The present of meeting Aurora Borealis in Iceland
Yesterday we've been chatting a lot about Iceland and the glorious Northern Lights with Denis, also known as @sharker and our conversation inspired me to write more about my unexpected meeting with the indescribable Aurora Borealis. As I mentioned to Denis in our chat, the Lights I saw that night were quite different in density, speed, even colors from those I've observed few months earlier when I was in Norway, this time a travel dedicated to chasing Aurora Borealis.
Chronologically, it all started with a planned sunset and blue hour photo shoot at the famous Hvitserkur, where I have made several long exposure photos, including this one below that I am sharing here for the very first time. There I had a near-death experience, almost falling down when I was climbing up the slippery steep shore to get back to our rental car but that's a completely separate story to tell.
We had limited time to drive to the place we reserved for the night, a cozy, as it appeared later, guest house called "Dalakot Guesthouse" with limited check-in period so we rushed on the gravel roads at that region. Then... surprise, surprise, at the edge of the blue hour and the night we saw the magical magnetic play of the Northern Lights.
We had to stop and make few photos as quickly as possible, but it was still too bright to have proper starry sky and the Aurora as you will see on the second photo.
Of course, once we checked in, we dressed properly and went out in the night. It was the night of 31st of August and 1st of September but at some point at around 4 AM, the temperature was -4 degree C! :)
We had to do with whatever the surroundings were giving us as foregrounds, I tried to catch or at least touch Aurora, hehehe; I also used my flash I carried with me to photograph the emotional faces of my friends in our old car with mileage more than 350,000 km, yep :D, but probably the photo I love the most from this series is the last one in this post, where I also managed to capture the head and tail lights of the only passing vehicle for that night, by that early hour of the day, those of a garbage truck :)
Now I'm gonna stop writing, enjoy your moments with my photos! :P :)
Copyright: Damian Hadjiyvanov, Light Captured
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Have a great photo! :P
Thanks!
Something I would love to see, experience the magic of the Northern Lights, no matter how old the car is, it got you there.
By the expression on your faces this really was a treat to behold. Dragon drinking was something I have never heard about quick google, another unusual formation on on amazing planet.
Thanks for sharing this extreme night out in nature, great photography!
Thanks so much for your time to read and take a look at my photos, Joan!
From the angles I was able to photograph it, to me it looked much more like the half-sunk head of a giant guardian, hiding in the deep salty waters :) I never knew they call it the Drinking Dragon, hehe :)
A truly unforgettable night, we didn't mind at all we haven't slept then :)
I hope you see Aurora and beauties of Iceland soon!
Come on!
These are really awesome!
I love Aurora. It is like another dimension. Well whole Iceland is just stunning...
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I really lack adjectives when I try to describe what I saw and felt in Iceland.
There is definitely something magical about it, even only the fact it's the only country with no mosquitos :D :P
And a tip to a friend, once you go there, buy one of those local chocolates they make with crispy sea salt. :)
Thanks a bunch!
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Thank you :)
This looks amazing. I haven't seen anything like that where I live (in the cities). Is it common to see the sky like that at night there?
Thank you!
As far as I understand its physics, it all depends on the force of impact between the magnetic field of the Earth and the power of particles of energy that the Sun emits. The chance to see it is much bigger in some months, like February, March, then October, November, of course, for the Northern Lights you have to go up North in the Polar Circle but I've heard in could be seen in Scotland from time to time.
We've used few Aurora forecast mobile apps then but I can't recommend any.
Thanks for letting me know. I'll add it to the list of places I want to travel too in the future and I'll stick a note to visit it during certain months.
Welcome! I would love to see your photos and read your stories then :)))
I can't guarantee that I will write anything about it. I might take some pictures but may never upload them (this usually happens). I have so many things about games that I should write about but am too lazy to start the process.
It may come as a surprise to you but I also have tons of photos that will probably never see daylight 😂
I'm too self critical, if you know what I mean...
Do you play Forge of Empires? I love it and I play it for more than 2 years, probably 3.
Ah, I forgot to mention, I know from friends, Aurora Borealis happens and could be observed pretty often in Canada :)
Now that sounds a lot closer. I'll also add that to the list of places to go to in the future. Maybe after all the lockdowns are finished and we are free to travel again.
