Iceland is one of the best places on the planet to see the Northern lights. A Northern lights show will be put on whenever the weather conditions permit.

NORTHERN LIGHTS PHOTOGRAPY TOUR
For those looking for an northern lights photography guidance we offer a special photo tour with a local photography guide.

To book this tour please send us an e-mail  allaborgthors@onestopshop.is 

The guide will check on the conditions and take you to a spot that is likely to be the best to see the lights. Basic knowledge of photography is required for this tour.

Included in the tour:

• Transportation from hotel to venue and back
• Headlight
• Crampons
• English speaking guide/photo instructor
• Light refreshments (hot cocoa & biscuits)

Other info.

• Depart from hotel 22:00
• Duration: 3 hours
• Price pr person: 12.000 ISK
• Minimum 4 pax

Not included:

Camera, lenses and other necessary photographing facilities described above.

Please note.

• The northern lights (aurora borealis) are a natural phenomena and therefore we cannot guarantee sightings.
• Our tours are scheduled to the weather conditions and the aurora forecast. Upon postponement of any trip, our guests will be invited to the next day tour or receive a full refund

CHECKLIST FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

1 – Basic knowledge of operating a camera in manual shooting mode is highly reccomended. Knowing how to quickly change ISO setting, aperture, shutter speed, metering mode, etc can get you a shot as opposed to “digging“ through the menus while losing a great photo opportunity. Make sure you‘re comfortable with manually focusing your lens. The light levels can be very low which can result in significant hunting of your lens‘s auto-focus and often not even locking onto the subject, at all. Aurora Borealis can be very unpredictable. It can dissapear as quickly as it apears; it can move very slowly or it can “fly“ through the sky. You want to know your tools if the tour is a “once in a lifetime“ opportunity.

2 – Make sure you have at least one full battery for your camera. Temperatures in the northern hemisphere during autumn/winter periods can be quite low, resulting in batteries that deplete faster than usual. But we recommend at least two fully charged batteries to be safe.

The same goes for memory cards. Make sure it‘s empty or with enough space left on it, we reccomend two cards just in case one fails in the middle of a fantastic show of lights. Redundancy is always a safe bet when it comes to small but essential items.

3 – Comfortable photo backpack with some degree of protection from the elements (rain cover) is reccomended.

4 – Appropriate clothing and footwear. Layers are highly recommended since the weather conditions can turn from warm to very cold and windy in a very short time.

We suggest a good warm base, wind/water-proof outer layers, caps, gloves and *ankle-high waterproof hiking boots during late night photography.

*If there‘s going to be a lot of frozen snow where we‘re going, we will provide you with crampons.

5 – Specifically for Aurora tours, we reccomend lenses that capture as wide angle as possible. That‘s pretty self-explanatory, as you‘re likely want to capture as large portions of the Aurora-lit sky as you can.

6 – Tripods are more or less essential for any type of photography involving long exposures. A light but sturdy tripod with a hook on the center column for better stabillity in windy conditions is recommended. Of course, you can use as heavy a tripod as you want. Just remember that it becomes heavier by the minute if you‘re hiking up snowy hill in the wind.

7 – It‘s good to have a weather-proof (weather-resistant) camera & lens. If only your camera is weather-proof and the lens isn‘t or vice versa you lose protection altogether. In the case you don‘t have any weather-proof photo equipment it‘s very good to have a camera/lens rain cover to protect it from the elements if needed.

Aurora forecast for Iceland

WHAT IS AURORA BOREALIS (northern lights)?

The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as ‘Aurora borealis’ in the north and ‘Aurora australis’ in the south..

Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported. The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.

WHAT CAUSES THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are actually the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common auroral color, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora.