Long shadows

The shadows are still long. Three weeks after the winter solstice, the day in the capital has lengthened by more than an hour. Or even more, because one can feel and see that it is so much brighter than it was on December 22 last year. Icelandic Times / Land & Saga set out on foot, chasing the light, along the sea that surrounds the Seltjarnarnes peninsula, home to two municipalities: Seltjarnarnes, farthest west on the peninsula, and the capital city of Reykjavík. On this peninsula, which is 10 km long and 4 km wide on average, roughly one-third of the nation’s population lives, of whom just over 1% reside in the town of Seltjarnarnes.

The whale ships in Reykjavik Harbor
Reykjavik Harbor lighthouses
In Reykjavík Harbor, the Marshall House in Örfirisey in the middle of the picture
Grótta Lighthouse, westernmost point on the headland
Looking west at Seltjarnarnes, from Ægissíða
Long shadows in Nauthólsvík in Fossvogur
Reykjavík Pond

Photos & text : Páll Stefánsson

Reykjavík / Seltjarnarnes : 16/01/2026 – GFX 100 II – GF 1.7/55mm