One of the biggest lures why I wanted to visit Iceland, was the possibility of seeing the northern lights. We decided to travel in the middle of March and were hoping for the best. If aurora hunt is on your bucket list, don’t rely on circumstances. Plan your trip properly in advance. In my article I will share with you my experience and lessons learned. Continue reading to make your photographing northern lights in Iceland a success and to enjoy your trip without any stress 😉

Generally, you can see the northern lights in Iceland from September to April. You have the highest chance during the winter months, as daylight is shorter and nights are very dark. For example, to see the northern lights in March, you have to go “hunting” much later, after 11 pm.

Season of the year is the first condition you have to meet in order to see aurora borealis. The second one is the weather, specifically clear sky. If it is cloudy, you won’t be able to see anything. To make sure it is good time to see the lights, follow the weather forecast closely. Continue reading to learn which websites to check, I will introduce them couple lines below 😉

And the last condition (within this ‘category’) to see the northern lights is to diminish other sources of light pollution. This means to get out of the city. There was clear sky during our stay in Reykjavik. To find dark spot suitable for our northern lights watching, we set off outside the city in the direction of Keflavík. If you decide to do the same, be aware of street lamps accompanying you all along the way to Keflavík. Therefore, it is best to get off the road in a direction either to the sea or to the inland. If you happen to see the lights across the public lights, get in the car and head that direction in order to remove it from your view.

Before leaving for the aurora hunt, remember to check out its probability. We were checking the website of the Icelandic Meteorological Office where you can see the aurora activity and cloud cover on hourly basis. Darker the green, cloudier it is. That means you are looking for white spots representing clear sky. As for the strength of the northern lights, check out the number scale in the top right corner. The higher, the better 😉 However, even lower number shouldn’t put you off. If all the other conditions are in favor with your adventure, go for it 🙂 The whole week we spent in Iceland, it was mostly 3 or 4. The night we went chasing it, it was 4.

Once you are at your spot, somewhere dark (and cold and windy :)), you can also check the real-time auroral and solar activity at the website of the Space Weather Live. Keep updated the site to see the latest sun eruptions and await to see the aurora in a minute or two. Stronger the flares, stronger the northern lights. Just for you to understand the scale: X stands for major flare and M for strong flare. Do not hope for them, they are rare. The last X flare occurred on September 10, 2017 and M flare on October 20, 2017. So, prey for C which means small flare (small but visible).

Before you set off, double check your gear thoroughly! Good photo gear is a must if you want to photo shoot the northern lights and make stunning pictures. Your smart phone is not enough, unless the aurora is really strong. So, to make sure you are ready, do not forget to pack your DSLR or SLR camera (whichever you prefer and can handle properly) and your favorite lens. I recommend to take wide-angle lens as you can squeeze more of that beauty into a photo 🙂 However, you can use telephoto lens as well. Even if you are not a professional photographer, this is the basic equipment you should carry with you all the time. For photo shooting during the night (or in worse light conditions), always add to your gear tripod and remote controller. Make sure your tripod is stable, as it might face rough conditions.

Once you are ready to set off on your northern lights adventure, prepare for the weather conditions. You are in Iceland, most probably during winter months and it will be night. It means that you can expect cold and windy weather. Very windy 😉 Wear windbreaker jacket, warm pants and solid shoes. Take a cap and scarf around your mouth. You can always pack something extra and have it in the car in the case you need it later. I recommend taking hot tea with you too. I believe you will be full of adrenaline or endorphins, so you won’t need coffee. However, if you are the driver, maybe take some with you too, as the way back to the hotel might be relatively boring. It is always better to be prepared 😉

If all of the above conditions are fulfilled, the right settings of your camera are on point. First, make sure there is no filter on the lens, not even UV filter. Turn off the auto focus (that you find on the lens) and focus manually at infinity or far away horizon. This will avoid the lens trying to focus on a specific object during photo shooting.

Once you make sure of all the above, turn the mode dial to manual and adjust couple parameters. Set ISO values somewhere between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6 and shutter speed between 5 and 25 seconds. This depends mostly on how fast the lights move across the sky. Use shorter time period for fast moving aurora and longer exposure for a slow one. For my photos, I used the following settings: ISO 1600, aperture f/5.0 and shutter speed 25″ (as aurora was slower and less visible). I used my Canon EOS 1200D with wide-angle lens EFS 10-18 mm.

Useful tip: If you rent a car for your stay in Iceland, don’t buy the northern lights tours they offer mostly in Reykjavik. You can do that on your own and for much cheaper 🙂 When we left the city to find a place without less light pollution and got off the main road, we met couple tours like this already waiting for the aurora. You don’t have anything extra in the tour. I would say the price you pay for the tour is mostly the drive. You may also consider buying the aurora hunting tour on the sea. I don’t have any experience with that, just can’t imagine how you can achieve good conditions for photo shooting, as the boat is constantly moving.

I hope my tips will help you prepare for a successful aurora hunting, mostly if you are beginners seeking for simple advice 🙂 If you have any additional questions, please share them in the comments below. In case you want to learn more about Iceland and find some inspiration for your trip, read my blog on 8 Must-See Attractions in Iceland.

Love & happy travels,
RLT

P.S.: If you have any questions, different experience or suggestion, please share it in the comments below. 😉