I have seen some photos of the Northern Lights float on the internet, but the images usually look super professional. Most people gasped in disbelieve after I showed them my Northern Lights photo from our Iceland Trip. Some even said they didn't think it was real.
For those of you who didn't read my previous post (it's right here), we visited Iceland on February 14 - 19. Yes, yes, I know...this post is super late. But better late than never?
Suppose you want to photograph the Northern lights. In that case, you need to set your camera to Manual, f/2.8 aperture, start with 1600 ISO, then adjust towards lower numbers. Anything past 1600 ISO would begin to look grainy and shutter speed at 30 seconds. Make sure you test out the camera setting first to get the optimal camera setting for your situation. So you don't waste time testing your camera when the lights appear. Northern Lights may disappear quickly, especially if it is windy and/or there are clouds around. You will also need a tripod and a remote for your camera to make sure your photo doesn't come out blurry. I can't expect myself to hold the camera for 30 seconds and not move at all. Since even 1-2 seconds of movement will blur your image.
I won't be able to catch the Northern Lights with the lenses I had at the time, and I was debating if I should get a new lens just for the Northern Lights. Sen convinced me to, and I am so happy I listened to him! The Northern Lights were terrific, and it would really bum me out if we could not catch it on camera.
I decided to purchase the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Ultra Wide Angle Fixed Lens w/Built-in AE Chip for Nikon for this trip. The main reason is it only costs $329.00, compared with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14 - 24mm f/2.8G ED at $1,897.00. I am currently using a Nikon D3300 Digital SLR. I also purchased a waterproof camera case to protect my gear from Iceland's unpredictable weather.
There are a lot of Northern Light Tours in Iceland, but many bloggers recommended not booking a tour and hunt for it yourself, and so we did. The visibility of the Northern Lights varies based on its activity level, how dark and clear the sky is during the time, and how much light pollution is around you. I used both of these websites to help with the forecast:
1. Aurora Forecast - this shows the aurora activity at the current time
2. Aurora forecast for Iceland - I used this to tell the cloud activity, although it also tells aurora level
Light pollution is intense in Reykjavik, with some exceptions, and Grotta Lighthouse is one of them. The wind was strong when we were there, so visibility was not excellent. We still went out and waited at the Grotta Lighthouse for two nights for the sky to clear up. In the process, we saw a very faint hint of Northern Lights, but because the activity level was so low, we can't say we actually saw the lights.
I really didn't want to leave the country without seeing the lights with my own eyes, and the 3-day tour of the Southern/southeast part of Iceland was our last chance to see them. We stayed at the Selfoss Hostel during the first night and went out once it got dark. We walked over to the end of a street, close to what looked like a lake (it was too dark to tell), and waited. When the activities seemed strong enough according to the forecast sites I mentioned above, we looked everywhere and could not see anything.
Then I started to play around with my camera, and that is when I saw some green on the camera screen, hiding behind the faint clouds. When we looked up again, there it was! A glowing green light in the sky. What we have learned is that it will take your eyes 30 minutes to 1 hour to adjust, and with all the street lights around, faint Northern Light is tough to spot with un-experienced eyes. We left after the glow faded, went to the supermarket nearby, and got some food to snack on.
The second night, we stayed at a charming hostel owned by the tour company Nice Travel. Very remote and is situated right in front of a small waterfall, very cute and beautiful. We didn't plan to get out to see the lights that night because the wind was extreme. However, our neighbors/tour mates came knocking on our door around midnight. "NORTHERN LIGHTS" they screamed. We all went out to see it, and it was AMAZING!
As you can see in the photo, we couldn't help but go out and take a picture with the lights. It was so windy that I slipped and fell on the ice (the road was all covered in ice) while being blown away by the wind while I was on all fours. Yes, you can say I risked my life, haha! But it was worth it. There was a point the lights started to change color! I saw them in purple!
I know my photos are not like any of the pictures you see online since they are blurry. But I am still thrilled that I can get it on camera and sharing with you right now.
For those of you who have not seen it yet, GO! See it for yourself! I know I will want to see them again, at a different destination perhaps. I intend to find out how wonderful this world is and how much more to explore and see is beyond my imagination.
