Flying Dress Shoot in the Land of Fire and Ice

I had read a long time ago about the biggest regrets of the dying and number one on that list was not living a life that was true to themselves. That list resonated deeply for me and helps influence a lot of how I approach life now. But I must admit that I felt rather foolish that I was going to do a photo shoot and one so over the top once our NCL Prima 11 Night Northern Europe cruise ended. It felt frivolous to the max and was fairly out of the ordinary for me as I don’t normally take many photos where I am in them. But in the end, I am SO glad that I went ahead with this.

FLYING DRESS SHOOT LOGISTICS

Photographer: Misha Barton

Contact info:

https://www.photoshoots.is/about

Good to Know

You are able to rent a dress if you don’t want to have to pack a flying dress – there’s info on the website re rentals.
And this isn’t sponsored in any way – I paid full price for my shoot and am receiving nothing in return but writing about this since I seriously cannot recommend Misha enough; he obviously has phenomenal talent but he’s just a great guy! (loads more reasons in the post below) If there’s one thing that I learned to really appreciate with the baking business is that if you love a business, TELL PEOPLE about it!!
I am sharing the photos because I seriously LOVE them but also to remind you to find the joy and what makes you happy in your own life…it doesn’t matter that many will find these to be absurd, my beautiful life is based on living one that is true to myself…which sometimes is being a little extra. And also this was a celebration – it’s been a crazy journey to get here!
If you want to know more about the locations – here’s how I would do a South Coast Road Trip.

THE PHOTOSHOOT

What My Experience Was Like

So one of the two big reasons why I don’t take many photos with me in them is because I am so awkward in them – as in I don’t know what to do with my hands or arms. The good part is that Misha is there to help – he’s one of those gems that photographs people as well as he captures landscapes.

Location 1: Sólheimajökull Glacier

I love that he really incorporates the glacier into the photos…it’s not merely background – this is exactly what I was telling him I wanted…vividly showcase the land of fire and ice. So cool when you have this vision of what you are hoping for…and someone is able to make it even better than your hopes/dreams!

His use of light and shadow – to really contrast the dress against the landscape to bring the vision to life

While also allowing me to be me – I was joking about how I felt like I was literally the dancing red dress emoji (personally I feel like I nailed it)

Location 2: Skógafoss

Misha is phenomenal to work with – not only is he a talented photographer, he was really thoughtful and deliberate when I was messaging/debating if this was something that I wanted to do. One of the big concerns would be with my knee – first with driving out to the location but walking to where we would take pictures. He took my concerns seriously and really helped make me feel at ease – as he was able to give me estimates of distance, terrain and difficulty – going so far as to walk one of the locations to get that info! He was able to make me feel confident enough to book the shoot as I knew that he really had my back if there was a regression with the knee, we would be able to make modifications…

One of the reasons why I love these photos so much isn’t just that they are gorgeous but that they really do commemorate a huge milestone for me. It’s crazy to see how far I have gone…2022 was really bleak for me as it didn’t seem like there was much hope for my knee. You don’t really realize how much pain you’re in when you’re in the midst of things…you’re merely trying to do whatever you can to get through the day.

By the time I had surgery again at the beginning of 2023, my knee was sublaxating (partially dislocating) about 90% of the time and I was struggling with day to day activities as I didn’t want to bend my leg. And still couldn’t walk normally since my leg didn’t straighten all of the way…but finding a surgeon that listened to and could address my concerns was life-changing. I don’t take the

It’s easy to take things like your health or the ability to walk for granted as I had before – but I am so grateful that I can again do things like go out and explore (and climb up rocks) AND have some gorgeous photos to help remind me of how far I have come.

The funniest thing is that shoot went from a “should I do this” then to a “I’m fully committed to DOING this and that we were both all in to get the shots) – this photo doesn’t really showcase how I SOAKED I was! Misha is so talented that somehow this what he captured instead of real life which was that I looked like a drowned rat!

Location 3: Kvernufoss

There is part of me that wishes I hadn’t been so impulsive and gotten my flying dress wet as I think it would have be extraordinary in this location

But as with all things, Misha was able to capture such incredible photos that I can’t help think that this outfit works better as this looks like I am a character (princess/fairy) in a fairy tale

I am in awe – of his talent….and of the beauty and magic that is Iceland

Verdict: Worth it? And would I do this again?

At first I balked at the price; only as this is not something I would normally do and it wasn’t cheap. But then I thought that this is the point of money/travel hacking for me – that I pay for the things that I really want to do/see and that there are other pricey things that I get for free (like flights and hotels).

As I get older, I also realize being in some photos makes for some nice memories and these always really do make me so happy to look at. Maybe I will do another photo shoot like this somewhere else in the world…

Or as likely, I would book another session with Misha. We ended up getting coffee after a three hour photo shoot! I don’t know if Iceland is in my travel future any time soon but writing these last few posts have made me want to go back again!