It was many moons ago when listening to the BBC Shipping Forecast in my native Cornwall, that I first heard mention of the Faroe Islands. Although I guessed that they must have been somewhere up in the North Atlantic, I’m not ashamed to admit that I knew absolutely nothing about them; after all, few people had back then. It was only after this tiny island nation of less than 50,000 souls joined UEFA in 1990 and began to play the home nations and the Republic of Ireland, that I noticed news and articles about the Faroes appearing in the mainstream media. They sounded fascinating, despite the occasional media opprobrium for their controversial whaling activity.

Located north of Scotland and midway between Iceland and Norway, this arrowhead-shaped archipelago of 18 basalt crags on the very edge of Europe were born of volcanic activity some 55 million years ago. Shrouded in mist and fog for many days of the year, they soar dramatically straight up out of the wild North Atlantic Ocean and are bedecked with a verdure resembling crumpled green velvet. Settled by Vikings during the ninth century, the Faroes were probably discovered and first inhabited in the mid-sixth century by Irish monks. Indeed, Saint Brendan the Navigator dubbed them ‘the islands of the sheep and the paradise of the birds’. Today they are a self-governing part of the Danish kingdom with their own language, parliament and currency, and are still largely undiscovered by mainstream tourism, although there are signs that this is changing...

Their often turbulent weather creates an ever-changing backdrop to pyramidal mountains, petrol-blue fjords, gnarly sea stacks and roaring waterfalls plunging down over vertiginous coastal cliffs that harbour thousands of wailing seabirds, making them a spectacular Nordic version of Hawaii. In the summer they have almost 24 hours of daylight and it never gets really dark. Sunrise and sunset seem to merge into one, creating dramatic light conditions which are enough to send photograpers into rhapsody! In winter the days are short with around five hours of daylight, and the remarkably clear air sometimes bestows the landscape with an exceptional light and luminosity. On clear nights the aurora can dance across star-strewn skies.

Mercurial, melancholy, magical, mysterious, bewitching, beguiling, wild, elemental - these words are all fitting descriptions of the Faroe Islands. From the moment you first spot their basalt peaks from the air – poking up through the cloud, their tops sometimes frosted white with snow – to the thrilling descent over Vágafjørður past skyscraper-high cliffs into the tiny airport of Vágar, you sense you're in for a true photographic extravaganza.

On the Faroes you're never far from the sea, and its influence is all pervading. The instant you leave the airport on the western island of Vágar you can smell the briny ocean in the nostril-stinging salt-laden air which is full of the cries of seabirds. Just a stone's throw away is one of the most incredible views you're likely to see anywhere in the world: the Trælanípa cliffs and Lake Sørvágsvatn. Getting there involves a 3km walk along an official trail from a car park at the end of an unmade road at Miðvágurt, a village on the outskirts of Sandavágur. Follow the 'Trælanípa/Bøsdalafossur' roadsigns from Miðvágur church. 

Since our last photo tour in March 2019, foreign tourists now have to pay a hefty fee of DKK 200 (nearly 27 euro) to hike to Trælanípa, with the amount payable by cash or credit card at the gate leading from the car park. Paying to hike and/or gain access to many places in the Faroes, with some routes stipulating that a guide is mandatory, unfortunately seems to be coming the norm, and is undoubtedly the price to be paid (pardon the pun!) for increased numbers of tourists. Please do not use the route running close to the lake shore accessed from a layby off route 11, as this has been closed.

This location works well in the mornings when the cliffs and lake are lit by the sun from the east. Around midsummer the sun sets over the lake and mountains to the right of Vágar Airport. The image below was shot in early-July at almost 11.00pm when we were making our way back to the car park thinking that the light was done for the day. In the Faroes, you can never be certain of anything weather-wise, and we were pretty annoyed when the sky suddenly exploded with colour. Luckily, we managed to find this tiny stream which provides a strong leading line towards Lake Sørvágsvatn and the fire in the sky beyond.  The trail, which is very muddy in places, traverses open mountainside above the 6km long lake which curves its way round the base of a prominent hill. It's a fairly easy hike until the end when you have a steepish climb out onto a small headland. From here the vertiginous cliffs soar upward like the prow of an enormous ship, and plunge nearly 150m straight down into the roiling ocean. Lake Sørvágsvatn appears to be perched high above the Atlantic, floating like a mirage between sea and sky. This is actually an optical illusion as the lake is only about 30m above sea level. Trælanípa means 'slave cliff' or 'slave rock' in Faroese. This name allegedly dates from the Viking era when disobedient or unwanted slaves were hurled from these cliffs into the ocean to their certain death. 

