Photos

PHOTOS: Iceland's Hot Springs Look Like an Alien Landscape

The photos in the slideshow above may look like landscapes of an alien planet, but they are actually close-up images of Iceland's hot springs. The point-blank range brings out the colors and textures of the phenomenal geothermal pools in a stunning visual display.

"It's a very exciting environment—you have the ice and snow and then the boiling soil all around you, with steam plumes going up into the sky," photographer Johann Vilhjalmsson described to Caters News Agency. "Sometimes it does feel like you're walking on another planet."

(MORE: 50 Most Surreal Landscapes on Earth)

Vilhjalmsson took the photos at hot springs just outside of Reykjavik, Iceland. The hot springs photographed are boiling hot, and so Vilhjalmsson said he had to be very careful while exploring.

"I'm always looking for the beauty in small things that we don't normally pay attention to," the photographer said. "I started taking pictures a year ago for fun, and now my camera is stuck with me wherever I go."

View the slideshow above to see the stunning, otherworldly images.

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