Northern Lights, Botnsdalur, Iceland

Again, lots of Northern Lights alerts, but the difficulty is to decide when to go, as the sky also needs to be clear to be able to see them. And it has to be cold too. And it's better (more enjoyable) if there is no wind. I guess I was quite inspired that evening as I got all of that: a cold clear night, no wind, lots of Northern Lights (many of which I will not take any photos of and enjoy from the warmth of my sleeping bag instead).


Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

The beginning

Northern Lights over Hvalfjörður, Wednesday night, just past midnight

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Almost 1am

Trying to include the Jeep in the picture but it's not easy as I thought it would be and I'm going to need some serious practise with Northern Lights photography

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Dancing over the mountain

For a while the Northern Lights seem to be dancing right over the mountain, following its shape

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

1:01am

Trying to get the foreground a bit brighter, but it washes away the Northern Lights

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

The camp

I managed to found a patch a thick moss at the end of the fjord to spend the night in comfort, isolated from the cold ground

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

01:19am

The Northern Lights are still dancing over the mountains, while the wind is starting to pick up a bit

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

03:05am

This is probably the best shot of the night, after a bit of sleep while the Northern Lights stopped, I woke up at 3am to see them coming back even stronger, enjoyed them for a while inside my sleeping bag, and finally decided to get out of it to take a few photos. I believe the orange light at the bottom is coming from the aluminium factory

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

7:04am

The sleeping bag that kept me relatively warm during the night, I don't think it went below -10°C

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Frost

The frost covering the rest of the equipment that stayed outside during the night, testimony of the cold night. I used the sleeping bag's compression bag to put my shoes in, and the camera bag to cover the camera when not taking photos

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Breakfast

Home made raw cereal bar
PS: Big thanks to Val for the recipe, it turned out to be delicious

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

7:48am

View on the Fjord, taken from the very spot where I spend the night during the previous trip

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Road 47

The road 47 goes around Hvalfjörður, which is not so frequented anymore since the 5.7km tunnel was built in 1998, but it still offers some of the best views in Iceland in my opinion

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Sunrise

8:15am - Sunrise over the Laxa river

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

The Jeep

The Jeep was there too and deserves some credit for bringing me there and back

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Blue Sky

I took a shortcut on the way back via Road 48 to spot possible locations for my next trip. The mountain I will climb and ride down a few days later is just on the left.

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

8:50am

Pink sunrise. And to my greatest pleasure, the valley is full of snow. Absolute peace.

Northern Lights, Hvalfjörður, Iceland, March 2012

Road 36

Back on road 36, which leads to Þingvellir National Park on the left, and back to Reykjavik on the right.