This is a big site with oodles of possibilities for various types of images, so give yourself plenty of time. A wide angle or fish-eye lens comes in handy when trying to capture the enormity of this landscape. A zoom lens is also useful for homing in on birds; we were treated to a skein of wild geese flying overhead on our last visit. We think Trælanípa warrants a multi-frame (vertical) panorama. However, great care must be taken when photographing here, particularly in high wind and in wet or icy conditions, as there are no fences and one slip would mean that you'd undoubtedly meet the same fate as those unfortunate Viking slaves! During our last visit it was impossible to get into exactly the position we desired on account of the ferocious wind at our backs.

 At the southern end of Sørvágsvatn the water leaves the lake to enter the Atlantic over the spectacular Bøsdalafossur Falls. Climbing carefully down over the slabby basalt cliffs to a vantage point overlooking the falls and the jagged coastline marching away behind, we've been confronted with unmissable views of the Atlantic churned to milk by the fury of the wind and ocean currents. With enormous swells crashing against the cliff base with the Geitisskoradrangur sea stack, a great shark's tooth of rock looming up out of the sea spray, this spot really epitomises the Faroes, as you feel you're standing on the very edge of the world. Again, be very careful here, as you'd not survive if you slipped and fell into the ocean.

The 313 metre high Trøllkonufingur (Troll woman’s finger, or Witch's Finger) on Vágar, is a true statement in stone. Indeed, this basalt monolith soaring into the sky with the restless ocean sucking menacingly at its foot, seems to be like a giant exclamation mark which really encapsulates the epic landscapes of the Faroe Islands, and is one of the features you first see when flying into Vágar Airport. This is a good dawn location, especially if you get the sun rising over the mountains in the distance. We have not been very fortunate with dramatic light at this location so far, but even the dullest day cannot diminish the majesty and elemental nature of this feature.

The location is accessed via Sandavágur where you follow the road signs marked ‘Trøllkonufingur’. From here the road winds its way along the cliff top and terminates in a small car park. A muddy trail then takes you gently uphill for a few hundred metres. There are limited places from which to photograph the Trøllkonufingur due to the dangerous cliff edge, so it’s advisable to arrive early if you want a prime spot with an unimpeded view.

On everyone's Faroe Islands' wish list is a close-up view of the spiny-backed island of Tindhólmur, and Drangarnir, the collective name for a couple of sea stacks - the holed Stóri Drangur (Large sea stack) and pillar-like Lítli Drangur (Small sea stack) - sited near the mouth of Sørvágsfjørður on the island of Vágar. The best views of these are from a headland facing them, but you cannot visit this place independently. You must hire and pay a local guide who will walk you through his private land to the viewpoint, taking you along the safest terrain and showing you the best spots for photography. The rendezvous point is the Effo petrol station by the harbour in the village of Sørvágur where there is plenty of parking.

The hike out to the headland is a fairly tough one, with some very steep and highly exposed sections where a slip would probably be fatal, so it's not really recommended for the faint-hearted or for novice hikers, especially in inclement weather conditions. You need to be properly clad in warm, waterproof clothing and shod in hiking boots with a deep lug and firm ankle support. Allow at least five to six hours and bring a full suite of lenses to enable you to capture a variety of images. For an additional small cost, you can arrange for a local boat to come and collect you, saving you having to walk back to Sørvágur, which is highly recommended as it's a pretty thrilling experience and you get some great close-up views of the sea stacks from sea level!

This spot works best when the sun is setting and you might be treated to some interesting light on the western horizon. Our guide was happy to ensure that our group was there at the optimal time, even if the weather left a lot to be desired! There are many vantage points along the route that we took offering panoramic shots of Sørvágsfjørður, Tindhólmur and Drangarnir from an elevated point along a ridge, and also of the enormous cliffs to the southeast, where thousands of wailing sea birds fly to and from precarious ledges many hundreds of metres above the seething ocean. 

But the best and most epic vantage point is from the ledges at the base of the cliffs opposite Stóri Drangur with Tindhólmur just peeking out behind (Lítli Drangur isn't visible from here). On our visit the tide was far too rough and dangerous to risk setting up our tripods on the lowest ledge, so we selected a slightly higher one, using some converging crevices in the lichen-covered rocks as a kind of leading line pointing towards the hole in the base of Stóri Drangur. And as the light wasn't the best, we opted for a moody long exposure.

