Jennifer and Dave Stark take images that take my breadth away. I discovered them when I was looking up photographers in Toronto to connect with, and I quickly caught serious photography envy when it comes to their work, and their travel stories from all over the globe.

Iceland is popular ever as a destination these days, especially among photographers, and when I stumbled across Jenn and Dave's images, I craved to venture to Iceland myself.

From Jenn & Dave: 

Iceland stole our hearts.

We'd planned a trip there with a few friends of ours for late October 2013. We board the plane and already I'm smitten: there are Icelandic lullabies printed on the pillows and mesmerizing landscapes of the country playing on repeat on the screens in front of our seats. We fly overnight and of course I can't sleep. I watch the deepest black and pinpricks of stars out the window, hoping for hints of the Aurora Borealis that don't come, at least not on this night. We arrive in Reykjavik while it's still dark and through the blowing wind of the early morning we pile our stuff into our rental car. We've rented an apartment in the city and by the time we arrive we're ready to crash. The radiators warm the rooms as the winds and rain whip the sides of the building. We curl up into the blankets for a couple of hours horizontal, and my mind flips between excitement and exhaustion.


By mid-morning, we're up. The showers here play tricks on your senses, the smell of soap and sulfur from the hot water battle for your attention. We step outside and the light is perfect. We've been transported to another world and we can't stop looking everywhere. The six of us sit along a bar table at a busy cafe, eating beet salads and tomato-coconut soup, bustling with excitement. We grab coffees to go and set off on our road trip along highway 1, heading east along the country.

I remember before leaving the old fear that creeps up on me any time we're leaving for a trip to somewhere new. It's this fear that I will fail to create something that will accurately describe the beauty that I know I'll see. But perhaps that is the challenge for the photographer, to see how close they can get and to overcome that battle within themselves. To understand that those gaps are what make art human, and what make art ours. And maybe those gaps in the realm of travel and trying to document the beauty of this world are the little push that others need to go and experience adventure for themselves, firsthand.


twitter: @jenniferstark
instagram: @jenniferstark + @davejstark
pinterest: @jenniferstark
website: http://jennanddavestark.com