Iceguys á Menningarnótt í höfuðborginni

Looking back IV

As we look through the seven hundred photographs we published in July and August here at Icelandic Times, something quiet and uplifting happens. Suddenly, We’re reminded how warm and radiant our northern summer can be—how good it feels to be home.
Choosing favorites from such abundance is never easy. Yet nine photographs keep drawing me back, refusing to be overlooked. These are the ones that, for me, truly capture the essence of the season. Moments that were, and then—almost as quickly—were gone.
We forget these small instances so easily, letting them slip into the tide of days. But the camera remembers. It holds them gently, faithfully, long after the warmth has faded from our skin.Photographs, I’ve come to realize, outlive the moments they capture far longer than we expect. They become quiet keepers of summer’s light, ready to warm us again whenever we need reminding that it was, indeed, good to be here.

Yet another eruption started at Grindavík, in mid-July, small but graceful
Hallsteinsgarður in the Grafarvogur district
Kári Pálsson looking for salmon in Hvítá
A summer day in Vaglaskógur in Fnjóskadalur, just east of Akureyri
Rainbow in Víðidalur, north of Vestur-Húnavatnssýsla
GayPride in Reykjavík, where 80 thousand people have a good time together… always in good weather
The blue waters, just past midnight
Iceguys at Culture Night in the capital

Photos & text : Páll Stefánsson

Iceland : 02/01/2026 – A7CR, A7R IV, RX1R II – FE 1.4/24mm, FE 1.2/50mm, FE 2.8/100mm, 2.0/35mm Z