One of those moments I’ll never forget ! My friend & I visiting Iceland in 2015 ,had just been on a long walk to explore some Ice caves that afternoon , remembering that he was diabetic we called in at Hofn enroute to equalise the insulin/sugar level in his rapidly freezing blood stream . I just ate a largish portion of egg and bacon , job done ! 40 miles down the coast is the promontory known as Hvlanes ,complete with the stunning peaks of the Eystrahorn . By the time of arrival Stan ( the afore mentioned friend ) was slipping into a bit of a coma as the cold coupled with the long walk was tipping the balance of blood sugar away from the mars bar he had just consumed , so at least he was now warming by the cars heating system .
The previous evening I had been having a chat outside our Guest house to a national Geographic photographer , who pointed out that it was worthwhile taking a few time lapse sequences when there isn’t any Aurora activity . So setting camera up, and pointing north , the cold was beginning to bite ,& hands were beginning to numb .
Just to the east a green glow in the sky had begun to appear . Growing into one of the best Aurora Borealis displays I had ever seen .I’ve seen brighter , but not with such a magnificent back drop ,or in this case foreground .
The big surprise of the whole venture ,that the forecast had predicted a ‘0’ Aurora ! Two Lessons learned , ALWAYS carry your camera ! ALWAYS carry a 2nd mars bar !
PS the image is the camera facing the sky directly overhead , the supercharged Aurora is well above the clouds 60 miles up .I this case the Clouds are formed by sulphur dioxide streaming in from the Bardabunga volcano some 45 miles to the north west .
we wondered why our eyes smarted a bit the next day!