Geitafoss, a kilometre downstream

A short walk downstream from Goðafoss, the Skjálfandafljót drops again at Geitafoss — a wide, low fall in a narrowing canyon. It is a fraction of a kilometre from a car park that holds coaches, and yet most days you will have it to yourself, because almost nobody continues past the famous one.

That solitude is the whole proposition. Here a session can slow down: no queue for a stance, nobody in the background, and time to try the same frame at three different distances. The fall itself is broad and rhythmic rather than dramatic, which suits people-first pictures — couple in the foreground, water as a moving texture behind. Canyon walls on both sides keep the wind down and hold the light soft for much of the day, and a slower shutter turns the whole width to silk without needing heavy filters.

Light and season: the canyon runs roughly north, so the sun crosses it from the side and the walls put half the frame in shade — good for faces, and worth watching so the couple is not the half in shadow. Summer evenings are long and empty here; in winter the short low sun reaches the water for only part of the day, and the path can be icy or snowed over, which is often the point at which this spot becomes a bad idea rather than a quiet one.

Practical: the path along the river is rough in places, on grass, gravel and rock, and is not maintained to the standard of the main viewpoints — flat shoes and a bit of care, and expect ten to fifteen minutes each way. There are no fences anywhere along it: keep back from the bank, which is undercut in places, and remember the river above and below is fast and cold. In winter, treat the whole walk as an ice risk and take spikes or skip it.