Hehe, definitely :) I added this once I saw on your blog where are you from :) It should be a common thing for Alaska, thinking about it, not that I have checked :D
I suppose there are local web sites that provide much better and more reliable and correct info about the Lights.
When I first chased Aurora in Norway there was a big line of businesses offering "licensed/certified Aurora chasers", whatever the f this means, but they were quite expensive for my taste and I've had planned locations anyway.
Yea I have to check which places are closer, but a little research will do the work. Then I'll have to make some time after the lockdowns and everything dies down.
These are awesome photos. I saw them in Norway some years ago, it was absolutely mesmerising. We were standing outside for over an hour watching it and I didn't even feel the cold even though it must have been -10 degrees. That was how good it was. Of course my photos turned out nothing like what I saw, whereas yours literally take me back to that night. Thanks!!
Thanks a lot! Aurora takes away your grammar, right? No, it takes away your breath and words too, I would say instead :D
I know the feeling, it was the same with me, even the second time I saw it :) On our trip to Norway, it was almost -20, we were near Tromsø, browsing the fjords ;)
Yes, making (not taking) photos of the Lights is a bit challenging, the tripod is obligatory, certain techniques have to be applied but the next time with a little preparation, I'm sure you'll have good ones :))) I would love to help with regards to this, sharing my experience, if you like the idea :)
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Thank you, Kim!
How beautiful! Both Hvitserkur and the Northern Lights! I am glad that you were lucky enough to see it so beautiful and already at the very beginning of September. Let the wonders of Iceland always delight us :)
I saw Aurora twice, the first was in the north of Russia (here in the northernmost regions it is often seen) - a couple of nights during several days while we were there, and one was very beautiful, but not as bewitchingly beautiful as these yours, definitely. And the second time was also in Norway, on Lofoten, but everything there quickly closed in clouds, I will probably also make a post later about this small fiasco, inspired by your successful story :)
Lucky you!
Lofoten seems so photogenic! A dream come true... By the way, I was planning to go near Murmansk with friends to chase the Lights but there was a challenge getting some access permits from the military as it is some kind of a military area and we've abandoned the idea.
I'm not very lucky - at Lofoten we unfortunately really saw very little - this is about Aurora. But in general, yes, it was very beautiful there. But again, it was still not lucky with bright sunsets and sunrises, although I went out to shoot every morning and almost every evening. This is the weather, it is unpredictable :)
I don’t know where exactly near Murmansk you can’t just get there and you need to get permission (I didn’t recognize it, because I’ve not been there before), but just this year we are going to go to those regions, for a couple of days to visit Murmansk itself and spend a few days on the coast of the Barents Sea, waiting for the Northern Lights. There is such a beautiful place as the village of Teriberka - in the Kola district of the Murmansk region (Kola Peninsula), and there is no need for special permission. In recent years, it has become quite popular in Russia for tourism and photography; people often come to its surroundings to see the beautiful and photogenic North. Now I want to try to discover it for myself, I hope I will be able to see the Northern Lights there:)
True, weather is absolutely unpredictable by the sea/ocean :) When we were near Tromsø, I've noticed there were periods, each 5-6 days of either cloudless sky and freezing temperatures, -10, -15, -20 C or warm weather 0 - +5 C and sky fully covered by clouds. One of the days we even thought Aurora is kinda joking with us as we were able to see the glows behind the cloud curtain but making photos was impossible. So in total, from the 6 nights we spend there, we were able to properly photograph it only one night.
Thanks for that info, unfortunately I haven't been to Russia, we had plans to go to Санкт Петербург few times on a photo-trip but always something was coming in our way. Lately as I am getting old, hehe, my priorities shift from cities to less populated areas with beautiful nature :)
Well, at least one night is not bad :)
Perhaps you will succeed with Russia later. There is a lot of beautiful nature here, including untouched ones (but it is, however, sometimes difficult to get to it :))
I really hope I have that chance :)
Wow que espectacular es mi sueño conocer tu país y ver la Aurora boreal muy lindo de verdad todas tus pics
Thank you :)
Wow... this is so... marvelous, emotional and stunning!
Thank you, Vasil :)
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