For many people, the name Faroe or Greenland evokes images of cold, ice-covered islands isolated from the familiar world. But for Bui Xuan Viet, a photographer who has traveled to nearly 40 countries to capture nature, these lands are in a very special corner of his long-cherished dream. It is a land of endless light, of ancient ice seas thousands of years old, where rare moments happen in a split second at the North Pole.

Anh Viet had a clear dream: to create a series of photos of the most beautiful lands in the world. When he set foot in Faroe and Greenland, he felt like he was stepping into spectacular slices of the Earth - where nature displays its surreal grandeur.

 

Before arriving in Greenland, Viet spent a few days exploring the Faroe Islands, an archipelago belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, known as "the place where the weather changes the fastest in the world". This archipelago is the main setting for the recently released live-action film How to Train Your Dragon. Towering mountain ranges embrace valleys covered in lush green grass, with low clouds overhead. Quiet roads lead to fishing villages perched on cliffs and Atlantic puffins with mouths full of fish, their eyes sad but cute.

In Faroe, it is not completely dark at night between mid-May and mid-July. At this time, the sunset lasts for a long time, followed by a white twilight (civil twilight). The sky remains a dreamy blue-gray light all night, enough to see the scenery without lights. The scenery and light blend together, appearing before Viet's eyes like a fantasy movie.

The Faroe Islands trip was not only a geographical stepping stone, but also a test of endurance and patience. Anh Viet experienced many beautiful treks on this archipelago with an average journey of 10km/day.

As soon as he landed in Faroe, Viet only rested for a few hours and then started trekking up the mountain to take one of the two most anticipated shots of the trip. That was Sørvágsvatn Lake, also known as Leitisvatn - the largest lake in the Faroe Islands, famous for its optical illusion that makes it seem to be suspended above the sea below. And the 142 m high Trælanípa cliff, where Vikings once pushed their slaves into the sea.

The journey started at 6am, strong gusts of wind, sudden downpours forced the group to go back to buy raincoats and start over. After an hour of struggling in the drizzle with winds of up to 50-60km/h, although he had reached the viewpoint, he could not get close to the edge of the mountain or fly the drone.

I thought I had to give up, but “in Faroe, everything can change after just one sleep,” Viet said. At 3am the next morning, the group continued on their journey and this time nature was kind to them. This season, neither Faroe nor Greenland has evenings, the sky is always as bright as day. The light falls at the right time, the mist is thin, the lake reflects the sky like a mirror. The photo that day made him “speechless with satisfaction”.

 

A few days later, he set foot in Greenland - a white land, where nature seemed untouched by humans. Although he was used to cold weather and deserted roads, the feeling of standing in the middle of an ice fjord in Greenland for the first time still overwhelmed him. Not because of the intensity, but because of the silence. An absolute silence, so quiet that one could hear the sound of each small piece of ice breaking.

Greenland is located in the Arctic region, where the phenomenon of the Midnight Sun appears in the summer, most clearly from June to early July. During this time, the sun only sets very low below the horizon or does not set completely, creating the feeling of "endless light". It is also the ideal season for people like Viet to hunt for photos, when every detail of the ice, snow, sea and sky is painted by the light with the most dreamy colors.

There are moments that come when you least expect them. For Viet, it was a night in the middle of the Greenland ice sheet, when he only intended to relax on the boat watching the midnight sun. But it was there, in the soft light and the freezing cold, a sudden tail wiggle that made everything unforgettable, etched in his mind.

It was the whale. No trumpets, no drums, no warning. Just a tail rising between the ice and the light, enough to make the ship change course, and he held his breath.

“At that time, I didn’t think much, just held the camera and took pictures, taking pictures as a reflex. It all happened in just a few minutes but it was a dreamy moment,” he recalled.

Although whales are common in Greenland, the timing, location, and conditions of light, ice, and weather must all be ideal to capture the moment. Whales may surface for only a few seconds, often unexpectedly, and from a great distance. Capturing a “tail flip” in the mid-night polar twilight, among thousand-year-old icebergs, is a rare, near-jackpot moment, and only available to those lucky enough to do so.

 

Viet's trip to Greenland not only had beautiful photos and golden light but also a series of seemingly ordinary challenges that, if not overcome, would ruin the whole journey. Among them, lost luggage is a "familiar scenario" for Viet. This year alone, he went on three trips to Europe and lost his luggage four times.

This time, flying from Italy to the Faroe Islands, his luggage got stuck. Thanks to a GPS tracker, he learned that his suitcase was “traveling around Europe,” passing through France, Denmark, and Norway before arriving in the Faroe Islands three days later. Without the tracker, and without staying in the Faroe Islands long enough, he would have lost his camera equipment, warm clothes, and his entire photo-hunting plan.

But everything worked out, and he learned not to get angry at things beyond his control. Just like the Greenlanders or Faroese people live with the weather: they don’t argue with nature, they are flexible. The Faroese joke: “If you don’t like the weather now, just wait five more minutes” has become Viet’s travel philosophy.

For those dreaming of Greenland, he has only one advice: plan carefully, pack warmly, prepare for both the good and the bad. And above all, come with an open heart, because it will never be exactly what you imagined, but it will definitely be a place you will remember for a lifetime.