This October, the Chicago-based art collective Scenic Studio will embark on a trip through the remote countryside of Iceland, on a mission to document the landscapes, people, and traditions they encounter through a series of innovative visual vignettes. Anchored by renowned photographers Tim Navis and Kim Høltermand, the group will be seeking out moments of discovery and chance occurrence — i.e., the stuff that travel dreams are made of. Beyond being arrested by — and admittedly envious of — the concept, a peek into the individual output of the team members reveals a breathtaking glimpse of what's in store. The work of Kim Høltermand, who began shooting film as a creative outlet for his day job as a fingerprints expert with the Danish National Police, is compelling and stark. Images of everyday scenery — rocks, trees, architecture — are rendered strikingly alien and beautiful, like something you would just as soon see in a dream as real life. 

Tim Navis demonstrates equally as deft an eye at capturing the unique sensibility of a particular landscape. Through his lens, the Aria Hotel in Prague becomes a dizzying tumult of colors and light — the exuberant pops of red and yellow created by a simple lens flare infusing the rigidity of the building with a sense of ebullience and possibility.

Accompanying the visual portion of their voyage will be an all original soundtrack scored by the ambient likes of Deru, Goldmund, Asura, Joby Talbot, Son Lux, and Shigeto. The L.A. Times music blog “Pop & Hiss”recently premiered a track from Shigeto, saying “[it] sounds like you’d expect for something Iceland-related: gauzy, sparse and chilly.”

The considerable experience and accumulated creative output of the community behind this project serves as a testament to the type and quality of work backers can expect from the final product: Outliers, Vol 1. Personally, I can't wait!