CHASING AURORAS IN ICELAND
It has been such a long day, almost 400 km on the road to visit Jökulsárlón and be able to go back to my hostel in Vik for dinner.
Those blocks of ice on the black sand beach, the blue icebergs on the lagoon and the basaltic waterfall have been a feast for my hungry senses.
The drive back to Vik while car tank was running out of fuel and the anxiety that it could stop in the middle of nowhere in the darkness have been a epic chapter of the trip to remember. Luckily the Chinese couple who loved taking pictures of me on the Seljalandsfoss waterfall escorted me until the closest petrol station that was almost 100 km drive since the car tank started being low on fuel . The whole ride I was expecting to see the black night sky tinted in colors but only black in the horizon it was all I could see.
And now I am safe at my hostel on the terrace having a drink. My plan is to go to sleep and set my alarm clock around midnight to go chasing the Northern Lights. But wait… What are those white clouds on the sky? They seem to be changing shape. They are moving and it seems like a dancing set of white stripes metamorphosing into a green show.
Yes, they are there. I run to my room and warn my mates as they have never seen them.
They look like dancing flames and they seem to come to touch us.
I am so lucky I have my camera with me that I bought specially for this trip as the Northern Lights cannot be photographed with a smartphone.
This is the first unexpected of many other auroras during my Iceland trip. Some of them were planned, some others unexpected.
Northern lights photography tips and recommended equipment for beginners
The Northern Lights can only be seen at night, in the Winter months so some basic equipment is required to go and immortalizing them.
1. Warm clothes: This is essential as sometimes you will have stand still for a long time waiting for the Northern Lights to appear. A good suggestion is even to bring heating pads to keep the gloves and boots warm.
2. Camera: Any camera you can manually control and has a good sensor will do the job although the better the camera, the better the result. I use the SonyRX 100 III, as it is a small compact camera with a very good light sensor. It does an excellent job for night photography. The automatic mode is pretty good as well so I was able to take good aurora picture when they appeared unexpectedly.
3. Tripod: You will usually have to shoot at long exposures and for that a tripod is essential. You could also place the camera on a solid surface but this will limit the shoot framing. I always carry with me a lightweight traveling tripod.
4. Batteries: I always carry with me extra batteries for my camera as I do not want to miss a good photo because I run out of power
For shooting high intensity aurora the Sony RX 100 automatic mode can do a pretty good job. But this is not always the case.
My recommended settings for shooting the aurora are:
ISO 1600
f/ 1.8
Exposure 5- 10 seconds
What are The Northern Lights?
Cited in the mythology of many different countries and cultures as spirits of the dead, fights between good and evil dragons or a chariot of fire crossing the night sky. The Northern lights have been a source of fascination, awe and inspiration since ancient time.
Auroras, also called Northern lights when they appear in the Northern hemisphere, are a glimpse into the intense and violent activity of our beloved star, the Sun.
The Northern lights or Aurora Borealis are natural displays of light in the sky. Their cause is the interaction of charged particles expelled from the Sun with the magnetosphere. This interaction precipitates electrons and protons into the upper atmosphere. As a result of these charged particles exciting the different constituents of this atmospheric layer lights of different colors are emitted.
The color of the auroras depends on the altitude of collision of the particles with the Earth atmosphere, as well as with the type of atoms emitting the lights. Their shape is partly dependent on the colliding speed.
The Earth Magnetic field intensity is responsible for deviating the particles and that is why the Northern lights are more frequently visible close to the poles. Auroras can be seen much less frequently at lower latitudes as well, when for example the solar wind speed is very high or there is a coronal mass ejection forming the so called geomagnetic storms.
Watching the Northern Lights is not only a artistic show offered by nature but a leaning experience if you decide so.
The Northern Lights can be elusive and you could get really disappointed if the only aim of your trip is to see them. Iceland has lots of natural wonders to offer, even if the Northern Lights are not spotted on the trip.
How to increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights?
There are some measures that can be taken to have more chances of seeing these lights by checking the aurora forecast at Vedur that is the Iceland national meteorological office .You can see here were the chances of clear skies are bigger for the coming weak as the aurora probability on a scale from 0 to 9 although that is not always the most accurate as my most intense Aurora witnessing was during an aurora forecast 2.
Every 11 years the Sun peaks its activity at which is called a solar maxima and during those periods auroras are seen almost every day as long as the sky is clear. Even in Reykavik despite the light pollution the aurora can be sometimes appreciated. The next solar maximum will be in 2024. But still Auroras can be seen mostly all years.
If you are planning to road trip in Iceland check out these road trip captions for inspiration.
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I have yet to seen the Northern lights or go visit Iceland so this would be a real plus to do both at the same time. Great tips on the camera and settings to always have your camera ready and charged for unexpected situation planned or unplanned. That always seems to happen so it’s always good to be prepared.
The low gas thing has always been a nightmare scenario for me that I’m always scared off, lol
This was such an informative post – I learned so much! I’ve always wanted to see the Aurora Borealis. Sometimes, in New England, there are predictions that we will see it as far south as Boston – but even when I set my alarm clock for an ungodly hour in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights for myself, either it’s cloudy or does not materialize. You gave me a fantastic tip though with regard to the solar maxima. Sounds like I need to plan a trip to Iceland for 2024!! Also appreciate the camera setting info. I’ll bring my DSLR for sure. (Who knew?!)
It’s always when you don’t expect something that nature surprises you. How amazing that you’ve first seen the Northern Lights without even looking for them, at your hostel. I have never seen the Northern lights from the group, but I did from the sky. I flew to Mexico one December and woke up in the middle of the night. The entire plane was asleep and the lights were off. As I looked out the window I saw the green lights dancing in the sky, just by the wing of the plane. It was magical!
Watching the Northern lights is one of the most miraculous experiences one can have and your’s is truly one of them. That too when you could watch it from your hostel. These natural phenomenon is amazing with the Sun displaying it’s magic! Thank you for sharing all the camera and clothing requirements to capture the Northern lights. It’s nice to mention the exact settings for len and that it cannot be captured in smart phone.And of course it’s absolutely important to stay tuned with the forecast from the metrology department. The beautiful briefing on the mythological aspect of Northern lights being compared to dragons, chariot of fire and spirits of dead makes it so worth watching.
On the travel wish list! Would love to visit Iceland and chase the northern lights. Good to know what is needed for a camera. I would have expected my iPhone to do a good job. I can’t wait to book this experience.
I saw faint northern lights in Anchorage. But I want to see the real thing like upubdid. Thank you very much for the tip on camera settings!
Seeing the Northern Lights is definitely a bucket list moment! I’ve always wanted to see them. Great photography tips, I normally don’t travel with my tripod, but know if I want to get that perfect shot, I will have to add that to my luggage. Such an incredible sight to see that so few have been able to say they’ve seen them.
Wow! What an awesome unexpected show you had from your hostel window! The auroras is one of the earth magic that I want to see. I can imagine your excitement when seeing white clouds gradually changing shaped to white strips then turned to green in the sky and moved like a fire. It must be spectacular!
Wow! It’s awesome that you were able to capture it. Happy to read about the Chinese couple too who helped you until the closest petrol station. I can just imagine the anxiety to be stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Anyway, thank you for sharing these tips especially the camera settings. We plan to visit soon so this will come in handy.
It looks so beautiful! Would love to see it in real life one day!
I really hope you will. It is a magical experience:-)