Eyþór Jóvinsson
This blog post is about my friend Eyþór Jóvinsson from Iceland. He's a Filmmaker, owner of a very unique and historical book(store) in the Westfjords region. Former fishermen and a fellow photographer. In this post I will mainly focus on showing you some of his recent photographs, because I think he is quite underrated as a photographer. But I will also talk a little bit about how we met and such. Here we go.
I have met Eyþór back in the summer last year when I was in Iceland for the first time, together with my wife. After waking up in a hotel in Ísafjörður we decided to drive south from town, and pay a quick visit to the town of Flateyri. I did read something about a bookstore in town on the internet a few weeks before going to Iceland, so we figured it would be a nice stop on the days roadtrip. When we arrived in Flateyri we both were stunned by how beautiful this town is. Personally this town is my favorite in the whole country, for several reasons you will understand when you continue to read on.
Flateyri, photo by Eyþór Jóvinsson
After wandering around town for a little bit we made it to "Bókabúðin Flateyri" which is Eyþór's store and place where he lives. The store is run by Eyþór's family for generations and generations. It now is a very charming bookstore and a museum. The house has virtually never changed, ever since the older generations operated the store. A treat to the eye, and very touching to see a place that is still as pure and untouched like it was in the old days. Eyþór has been running the store for the past five years. Before him his mother was running it. You can imagine that Eyþór is very proud about this awesome store, so when we met him we had a nice little chat about the place. It was such a great day, the sun was shining and Eyþór was just such fun to talk with. He's such a friendly and humble man.
We sat down and had some coffee and cake, bought some books (that you pay an amount for based on the weight of the books, very oldschool, very nice) Before we left Eyþór told me he was a filmmaker and a photographer so you understand that I made sure to exchange some contact details. And off we went to continue or trip through Iceland. Leaving Flateyri as one of the highlights off the trips. The beautiful town and meeting Eyþór the reason for that.
From left to right: The museum that basically is the house Eyþór's family lived in and has stayed the same for over centuries. The building as seen from the inside (click it and spot my wife standing in the door opening) And inside the bookstore, click to see the way the books are sold. The price is determined by the weight of the books!
Anyways, lets get down to showing you some of Eyþór's photographs right now. All of these shots are taken in or around the town of Flateyri where he lives.
When my wife and me came back from our trip in Iceland I pretty much stayed in touch with Eyþór through social media and we both continued chatting about our passions. Film making and photography related stuff. It was in October last year that we came to talk about Eyþór's new film project Arnbjörn. He was going to shoot a new short film in Flateyri and surroundings and I really liked the sound of that. To keep a long story short we ended up agreeing that it would be nice for us to work together for this project. I was going to be the BTS (behind the scenes) photographer for this movie. A few weeks of preparation and communicating back and forth it was time for me to pack my bags, and leave for Iceland in November to meet Eyþór. Again. I was (and still am) so thrilled for the fact that he wanted to work with me and have me in his crew for this project.
I remember travelling to Iceland, and driving up from Reykjavik all the way up to Flateyri. Through these tricky conditions. Snow, ice, rain, heavy winds. I was in Iceland for sure, and heck it was a lot more "Icelandic" compared to the summer. I loved it to. Arriving in Flateyri and seeing Eyþór come up the window from his house and greet me while I was stepping out of the car felt like coming home. This was the beginning of a great week, and a beautiful experience. Below are a few photos that I took during the process of shooting.
Communicating with actors on the set from Arnbjörn.
Eyþór and crew working on shooting the short film.
The bookstore transformed into a filmset
Eyþór and crew working on shooting the short film.
Eyþór in his natural habitat, on set. Working on Arnbjörn
During this week I got to experience Eyþór at work as a film maker, putting together the project and directing it all. Working long and intense days to get the desired results. Here it was very visible that he wanted to push for the best result possible, getting the most out of the crew. Always on top of his game. But always with a smile and while staying humble. It was a pleasure to work with him. Everything was taken care off. His mother took care of our hungry stomachs with some delicious meals after the hard work during the day. He also arranged the car for me to get up to Flateyri by the way. Just perfect, like the whole experience. I will never forget relaxing in the swimmingpool, or in the "Sundlaug" as its called in Iceland in the evening. And celebrating at the end of the week, with the entire crew. Enjoying some good food again and some beers.
I could talk about this week forever, I won't right now, haha...Find out more about the short film right here.
You are here to look at Eyþór's other talent, (one of many) photography. He is using his creative mind in a lot of ways and photography is one of them.
Alright, so down below are a few more photographs in and around Flateyri that Eyþór took.
After being in Flateyri working for Eyþór's short film I went home with the best feeling ever. Nobody can take away this amazing experience from me. All the memories. I still think about this trip a lot. It also opened up so much doors and possibilities for me. Chances that I would not have had if I hadn't been working with Eyþór. It took my career as a photographer into a rapid quite a bit, and really gave me a boost to step up my game. I launched this website a few weeks after my visit and got some great feedback from all of you. Again, I believe this is because of the exposure I gained from shooting for Eyþór. I am forever thankful for this. Both Eyþór and me are probably going to work together more in the future. He is running so much other projects, and all of them simultaneously as well. Mad respect for that. I am sure that at some point we will be working together again for one of his projects. Be it for another film, or something totally different. To me its not a matter of if, but a matter of when! And all of you will hear about that from me for sure. Because I am obviously very excited and proud to be able to call Eyþór a friend, and look forward to all the next times we will meet.
To end this blog post I want to share a last little, but very special story. Eyþór and I have met each other earlier this year again. Very very random and very special.
In Iceland you would think, but no... in Sweden! My wife and me were on a little trip through Denmark and Sweden. (our holiday trips usually go to Scandinavia of course)
And very randomly I saw this photo from Eyþór on social media, saying that he was in Malmö, Sweden for a filmfestival. I was like WHAT?!! My wife and me were going to go to Malmö anyways for our trip so this was a very unique situation and chance to meet up. I couldn't believe that this was true. So so random. We ended up meeting in Malmö for a few beers and some food. It was just amazing to see Eyþór again, in a place and time where we both did not expect it at all. And again, seeing Eyþór was another highlight on yet another trip. Looking forward to the next highlights.
Eyþór and myself enjoying a beer in Malmö, Sweden. Super random, but super super nice.
Click these links to find out more!
SKER
click the image to watch this short film by Eyþór
