We found the Northern Lights, and you can too! - Iceland

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Hunting for the Aurora Borealis, who doesn’t have that on their bucket list? Lucky for us, we get to cross that off ours because our hunting was a complete success! Weeks prior to the hunt, I scoured the internet for clues and tips on finding the lights. Days prior to the trip, I studied the Aurora Forecast to check for predictability of activity. Things didn’t look too great for us. It was supposed to be overcast and cloudy, it would be a full moon which would hinder visibility, and the overall grade from 0 - 9 was a 2, pretty low shot. 

However on the day we left, I didn’t lose hope and I checked the forecast again at the airport, right after Harrison found out where we were going. The first night we would be there didn’t look too promising, but our second night there looked a lot better. The full moon was still there, but the cloudy overcast seemed like it was disappearing, and the grade climbed up to a 5!

Everyone there gave us the advice that we should never take a chance and we should always hunt for the lights every single night because it’s so unpredictable and things can change at any time. In this case, we decided to trust our gut and book the bus for the second night and miss out on the first night.

On our second night, we bundled up in our warmest clothes, grabbed our DSLR and tripod, and headed for the hunt! I usually prefer smaller busses instead of giant coach buses that shuttle people from destination to destination, but since this was just driving us to the beach to look for the lights, we opted to sign up with Reykjavik Excursions.

The tour guide told us that we would have to be patient because the lights are really unpredictable so they could show up immediately, take longer, or not show up at all. However, the moment we parked and stepped off the bus, we looked up at the sky and the show had already begun.

 
 

The lights were literally dancing across the night sky, stretching forward and moving with grace. It was a spectacular sight. We set up the camera and tripod as best we could in the dark to take our pictures. Experimenting with different settings and exposures is key to try to capture the different movements. Even when we thought we took a great picture, we would adjust the exposure a bit and the next picture turned out even more vibrant than the first. 

Although my face felt whiplash from the cold, and I was freezing and on the verge of losing fingers and toes, I stood outside until we were the very last people to board the bus again because I was in complete awe and couldn’t take my eyes away. It’s such a beautiful, natural phenomenon and a must on anyone’s bucket list.

The lights were truly unpredictable, but it worked out in our favor. Even when we returned to the city and there were street lights and glows from all the surrounding buildings, we saw the show once more as we headed back to our hotel. I think the different lights around the city affected the lights in the sky because we actually saw shades of purple and pink gracefully sway across the sky.

Our third night actually had a pretty high grade on the forecast as well. We took the local bus and hiked out to Grotto Lighthouse during low tide and waited for the night. Make sure you check the times for when it's low tide, otherwise you could be stranded on the lighthouse side! The weather turned within hours and it became extremely overcast, no shot at even seeing the stars. So it does prove that the forecast is truly unpredictable and can easily change against our favor as well. We froze our butts off to get some more great photos that night as well, but no more of the northern lights.

If you want to hunt for those beautiful lights, here are my suggestions: 

  1. Plan your trip for some time between September to March - the cold winter months are the best season for the lights 
  2. Stay for a longer period of time - that way you have a higher probability (more nights!) to hunt for the lights
  3. Bring a DSLR camera & tripod - chances are you won't be able to hold your iPhone completely still for longer than 30 seconds
  4. Religiously check the Aurora Forecast - it really is unpredictable, it can change ay any time! 
  5. Don't stay in the city - join a tour or drive out to the countryside or beach where there's less distracting city lights