19 Photos Of Iceland’s Most Unforgiving Coastline By Vilhelm Gunnarsson

Reynisfjara is one of those places that looks almost too beautiful to be dangerous. Black sand stretches along Iceland’s south coast, basalt columns rise from the shore, and just offshore stand the Reynisdrangar sea stacks, which local legend says are trolls who tried to drag a ship to land and turned to stone when the sun came up. But the beach is also known for something far less charming: sneaker waves that can rush far up the sand without warning and pull people into the Atlantic.

Several visitors have lost their lives there, including a nine-year-old girl from Germany who was swept away by a wave in August 2025. Today, the beach has warning signs and colored lights showing how close to the water it’s safe to go. And it’s this stretch of coast that Icelandic press photographer Vilhelm Gunnarsson chose to photograph, in stark black and white.

Scroll down to see 19 of Vilhelm Gunnarsson’s photos of Iceland’s south coast, and see if you can spot the ghost of Reynisfjara.

More info: Instagram | vilhelmg.com