How NOT To Photograph The Northern Lights In Iceland

If going to Iceland had always been high on my wishlist, seeing the Northern Lights was even higher. Of course, the fact that you can combine the two made it super easy for me to tick them both off said list, but not before I made some huge and fatal (ok, maybe not fatal) errors. Being unprepared, underdressed (winter clothes aren’t enough at night in Iceland. At the beginning of January) and unhelpful to myself all resulted in some of the worst photos I have ever taken in my life. Even my disposable camera-toting 11-year-old self would have been appalled by my efforts. My only defense is that it was cold and I had done a severe lack of research.

What follows, dear friends, is my sage advice about how not to photograph the Northern Lights in Iceland, so that the terrible fate that befell me one evening this January will hopefully never befall you. God speed.

1) Don’t forget your tripod – It’s the Northern Lights, duh. As in, a natural, constantly-moving phenomenon. These things won’t just hang in the sky while you snap picture after picture for your Facebook friends back home. If you want any kind of chance of capturing the lights, your camera will need to be stable.

2) Don’t try and adjust your camera settings once you get there, in the total darkness – To be able to see the Northern Lights (should they appear, which isn’t a guarantee) you have to be somewhere with no external light-influencing factors (i.e. not in the middle of a big, bright city). The tour we took drove us out into a field in the middle of nowhere, with only one small cafe/inn in which to shelter. I decided to wait until I got out of the bus to start fiddling with my camera settings, not realising that I wouldn’t even be able to see my own hands, let alone what settings my camera was on. Running in and out of the cafe wasn’t an option, as you need to be able to take a couple of test shots on your actual subject before you can achieve the desired effect. In my opinion, you need to adjust your camera settings to as close as you think you will need them before you get there (do your research online if necessary) and know exactly where each of the buttons and dials are, because you’re hands will be frozen and it’s dark

3) Don’t try and compete with the show-offs – Unfortunately, as everyone under the sun seems to have a DSLR these days (including me), there seems to have been bred a new and ugly species of human: the photography show-off. These people can be spotted from several metres away due to their long tripods, their curved hunchbacks and their smug grins. These are the people who will attract crowds with their clear and precise photos, to cries of “what aperture did you use?” and “which exposure setting is that?” I wasn’t one of these people. I will never be one of these people. By all means, do what you need to do to achieve some lasting memories, but don’t regale me with tales of frostbite in your toes because you’re so much more “hardcore” than everyone else.

4) Don’t miss the experience because you’re fiddling to take the shot – In the whole 3 hours I was in the field (with several breaks in the cafe to regain my circulation), we only saw the Northern Lights clearly for about 15 – 20 seconds. During this time there were different colours of pinks and greens and the lights were “dancing”. But once they’re gone, they’re gone, and if you spend the whole time looking at them through your camera lens, you’re likely going to miss experiencing them first hand for yourself.

5) Don’t forget your gloves – It will be cold when you are stood outside for upwards of three hours until around 11pm. Make sure you’re wrapped up warm and don’t wear mittens like I did (refer to point number two about trying to adjust your camera settings with frozen twigs for fingers) but do make sure you wear thick gloves – they even make special camera gloves these days, which is what the more experienced show-offs were wearing.

I was so happy I got to see the Northern Lights for myself, but the evening was tainted by my anger at myself for not being able to capture them on my camera and for my hands being frozen into claws. I didn’t take my own advice on this one occasion and I regret it. Don’t make the same mistakes I did, people. After all, you pay good money to go and stand in that field; don’t let yourself down.