Photography

Now I'm thinking about how I'm going to photograph that amazing view I'm soon to have of the Northern Lights, lava, bonfires and fireworks. Yes, all at the same time. I've requested it.

After looking at a few websites for tips on photographing the Aurora Borealis (to give it its proper name) I've realised that my snappy camera probably isn't going to be up to the job. So I've just ordered myself a DSLR. I didn't want a full-blown SLR as I know I'd get too confused by it and I can't afford one anyway. So I've got a combi type that has got really good reviews. It should arrive by the end of next week, so then I need to get out and about practising with it and learning how to be a good night photographer. All in the next few weeks.

I've also ordered an 'extreme' memory card. Apparently memory cards can give up when the temperature gets too hot or too cold. The extreme cards are meant to cope with extreme lows and highs. The temperature in Reykjavik should be hovering around 0 when I'm there, but it has been known to get down to -17, so I want to be prepared.

I need to get a spare battery too, for the same reason. Then I can keep one next to my body and keep swapping them over. And a tripod. I've been researching tripods, but I'm not too sure which one yet. I want something light to carry but it has to be strong enough to stand steady in big winds. Iceland can be VERY windy. The other thing is a coat. I have my waterproof which I use for walking, but I'm not sure if this will be warm enough. I can layer up underneath it, but I can only fit so many layers. I had a look a down jackets which seem really snug, but they're not particularly waterproof. At least not waterproof for the full-on sideways blasting rain that Iceland will throw at me. So I'll have to ponder a bit more on that one.


http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-a-digital-camera/

Northern Lights

I'm feeling excited. I've just booked a trip to Iceland over New Year. I normally feel as though I can't do much over Christmas as Christmas Day is usually in the middle of my time off school and I often have family staying with me. But this year I break up right before Christmas and so don't have to be back at school until the 9th January. And I don't have family staying. It's far too good an opportunity to miss and the obvious thing to do with a holiday at this time of year is to try to see the northern lights. I've been to Iceland before and I love it there. I've only been in summer when the daylight seemed never ending, so it will be interesting to be there in the heart of winter when there's very little daylight.

I'm staying in two different youth hostels in the city as I was only allowed to book a maximum of 7 nights at either one. I've found a tour company that does tours each evening hunting for the northern lights. They check the weather maps and go to where ever the best chance of seeing of the lights is. If the weather doesn't look good they'll cancel the tour and reschedule for the next night. If we do go out and don't see the lights we can go on the tour the next night free of charge.

As I'll have 11 nights there, surely I'll get to see them??? I can't have all those chances and still miss out. And if I'm really lucky maybe one of the volcanoes will erupt again and I'll get to tick lava of my list as well. Oh to get one of those iconic photos of lava spewing in front of a background of aurora borealis ...

And another volcano erupts when I'm not there

Yes, another volcano in Iceland has erupted and yet again I miss out on seeing lava. I was close to this volcano when I was in Iceland a couple of summers ago. I skidooed over the glacier that covers it, though I was further south. I also came close when I did a trip into the interior of Iceland which is pretty much closed to everyone in the winter. Because of distances and difficulty of getting transport in this region this Grimsvotn volcano isn't as easy to get to as Eyjafjallajokul would have been when that erupted. 

One of these days one will erupt when I'm either already nearby or when I'm in a position to get on a plane (assuming they're still flying) and head straight over to see it. 

Volcano Book

I had to go into Manchester for the dentist after school and as I had a bit of time to kill I popped into a remaindered book shop. I was quite excited to find a hardback book full of colour pictures of volcanoes for £2.99.

I first got interested in volcanoes when I travelled in Indonesia a couple of years ago. I saw several steaming, grumbling and smoking volcanoes but no actual lava. The nearest I got was Merapi which is really active. You have to go with a guide if you want to go into the danger zone (very Top Gun) but even with a guide it's not possible to go to the rim which is in the forbidden zone. The morning I was there it was spewing lava. I could hear it grumbling. I could feel it rumbling beneath my feet. But did I see lava? No. The morning I was there the lava was pouring out of the other side! So now I'm on a lava quest.

In recent years both Merapi and Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland which I saw the following year, have had full blown eruptions. I missed both. Just to rub salt into my wounds I got stuck in Antwerp over Easter last year because of the Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud. Not that that was such a bad thing. I got an extra week off work and got time to explore Antwerp. But both times I missed the lava. One day I'll see it, I know I will.