013 when he went there to capture the island’s volcanic rivers and surreal terrain from the air, and when he left he knew he’d be going back before long.

“I needed to go back,” he told us yesterday. “So when a few dates opened up in the calendar I jumped at the chance.”

The result of this second trip is a series of self-portraits he’s calling The Space Between, and they are absolutely, unequivocally, no-question-about-it some of the most beautiful and captivating images of Iceland we’ve yet seen.

The series is made up of 12 images, each a portrait of Jarrad against the epic Icelandic landscape—from scenes lit up by the aurora borealis to iconic locations like the Skógafoss waterfall.

Traveling around with friend and fellow photographer Benjamin Hardman—who loves Iceland so much he moved there from Perth—Jarrad tried his best explore the connection between man and nature in The Space Between.

He explained this to us in more detail over email:

The Space Between explores […] the sense of feeling both significant and totally insignificant simultaneously in the presence of natures grandeur.

It’s about the space between the world in front of you, and the world beyond. It’s the grey area, it’s the limbo. It’s gazing up at the aurora and feeling like a gateway to another place is opening up before your eyes.

The images themselves were shot via remote control, explains Jarrad:

I would set up and frame the shot on my Canon 5D mkIII, lock it down on a tripod, and then essentially run, climb, and stagger to place myself in the frame.

There were some dicey moments, as you can probably tell from the locations in the pictures. Sometimes there were a bunch of other tourists around as well which made getting half-naked in the cold a slightly more awkward affair.

Awkward or not, it seemed to be worth it. Not only are the results stunning in the appropriate, non-overused sense of the word, the photos are currently being exhibited in Fremantle, Australia at Detail MC until the 24the of November. Plus, each shot he’s shared on 500px has gotten a ton of love.

Here’s the rest of the series for you to feast your eyes on:

Jarrad is an amazing guy, and if you’re not already following him on 500px you need to get on that ASAP. Seriously, do it right now.

In addition to amazing photography, his CV includes things like raising over $10K in 24 hours for the Nepal Earthquake Fund, touring with UK all-star musician Passenger creating photos and films, working with the tourism boards in Dubai, New Zealand, and Australia, and a hilarious little video you should definitely check out if you have 3 free minutes ; )

In addition to 500px, you can find his work on his website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.