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Icelandair has officially found the world’s worst photographer and is paying her $50,000 to prove that Iceland is beautiful no matter who is behind the camera. The Icelandic flag carrier announced that Blanche Mortemard of Paris, France, has been selected as the winner of its viral global search for a photographer whose skills are completely lacking. The unconventional recruitment campaign attracted an astonishing 127,642 applications from 178 countries earlier this year.
The campaign was born out of a surprising challenge. According to Icelandair, many travelers believe photos of Iceland look almost too perfect to be real. Rather than hiring a professional photographer armed with expensive equipment and editing software, the airline decided to take the opposite approach. The goal? Showcase Iceland through the eyes of someone who struggles to take a good picture.
After reviewing thousands of blurry, poorly framed, overexposed, and otherwise questionable submissions, Icelandair determined that Mortemard was the ideal candidate. During the interview process, she reportedly demonstrated a remarkable inability to capture technically sound images while simultaneously showing a talent for documenting authentic, unscripted moments.
The airline says the overwhelming response to the campaign reflects growing fatigue with heavily edited imagery, AI-generated content, and the pressure to create perfect social media posts. Instead, Icelandair wanted to celebrate genuine travel experiences, even if they happen to be slightly out of focus.
As part of the role, Mortemard will embark on a 10-day journey across Iceland this summer, documenting the country’s dramatic landscapes, waterfalls, volcanoes, glaciers, and small towns. Her mission is simple: capture Iceland exactly as she sees it, regardless of whether the photos would ever make it into a professional portfolio.
The airline will provide flights, accommodations, transportation, and a $50,000 fee covering her time, expenses, and photography work. Icelandair plans to use Mortemard’s images as part of a new advertising campaign designed to demonstrate that Iceland’s natural beauty shines through regardless of technical photography skills. Travelers and photography enthusiasts alike will be able to follow Mortemard’s adventure through Iceland on Icelandair’s website and social media channels throughout the summer. For Mortemard, it’s a rare opportunity to turn a perceived weakness into a dream job. For Icelandair, it’s an innovative way to challenge the polished perfection often seen in travel marketing.
Anthony’s Take: If the campaign succeeds, it may prove that some destinations really are impossible to photograph badly. Having been to Iceland three times, I can say that it truly is otherworldly and incredibly beautiful.
(Featured Image Credit: Icelandair.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
