Icelandic Northern Lights: My Double Experience + Photography Tips

 

This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you book or purchase through these links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

If you’re heading to Iceland and want to see the northern lights, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that they can be extremely difficult to see in Iceland. It isn’t that they are a rare occurrence, it’s just that the weather doesn’t often cooperate. While it is difficult to see them, it certainly isn’t impossible. We were lucky enough to see them twice and if we had gone outside our last night in Reykjavik, we would have seen them a third time. So, I decided to share my Icelandic northern lights experiences and pass along some photography tips too!

Settings:  f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

The Lights Explained (Simply)

Not to get all scientific, but the official name for this beautiful natural phenomenon is the aurora borealis for the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, the lights are called the aurora australis. If you are referring to either hemisphere, they are called the aurora polaris or polar lights.

The lights are the result of gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere colliding with electrically charged particles from the sun’s atmosphere. Now, there is a much deeper scientific explanation to the cause of the northern lights and while I was a science major, physics was absolutely not my thing. I am able to tell you that they can appear in several different colors such as green, yellow, pink, red, and purple. The most common color, however, is green followed by pink.

Location of the Lights

Theoretically, the lights can be seen from almost anywhere and have been seen as far south as Mexico. But, this is extremely rare and if I were to use the word impossible, this might be where I would insert it. Most commonly, the northern lights are seen in the upper latitudes such as Alaska, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and Iceland. In fact, there are seven amazing locations to see the northern lights in Europe!

I’ve seen the aurora borealis a total of three times now. The first experience was in Alaska. My hotel in Fairbanks had given me a wakeup call in the middle of the night (a lot of hotels in prime viewing locations provide this perk) and I saw the slight green hue in the distance. I was still in town though, so my view of the northern lights competed with the city lights and that isn’t an optimal combination.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 4000 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

But those second and third times? They were both in Iceland! There was no mistaking them and they really do make the night seem so magical!

Timing of the Lights

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

The simple, short answer is winter. You need completely dark skies for the human eye to view the lights. Since the optimal locations for the lights are lands of the midnight sun in the summertime, this won’t work too well. In the winter, it’s the complete opposite. The days are short and the nights are long and this is why the wintertime is ideal.

Depending on how far north you are, the lights can be seen from August to April, but your best shot is from September to March. It was mid-August in Fairbanks when I saw the lights and in Iceland, both appearances were in early October.

Icelandic Northern Lights

Forecasting the Lights

Just like the weather, there is such a thing as forecasting the northern lights. In Iceland, I used the Icelandic Meteorological Office to follow the aurora activity. Typically, they can predict the activity of the lights up to 2-3 days in advance with decent accuracy.

Since we didn’t rent a car while in Iceland, we booked this northern lights tour from Reykjavik on two different nights for a couple of reasons. One, we knew the odds of seeing the lights on a single night weren’t good. Two, we could watch the aurora forecast and cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund if the weather wasn’t looking cooperative. A bonus was the tour company would cancel the tour by 4 pm if the weather looked hopeless and allow you to reschedule for another night.

See how Sunday shows some clearing of the clouds, but the aurora activity is rated a 2 which is low? | Photo Courtesy of the IMO

And, sure enough, the first night we had booked the tour we ended up canceling because the forecast was calling for an activity level of 0-1 out of 9 and cloud coverage was engulfing the entire country.

Monday at 6 pm shows clearing skies but the aurora activity is still only a 2. | Photo Courtesy of the IMO 

In case you’re wondering, that’s bad. Thanks to the IMO forecast, we were able to cancel in advance and spend that night doing something else!

Tuesday at 6 pm shows clear skies AND an activity level of 4 or “active”! This is an optimal situation and a night to chase the lights! | Photo Courtesy of the IMO

Our second night, however, wound up being the jackpot! The activity level was 4-5/9 and labeled “active”!

Tuesday at midnight, however, shows that even though the lights are active with a rating of 4, clouds are moving in. From this information, I would gather the best chance of seeing the lights on this particular night to be between 6 pm and midnight. | Photo Courtesy of the IMO

Photographing the Icelandic Northern Lights

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 4000 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

Of course, when you see the northern lights you want to be able to capture photos of them to commemorate (what I describe as) one of the most magical moments in traveling, right? So did I. In fact, it was a major bucket list item of mine to not only see the lights but photograph them.

I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They are a completely different beast when it comes to photography, especially if you are fairly new to shooting in manual (which I was).

A lot of my shots came out like this even in manual. It’s not easy so can you imagine trying to capture them with a cell phone? Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 2500 |Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

First, let’s get one thing out of the way. While the best camera is the one you have at the ready and mobile phones have come a long way in photography, this is NOT the time to depend on that iPhone. It isn’t going to work.

In fact, the only way I can think of even having a remote chance is if you have a tripod and mount for your mobile phone. You would also have to use an app like Slow Shutter Cam for iPhone or Long Exposure Camera 2 for Android. Even then, I’m just not sure.

I can’t describe how disappointed and frustrated people were when they realized their cell phones wouldn’t capture the lights.

Must-Have Photography Equipment

Looking through my shots after the first sighting. I took these photos of my camera with my iPhone 7 so I will exclude settings.

• DSLR, mirrorless, or travel camera capable of shooting in manual: For these shots, I used my Canon 80D although my primary travel camera shoots in manual too.
• Wide Angle Lens: Most any lens will capture the lights with the right settings, but a wide-angle is best. I used this Canon EF-S 18-135mm lens.
• Tripod: I travel with this one because it’s light and easy to use (even for beginners)
• Cable Remote: I use this one for my Canon but here’s an option for Nikon. Be sure to check compatibility for either.
• Light Source: something to shine a light for manual focusing. I use the flashlight on my iPhone, but some people use a headlamp.

