Winter photography in Iceland
Iceland is notoriously famous for it’s breathtaking landscapes, and luckily enough, some of the best locations aren’t too difficult to reach in any season although if you wish to experience a once in a lifetime experience, I would definitely recommend to plan your visit during winter
Black sand beach and northern lights
Mininal Photographic Gear
If you are a Fujifilm shooter like myself, I guess that you’ve been looking for a sturdy camera with great image quality and that sexy looking that few other camera makers are able recreate.
Holding my XT3 in extreme conditions, such as extreme cold and wet, I must say that the weather sealing worked perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier to see that even under a waterfall my camera was able to perform at it’s best and I was able to focus only on the composition (you should not do that if you are afraid of losing your gear)
Let’s now talk about the minimum photographic gear:
* Mirrorless Camera (the lightest as possible. I.e Fuji XT3 is 539g)
* Tripod (sturdy and heavy‑duty around 2‑3 Kg)
* Fujinon 23mm f2 or 16mm f1.4 and telephoto lens 55‑200mm or 70‑300mm
I know this doesn’t look like a lot, but if you plan to travel light, getting the best out of your camera, save your money in renting a good 4x4 instead of buying loads of camera gear.
Your creativity is what makes your shot unique
See below some shots taken with only two lenses 23mm and 70‑300mm
Sunset in Iceland with ice formations on the beach
Travel Tips
1. During winter time roads are unpredictable and very often the are closed due to extreme snowfalls
Check this website to keep yourself up to date to find the best way to get to your location, it’s getting constantly updated and it’s a life safer (literally!!)
https://safetravel.is
2. Check constantly weather conditions for strong winds and heavy snowfalls. The Icelandic weather service it’s providing a fantastic service, not only related to precipitations and temperature but for Aurora Forecast and possible volcanic eruptions
https://en.vedur.is
3. Keep your fuel tank always half full! This might sound a little too much, but if for any circumstance you are ought to travel by night, and you end up being in a heavy storm, if you must pull your car over to wait for better conditions you want to be sure that you can keep the engine and heat on for all the time it takes.
4. Food is expansive, like really expansive. I wouldn’t recommend to spend money in restaurants instead try to find accommodations with a shared kitchen, all the people that I met in Iceland was extremely nice and interesting
5. The Aurora Borealis, as I promised here are some tips on how to see this beautiful natural event.
There are a host of apps and website that are monitoring the solar activity, and my favorite overall is this one https://auroraforecast.is
The rule is simple, when it’s above level 3, get your gear and get out! Sometimes the activity is so strong that you can see it even while you are driving and in small cities.
The phenomenon could last for hours so don’t be afraid of missing it, you just need to be lucky that it’s a clear sky night.
Another thing that you might not know, if you think that you will need long exposures and very high ISO to capture that with your camera, well, sometimes I was shooting at ISO 250 for less than 11 second and the results are absolutely amazing
Iceland Mountain guide