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These are the incredible birds eye view photos of
Iceland’s extreme landscape - taken from up to 9,000ft in the air.
The stunning shots were captured by husband and wife duo Erlend Haarberg,
46, and Orsolya Haarberg, 35, as they soared above the beautiful Nordic
nation.
The pair scaled mountains, trekked over some of the world’s most rugged
terrain and took to the skies in a light aircraft to snap some of the
world’s most spectacular scenery.
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And the beautiful results reveal the drastically contrasting landscapes
of Iceland - from explosive volcanoes to Europe’s largest icecap.
In one photograph, a fork of sideways lightening sparks out from the
Eyjafjallajvkull volcano - which caused travel chaos when it erupted in
2010 - as it explodes into action.
Another shot appears to show a tree, but is actually a river delta
running into several different streams.
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Orsolya, from Jakobsli in Norway, who wed Erlend in 2005 before
embarking on the epic photography project, said: 'Normally I get sick
when flying, so I was thankful for the calm conditions, otherwise I
would have been in trouble.
'We had been forced to wait for two months for a day that wasn’t cloudy
or raining. So when we woke up and it was sunny we knew we had to get in
the air as quick as possible before it changed.
'But it was definitely worth being patient. Iceland’s landscape is so
extreme and varied - it makes for such amazing viewing. The colours of
the flat landscape really only become visible once you are in the air.'
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Husband Erlend was charged with taking the extraordinary aerial images
while his wife guided the pilot from the back of the light aircraft.
Erlend used an open window to capture clear shots of the world below as
the plane banked to the left, allowing him to look straight down.
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Incredibly, thanks to the poor weather, they covered the whole nation in
just one five-hour flight before being forced to return as the fuel ran
low.
Professional snapper Orsolya, who quit her studies to become a full-time
photographer, added: 'It was a tight schedule. One minute we were
photographing the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano and the next we were
over Europe’s largest ice cap, the Vatnajvkull.
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'Most tourists never get to see these places at all - let alone from the
air. We feel privileged to have witnessed them first hand.
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