Camera Settings

Because these will vary for every situation and I’m not an expert, I will be pretty general here. However, I’ve included my camera settings for each photo in its caption.

Left: Putting the camera in Manual mode. Right: Switching the lens to Manual Focus.

• Manual mode for both the camera body and the lens. The camera isn’t going to focus on its own which is why you want to be sure you are manually focusing. For the lens, there’s a switch to put it in MF (manual focus) from AF (autofocus).
• Aperture (f-stop) is the opening in the lens through which light travels into the camera. You want this as wide or as open as your lens will allow (so smallest number possible).
• ISO is the camera’s sensitivity to light. The higher the number, the more light it lets in and the brighter your photo will be. However, you want it as low as you can get away with so as not to compromise the quality.
• Shutter Speed or exposure time is how long the shutter is open. Capturing the northern lights requires longer exposures.
• Focal length will vary but most of my shots were at 18mm.

Photography Tips

If you’re a beginner, don’t worry, these tips should be easy to follow. Although I’m not new to photography, I am still fairly new to shooting in manual and it was my very first time to photograph the lights. My shots aren’t perfect or the best, but I want to encourage others (especially beginners in manual mode) to try because you can do it!

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 4000 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

1 | Have patience, be quick, and experiment with your settings. Welcome to the reason the lights can be so difficult to capture. How are you supposed to do all of these things at once? Think about it this way: keep calm and focused on what you’re doing, be quick with your initial settings and experiment until you find what works.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

2 | Decide if you want anything in the foreground and determine the lighting situation. Is it completely dark? Is there water with light reflections or is there snow on the ground? This will determine your settings.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 3200 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

3 | Set your camera settings.
4 | Find an object (could be a tree, another person, a car, etc) about 10 feet in front of you and shine your light (in my case my iPhone flashlight) on that object. While you’re shining the light, focus the camera on the object. The first night, a friend was my “object” and the second night, I used the minibus we traveled in. Do this quickly as the light can disturb others’ viewing of the lights not to mention their photos.
5 | Do a test shot and then adjust based on its results.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

6 | The lights will dance across the sky in a wave-like pattern. One second they’ll be quite small and only over part of the sky…

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 2500 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

And the next they’ll be enormous, thick and covering the entire sky. They’re very unpredictable so my advice is to move with them, capturing different views and experiencing with different foregrounds.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 4000 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

And lastly…

7 | Have fun.
8 | Don’t forget to take a step back from the camera and be present in the moment (guilty party right here 🙋).

Icelandic Northern Lights Locations

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 4000 | Shutter Speed | Focal Length 18mm

Technically, you could see them anywhere in the country, but your best chance is getting out of the city and going somewhere as dark as possible.

First Icelandic Sighting

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

The first night I saw the lights in Iceland we were at the Hótel Laugarbakki which is in the northwestern part of the country. Beside the hotel, there was a large, open field and in the distance, we could see water (which I later learned was a fjord). For the most part, the area was dark minus the blaring light shining from the hotel and lights from the occasional passing boat.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

You can see in this photo how the hotel lights affected the lighting. It was still magical…just a little harder for me to photograph. I kept hoping they would eventually turn them off especially after learning the lights had made an appearance, but no such luck.

 Second Icelandic Sighting

I’ve already mentioned how the second night was the jackpot. That’s really an understatement. This was the night we were on a tour and they took us from Reykjavik out near Thingvellir National Park which is about 45 minutes away.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 2500 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

It is true that on this night the aurora activity was much stronger, but it helped we had no light pollution. You can see in the photo above the difference in lighting. This was so much easier to photograph and it was hard to contain my excitement!

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 2000 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

In fact, it was so magical watching the lights dance, sway, and swirl across the sky that I admit, I became a little emotional. We were even treated to a little pink that night!

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 3200 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

Remember how I said to experiment with different foregrounds and angles? This is what I was doing here. I tried getting the snow and what looks like a cabin in the foreground.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 4000 | Shutter Speed 13 sec | Focal Length 18mm

And here, I was trying to capture the snow with the lights of Reykjavik in the distance. This was trickier and I didn’t quite master it, but it was my second time EVER photographing the lights. I’m quite a happy camper!

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 5000 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

And last, but not least, I tried my hand at shooting the Milky Way. Can you see why it is called the Milky Way? Though this was not new information to me, it was really cool to actually get to see the milky part and capture it on camera.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

It isn’t able to be seen like this in just any location. I tried the night I was glamping in the Sahara Desert in Morocco but a nearly full moon nixed that.

Settings: f/3.5 | ISO 1600 | Shutter Speed 15 sec | Focal Length 18mm

At home on clear nights, I can see the North Star right over my driveway as I’m walking to get the mail. But, I’ve never once seen the milky part of the way 😜 at home because there is too much light pollution and too many buildings interfering.

After that, it was time to shut down production and head back to Reykjavik. What a fabulous night and one that I will remember for the rest of my life!

PIN IT!

Absolutely gorgeous, aren’t they? I can’t tell you how excited I was that everything fell into place to get these kinds of views. If you are traveling to Iceland, hopefully, the weather will cooperate for your visit and using these tips you can get some awesome photos!

Have you seen the northern lights? If so, where did you see them and what’s your best photography tip? As always, please let me know below!

‘Til next time…

Trimm Travels,

Heather