The aurora borealis is on everyone's bucket list. It's a natural phenomena that is scientifically amazing. And also has a deep folkloric mystical vibe. Every photo one sees of the "northern lights" is absolute magic.
Going to Iceland Lindsey and I knew we were on the early cusp of aurora season which *can* start in late August, but is most prominent from October to April. We were there in mid-late September. Every night we would check my forecasting app Aurora Pro, but we had cloud cover for so much of the trip. So our expectations were low.
My mom, who was on her own separate trip through Iceland concurrently with ours, went on several Northern Lights tours hoping to see them, but never did. They would typically stay out until 1am hoping to catch a glimpse, but every night they went was a bust.
The same for us through the first 10 days of the trip. It wasn't until we got to Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the Black Church of Budir that I saw something. We had rolled in earlier that day after gale force winds hit the peninsula. We had to hunker down in a town 90 minutes away, for about 3 hours, before we could even drive on the roads to the church (and our hotel which was situated next door). When we arrived near sunset I got a couple photos of the church before we unpacked and had dinner.
After we ate I looked out the window and the skies were clear. So I thought I'd try some night photography at the church. Lindsey wanted to stay in, so I headed up alone. I made a couple photographs that were ok, and was ready to head back to the hotel. As I looked off in the northern sky I could see the faintest discoloration in the sky, and a bit of movement. It looked more like a shadow in the sky than the brilliant green dancing lights you see in photos, but it was in fact the aurora. I set up my camera to take photo, and then immediately called Lindsey to say "get dressed, I'm coming to pick you up!" Then I drove down (literally just a hill, it was a 45 second drive or would have been a 2 minute walk) and fetched Lindsey. We drove back up to the church and enjoyed what faint light we could see.
The northern lights are attached to some amazing folklore. Firefoxes. Valkyries taking warriors to Valhalla. Dangerous omens. We quickly wondered what the deal was. The lights were so faint. But the folklore so rich. What were we seeing? Once we got back to the hotel we did our research and discovered that what we saw was a faint display. The displays of the lights varies. Sometimes faint. Sometimes wondrous. That is by no means me saying we were disappointed or underwhelmed. But it is interesting to see how photographs portray these lights and always so brilliant. It's easy to skew expectations.
The following day we drove around the peninsula, photographed at Kirkjufell and then drove back in the night. As we drove through a mountain pass we saw the most amazing display of the full moon and I thought that would be cool to juxtapose with the church. As we were driving up the road to the church we saw the light that typically illuminated the church was out. That seemed strange.
In the church yard were a dozen photographers. I didn't know what was going on. Was it a workshop? We parked and I got out of the car to scout things out. As I looked above the church I saw the faint lights dancing about, slightly more intense than they had been the night before. I quickly got my gear and set up.
The mood in the church yard was tense. Every photographer there was stressed and under pressure to get a good shot. One photographer yelled at me for parking in view of his shot, so Lindsey and I quickly had to move the car. Photographers were constantly carelessly walking in front of others shots (long exposures) because they were so focused on finding a better composition. Lots of apologies were offered in what ended up being about 40 minutes.
I managed to get a few photographs I was really happy with. Lindsey and I decided to get changed and then head back out to see if we could find any other viewpoints with the lights. We stayed out until about 2am before packing it in for an early morning that would take us to the Golden Circle and then back to Reykjavik.
Despite crossing the northern lights off of my bucket list, I think they are something that just stays in the bucket. So many experiences are wonderful no matter how many times you partake. And I'll always jump at the chance to see an aurora, even the faintest one.
