Mountain Traveler is a series about travelers in the mountains.

Geraldine Westrupp wrote this guest post on mountain travel and photography in Iceland.

She is co-owner and guide with Wild Photography Holidays which specializes in small group holidays and workshops to wild and accessible places.

Bird Cliffs Snaefellsness, Iceland.

Iceland’s most active volcano, Grimsvotn, erupted on Saturday for the first time since 2004, hurling a plume of steam and ash nearly 20 kilometers (12 miles) into the sky.

The volcanic eruption happened on day one of our recent photography tour to the south of Iceland.

Frozen Summits, Snaefellsjokull, Iceland.

We had just made it to the active and very photogenic geothermal area of Hengill Volcano, three hours drive away from the eruption. Our eyes were already itching and a wall of ash surrounded our hotel.

Sadly, our proposed icy locations in the Skaftafell National Park and the Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon were rapidly being covered with a layer of ash.

The webcam we viewed showed black icebergs floating in muddy water and the road there was closed … ah ha we thought, time to relocate!

A huge selling point for Iceland is its diversity in both climate and terrain.

A swift look at Iceland’s weather map showed us that there was to be naked sun in the west during the days. While the east and north were due to have some torrential rain, great for washing away the ash but not much fun for us photographers.

We headed west to the diverse and magical landscape of Snaefellsness that was Green Globe Certified in 2008.

For a base, we rented a couple of houses in the tiny village of Hellnar.

In 1783, when the fishing industry was flourishing the village had a population of 200.  Now the year-round population is just three.

In the old rocky harbor, there is a cute, little restaurant that serves simple but tasty Icelandic fare and pretty decent local beer.

At the far end of the peninsula, Snaefellsjokull Glacier, one of the most beautiful mountains in Iceland, towers over the area.

Considered one of the earth’s main energy centres, poets, writers and artists often come here in search of inspirational energy.

It is also the setting for Jules Verne’s work, Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

On a clear day, the glacier appears as a mystical shimmering apparition in the ocean as seen from Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.

This remarkable place is really a dream location for photographers.  Great swathes of moss-covered lava sweep down to the ocean. The basalt cliffs teem with nesting birds. Black volcanic sand beaches are both dramatic and wild.

Killer whales hunt in the bay and whatever way you face there is the remarkable Snaefellsjokull chameleon-like in the shifting light!

Images courtesy of Wild Photography Holidays.

This is a Guest Post.