The classic fairytale view of the Faroes is probably the Múlafossur Falls located right on the western tip of Vágar on the edge of Mykinesfjørður. This great skein of water has eroded a bowl-shaped depression in the cliffs where it plunges dramatically into the seething ocean. Above the falls and dwarfed by the nearby mountains, the highest on the island, the diminutive village of Gásadalur is laid out like an architect's model.

For centuries the villagers really did live 'life on the edge'. To reach the neighbouring village of Bøur (where the fishermen had to moor their boats due to a lack of suitable anchorage in Gásadalur), entailed a strenuous walk over the steep mountains between the two. In 1940, during the British occupation of the Faroe Islands, a stairway was built from a landing site up the cliffs towards the village, but was never very successful as it lay too far above the shoreline. Unsurprisingly, the population dwindled to just 16 souls by 2002. But in 2004, this lonely village was thrown a lifeline when it was connected by tunnel and road to Bøur and beyond.

You can now drive with ease to the village where there is a designated parking area. A short walk down a gravel trackway running along the clifftops to the south brings you to the top of the concrete steps built by the British. The viewpoints here are good but rather limited, so if you want to bag the best spot, especially for the sunset, arrive early! There are doubtless excellent views of the falls to be had by taking the crumbling concrete steps down towards the old landing spot, but a 'no entry' sign has been erected. In the Faroes, someone always seems to be watching you, so if you do not want an angry local chasing you to give you a telling off, it's best (and safer) to keep out!

Situated on the north-west tip of Eysturoy is the village of Eiði, settled by Vikings in the ninth century. It's claim to fame has to be its artificial turf football pitch situated on a narrow neck of land between Niðara Vatn and the ocean. As a new football ground has been created in the village, this old pitch has been decomissioned and turned into a campsite. We stayed there in our Land Rover Defender during the 2018 Football World Cup, which was a tad bizarre! But Eiði has another surprise in store: its waterfall, fed by a small stream. In heavy rain or after snowmelt, this cascades down over some cliffs to the northeast of the old football pitch. We tend to visit later in the day when the cliffs are lit by the sun (if there is any!).

There is space to park outside the gates of the campsite. From there you head off up and over some rock shelves to the right. A short walk brings you to a rocky overhang where you will see the waterfall if the stream is in spate. We've never clambered down any lower onto the bottom shelf of rock which is slick with algae, and has always been far too dangerous in the racing tide during our visits. Our favourite image from here is a long exposure capture which smoothed out the tide and waterfall, creating a dreamy effect.

Staying with the subject of waterfalls - no tour of the Faroes would be complete without a visit to the largest waterfall in the islands: Fossá near the village of Haldórsvik on the eastern side of Streymoy. Fed by a stream that flows out of Víkarvatn high on the mountain platueau above, the falls plunge towards the sea for around 140 meters in two stages over huge shelves of rock.

It's at its most magnificent after heavy rainfall or snowmelt, but like all waterfalls it can be hard to capture due to wind and spray as we have discovered! Certainly getting the full height of the falls into frame is difficult. This location is best on a dull day, as the contrast levels between the cascading water and surrounding cliffs can be too high in bright light. Wear a raincoat as it can get quite wet in the swirling spray, and wellies, or preferably waders, to enable you to cross the river or to stand in it to capture your shots. There's limited space to park alongside the road, and this location can get busy in summer as it's a picnic spot. For this reason we have always preferred to photograph the upper falls where we haven't been disturbed by anyone.

To get up there you first need to climb up the steep bank towards the base of the cliffs to the right of the picnic area. From there, follow a faint track (which looks as if it's been made by a one-legged sheep!) which crosses the steep hillside below the cliffs towards the foot of a gully. Care must be taken here, because if you slipped you'd end up falling some distance onto the road below. A scramble up the gully, which can be mucky and slippery after wet weather, brings you to the base of the cliffs forming the upper shelf. Proceed towards the falls on a track similar to the one below.

Great curtains of water cascade over the basalt cliffs which form an impressive amphitheatre. Using a wide angle lens means you can capture a horizontal image without sacrificing the full circular sweep of the banded cliff face. When the river is in spate, the falls are simply magnificent and endless compositions are possible. If you want to capture the full height of the falls and its river valley, it's possible to get a shot from across the fjord alongside route 62 on Eysturoy by using a zoom lens.

