Where are the diamonds? There was virtually no ice washed up onto the beach.

Finding a clean composition can be tricky.

I could get photos by using a wide angle shot and getting close to the ice.

You would think these are quite large, but they are actually quite small.

A huge car park is here now that was once just a small gravel area.

Diamond Beach

July 3, 2023 in Iceland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

I couldn't leave here without visiting Diamond Beach. This is on the opposite side of the road to the lagoon and is made up of jet black sand. Ice that leaves the lagoon through the channel can be washed back onto the beach and the ice then looks like diamonds on black velvet, hence the name.

Right now there is hardly any ice and what is there is small fragments. I've previously seen ice here almost the size of cars, but that was wintertime. Maybe summer is different.

At first I thought there would be no photography opportunities but I soon realised the trick was to get a wide shot taken very close to the ice. The problem with this approach is the waves hitting the beach and the potential to get wet. The video here demonstrates this.

In the end I've got some photos that I think work so my time wasn't wasted by any means. Once again this location has had the Tourist Makeover and looks very different to when I was here in 2018. It's still well worth visiting, but a few more diamonds would have been nice.Read more