Diamond Beach

Where the lagoon empties into the Atlantic, the outflow carries icebergs through the channel and the surf throws them back onto the black sand of Breiðamerkursandur — Diamond Beach. Chunks from fist-sized to car-sized lie scattered along the tideline, polished clear or streaked glacier-blue, and every high tide clears the gallery and restocks it.

Low light is everything here. At sunrise or sunset the sun sits behind or beside the ice and each block lights up internally like cut glass — the shots that made the beach famous are all backlit. Get low, close to a clear berg, and let the couple stand beyond it; or go long and place two figures among a field of ice. After a storm the beach can be crowded with bergs; after a quiet warm spell, nearly empty — there is no guarantee, which is worth saying to clients in advance.

The same ocean rules as every south-coast beach apply, with one addition: the surf shifts ice, and a wave that reaches a berg can move it. Keep upslope of any large block near the waterline, never pose anyone on or between bergs in the surf zone, and watch the sneaker-wave line constantly. The west side of the river mouth is usually less crowded than the east car park.