Another of the highlights of our phototours is the hike out to the Kallur Lighthouse on Kalsoy Island in the north-east of the archipelago. Situated between the islands of Eysturoy and Kunoy, its name means ‘man island’, but locals have nick-named it ‘the flute’, on account of its long thin shape and the four road tunnels that link its four tiny settlements - Húsar, Mikladalur, Syðradalur and Trøllanes - which have a combined population of about 150.

The island is served by a mail boat (named Sam) which makes regular crossings from the port of Klaksvík on the island of Borðoy to the village of Syðradalur. From here you drive to the northernmost tiny farming community of Trøllanes to pick up the Kallur Lighthouse trailhead. This entails passing through the narrow, cold, damp tunnels, the longest of which is over 2 km long. These are all dimly lit and one lane only, and are a somewhat daunting proposition for those unused to driving in such conditions!

There is a small car park serving the village where it’s safe to leave your vehicle. There are no official trail markers, but beyond a red gate the path is easy to follow, and the famous lighthouse is soon spotted on the horizon. Hiking this path can be rough and muddy during most of the year, and although it’s not a difficult hike, fog can also engulf the area making it somewhat challenging. Once you reach the lighthouse however, it’s a different ball game altogether. To gain the coveted and epic Instagram view, you will need to progress past it onto a promontory to the north which is accessed via a badly eroded knife edge arête with death-defying drops to the seething ocean on either side. This would be a very foolhardy undertaking in high wind and rain, ice or snow, or in poor visibility. Indeed, on our last phototour the wind was so ferocious, we decided not to attempt to cross it.

The view of the lighthouse, built in 1927, dwarfed by the mighty saw-toothed Borgarin Mountain (537m) rising ominously behind it, is certainly worth the squeaky bum moment! The Faroes give the Emerald Isle a run for its money in terms of moss and grass, and the western coast of Kalsoy has dramatically steep cliffs with neon-green promontories, the angle of repose of which defy the laws of gravity and physics. The sight of matchstick figures walking out along one such ridge of another promontory to the east of the lighthouse will long linger in the mind. Although moody shots are possible here at any time of the day, in summer the sun sets roughly to the right behind you out on the promontory and can colour the cloud behind the lighthouse. Although it's our preferred time of day to shoot, this is dependent on the ferry which does not always run late in the evening, particularly in midsummer, meaning you'd have to stay on the island. Like Trælanípa, this is a big landscape, so allow plenty of time to photograph 'the light at the end of the world'! Again,our preferred option is a multi-frame (vertical) panorama.

In addition to offering face-slapping views, the northern parts of Kalsoy are also an important birding area. In summer, the towering cliffs are a critical breeding place for seabirds like Atlantic puffins, European storm petrels, and black guillemots, and their haunting and incessant cries fill the air adding to the otherworldly atmosphere. 

Before hopping on the ferry back to Klaksvík, be sure to make some time to visit the Statue of Kópakonan in the village of Mikladalur. The legend of Kópakonan, literally meaning 'the Seal Woman' or 'Selkie', is one of the best-known folktales in the Faroe Islands. Seals were believed to be former humans who voluntarily sought death in the ocean. Once a year, on Thirteenth Night, they were allowed to come ashore, shed their skins, and enjoy themselves as human beings.

However, on one such night, a Mikladalur fisherman stole the skin of a beautiful Selkie. He refused to return it, and locked it away in a chest, the key to which he kept on a chain attached to his belt. Forced to become his wife, she bore him two children. However, one day he went fishing but forgot to take the key to the chest with him. The Selkie retrieved her skin and escaped back to her old life, warning him not to follow her, or ever to harm her Selkie family. However, the men of Mikladalur went seal hunting, and without heeding the Selkie's warning, killed her husband and two of her children. In revenge she cursed the men of Mikladalur to die by drowning or falling from cliffs. 

From the small parking area in the village, take the set of concrete steps down to the old landing site. The 2.6m high bronze and stainless steel statue by Hans Pauli Olsen was erected in 2014. It's a striking work of art with a rich copper patina, dramatically sited on a rock right above the sea, and is dwarfed by the steep cliffs of the island of Kunoy opposite which look extraordinary when wreathed in sea mist or frosted with snow.

One of our favourite photography locations is the beach at the small village of Tjørnuvík, the northernmost town in Streymoy, which is tucked away at the end of a fjord and surrounded by steep, runnelled mountains. From here there is a superlative view of the iconic seastacks of Risin and Kellingir which are 71 and 68m tall respectively. Yet they are absolutely dwarfed by the skyscrapper high cliffs of Eiðiskollur. 

The Vikings settled here early on, and perhaps they were responsible for the legend associated with this pair of sea stacks. It goes something like this: An Icelandic wizard instructed a giant and his wife, who was a witch, to steal the Faroe Islands and bring them back to Iceland. Arriving in the north of Streymoy, they tied a rope around Eiðiskollur Mountain and began to pull the Faroes towards their home. Unfortunately for them, they were so busy they didn’t notice that the sun had risen. Caught in its rays as it broke the horizon, they were instantly turned to stone. On a more prosaic note, geologists predict that Kellingin, the sea stack situated closest to Eysturoy and the more delicate of the two, is highly likely to fall victim to a severe storm within the next few decades, so your photos might one day be historic!

Excellent views of the sea stacks can be captured from the black sand beach and also the small jetty at the sleepy harbour. This is one of the Faroes' top spots for surfing, and the waves here are often incredible, creating a dramatic foreground to the sea stacks. A small river flows down over the sandy beach which is sometimes flecked with pearlescent fragments of shells, and there are a number of algae covered cobbles towards the jetty end of the beach. All these features create excellent opportunities for capturing interesting foreground details to Risin and Kellingir. From late-February to mid-October, both cliffs at the entrance of the fjord are lit by the sunset. Around midsummer, the sun rises behind the sea stacks. There is a public parking area and toilets right above the beach. 

The vernacular buildings on the Faroes are quite extraordinary, and many make strong photographic subjects. Consisting of a stone basement, walls of tarred wooden boards (formerly constructed from driftwood) and a turf roof, they blend into the landscape and are the archetypal example of sustainable dwellings. There are many such buildings in the Faroes, but the following sites are among our favourites.

If ever there was a quintessentially Faroese village, then Saksun on the island of Streymoy is it. Here, a cluster of ancient turf-roofed buildings surrounded by dry stone walls belonging to the Dúvugarður sheep farm overlook a stunning turquoise-blue lagoon, tumbling waterfalls and huge cliffs often topped with mist moving like a slow tsunami. It resembles a scene straight from Tolkien's Middle-earth. This small settlement was once connected to the open sea, but in about 1600 a violent storm blocked the mouth of the fjord with sand, forming the lagoon below. Those living in Saksun formerly had to walk to the neighbouring village of Tjørnuvík to attend church, which entailed a steep three hour journey across the rugged, exposed mountainside. Imagine having to do that on a typical Faroese day?! In 1858 the Tjørnuvík church was disassembled and parts of it carried over the mountains to be re-erected in Saksun, the tiny church you see there today, ending the need to walk over the mountains to attend services. The old route is now a popular waymarked hiking trail.

Saksun is west-facing, and therefore works particularly well as a photographic destination at sunset. Around the middle of March and the end of September, it's possible to get the falls to the right of the village illuminated by the setting sun. But be aware that straying from the pathways and road to take images will likely land you in trouble here, as permission must be sought from the landowner who farms Dúvugarður and runs the museum, and to whom you must pay a fee for access to the in-fields, out-fields and beach. He has something of a fearsome reputation, but he is perfectly approachable and happy to explain the history of his village and the issues he has faced with increasing levels of tourism.

All land off waymarked tracks and roads is private property in the Faroes, so please use the car park, don't fly your drone, and above all remember that you don't have the right to be there. This isn't a Peter Jackson film set, but a working farm and home to a mere handful of people who can feel intimidated by hordes of tourists swarming about their homes and outfields and invading their privacy. Please note that there is no access whatsoever to the lone turf-roofed cabin overlooking the lagoon that took Instagram by storm a few years back. Its owners have forbidden all entry since the summer of 2017.

The village of Bøur on the island of Vágar dates from at least the fourteenth century, and has probably the most dramatic seaview of any village in the Faroes. Overlooking the petrol-blue waters of Sørvágsfjørður, the horizon is dominated by the picturesque spiky island of Tindhólmur, a great shark's fin of rock, which is flanked on the left by the impressive Drangarnir
sea stacks, and on the right by the island of Gáshólmur. As Bøur faces west, it works well as a sunset location. 

Just before you enter the village from Sørvágur, you pass a huddle of turf-roofed buildings on the left which now function as holiday homes. Our most recent phototour coincided with a period of repair work to these structures, so we could not get quite the image we were after due to a digger being in the way. We opted for a vertical capture accentuating the apexes of three of the houses which are echoed in the triangular-shapes of Stóri Drangur and Tindhólmur glowering on the horizon. 

At the entrance to the village, the small parking area on the left has a fantastic elevated view over the fjord with a large three-storeyed turf-roofed building making a strong photographic subject to the right. In the summer the buttercups growing out of the living roof make for great detail.

A small homestead near Gjógv, a village located on the northeast tip of the island of Eysturoy, caught my eye as it makes a strong subject for a minimalist capture. Being a fan of Cubism, I was instantly drawn to the contrast between the strong geometrical shapes of the man-made buildings - the triangular rooflines and the three squarish windows - and the random, yet seemingly repeating, patterns of deep runnels created by nature in the background. The tiny homestead surrounded by buttercup meadows seems to be dwarfed at the foot of the enormous mountainside, and the fleeting splash of light behind it greatly added to the scene.

Below is a very eyecatching cabin located near the village of Mikladalur on the island of Kalsoy, which for some reason seems to have been overlooked by landscape photographers. We dubbed it 'The Hobbit House', and we wouldn't have been the least bit surprised to see Bilbo Baggins throw open its door to us! It looks fabulous in summer framed against luminous sea mist, and against the snow-frosted slopes of Kunoy in winter.

We have already described how to capture the quintessential image of the Trøllkonufingur on Vágar, but we actually prefer the view of it as seen from across the fjord from the village of Miðvágur. One of our phototours coincided with some incredible post-dawn light over a lone turf-roofed cottage with the Trøllkonufingur in the background. The sea bird flying into frame added a touch of mystery, and even melancholy, to the scene.

Funningur Church (Funnings Kirkja) on Eysturoy is without doubt our favourite turf-roofed church in the Faroes. Inaugurated on 30 November 1847, it is one of ten surviving wooden churches in the Faroes, and is the newest of this type. It makes a strong photographic subject at any time of the day, but is particularly good at dawn in winter when the sun rises over the sea and mountains of eastern Eysturoy.

No visit to the Faroes would be complete without climbing a mountain. Most people tend to bag Slættaratindur (flat summit) Mountain in northern Eysturoy, between the villages of Eiði, Gjógv, and Funningur, which at 880 metres above sea level is the highest point in the Faroe Islands. Its summit offers extensive views over practically all of the Faroes' eighteen islands, but on our visits it's been shrouded in cloud precluding any photography. We've had far more luck climbing the nearby Middagsfjall Ridge which provides a spectacular vista over Funningsfjørður and the rugged and mountainous interior of the island of Eysturoy.

There's a small parking space on the brow of a hill on the road between Funningur and Gjógv (look out for the mast/weather station). Crossing a stile, head straight uphill handrailing a fence. At the top, the best views down into the fjord are to the right. In summer this climb, although steep, has been relatively straightforward, and we have been mightily glad for any breeze at the top.
In the winter, it has been a very different proposition. Climbing it at dawn to get the first light of day breaking over the mountains means setting off in the twilight. The last time we did this the temperature was round freezing, with a fierce wind giving a wind-chill of about -10°C. The mountains had received a dusting of snow overnight and atop the ridge the wind was absolutely eviscerating; it was almost impossible to keep the tripods steady and there was a very real danger of being blown off balance and down over the edge of the ridge. The type of shot we have taken in the summer just wasn't doable in those conditions, so cowering in the lee of a rocky outcrop, we managed to obtain just enough shelter to capture three horizontal wide angle shots to create a panorama. On the far left rise the mountains on the islands of Kalsoy and Kunoy, while the centre is dominated by the spiky Sandfelli (Oyndarfjørður) Massif rising to 754 metres. On the far right soars the pyramid-shaped Húsafjall (695 metres). Although the dawn was somewhat muted, we felt pleased that we had defeated the elements sufficiently to obtain this image!

An added bonus was the image we took of a snow-frosted Slættaratindur, cloud-free for once, as we made our descent from the ridge. The mountain road curving round the foot of this behemoth was particularly eye-catching. 

These images and their accompanying descriptions are merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to photographing the Faroes. To truly experience them needs time, considerable effort, and a willingness to walk off the beaten track, as well as to the more well-known locations, all the while braving the elements which make this archipelago such an exciting and challenging landscape photography destination. Here you really do have scope to create truly unique and memorable 'Postcards from the Edge'.

If you want to visit the Faroes to 'discover the mercurial', why not join us on a future photo tour? See our 'Phototours and Workshops' page for details. Meanwhile, enjoy this film of the Faroes shot during the summer.