Diary: The Northern Lights in Iceland with Paul Watson

Equipped with a full Nikon, Panasonic and DJI setup, landscape and adventure photographer Paul Watson has visited Iceland to capture one of nature’s most elusive subjects—the northern lights. In this article, Paul shares his diary from his trip. Find out more about his experiences, kit recommendations, and stunning imagery of Icelandic landscapes and the aurora borealis. 

Day one

I was lucky enough to be able to travel—with just a 4x4 and a roof tent—on an incredible trip to one of my favourite countries, Iceland. It’s good to have the flexibility to chase the aurora borealis or find idyllic photography conditions—and it makes for the best adventures! 

Iceland is any photographer's dream. Spontaneity can be great fun. But, for a photography trip, a lot of careful planning has to come first. And a large aspect of this planning is photography equipment.

When I travel, I take as much of my gear as the baggage allowance will accept. But I shoot with two systems, so I have a lot of equipment. I often find myself having to streamline. Since starting out with a DSLR, I’ve mostly used Nikon. I’ve since moved on to the mirrorless Nikon Z6 and Nikon 14-30mm f/4 S, and I’m gradually switching my DSLR lenses for their Z-mount counterparts. I also have a Panasonic DC-S1R and Panasonic 24-105mm f/4 Macro OIS. I fell in love with this Panasonic setup. With its huge sensor and resolution, it’s capable of stunning high-quality prints. I also own a DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone, which comes along to every shoot location. The drone helps me explore what I cannot see from ground level and to find the perfect composition. 

This setup covers most aspects of landscape photography, so it’s almost always in my kit bag. But I also have my reserve ‘B team’,  which I use for more specific jobs. 

If I’m shooting people or animal portraits, I’ll bring along the 85mm f/1.8 Nikon for my Z7 and the Panasonic50mm f/1.4 for my S1R. For video and astrophotography, the 20mm f/1.8 ED AS UMC Nikon prime lens has a wide aperture to capture its motion in the dark sky. 

I use the 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Nikon—plus the Nikon Z TC-2xteleconverter —for wildlife and, surprisingly, a lot of landscapes. When the vista is vast and the frame looks lost in a wide lens, I like to zoom into a subject and fill the frame with something in the distance. Using people for scale, the compression can also make for some amazing images. 

When I’m on a long hike and backpack weight is an issue, I’ll bring the jack-of-all-trades Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VRR. It’s often the last resort, as it’s not as sharp as my other lenses.

I use a circular polariser lens filter on most shoots, especially if they involve water, cars or any reflective surface, plus graduated neutral-density filters for controlling the light. I don’t use filters on every shoot, but I like to have them on standby. Last, but not least, my Manfrotto tripod is a must-have for long exposures and astrophotography.

Planning for each location is key. Once I arrive at the destination, I start looking at the equipment I’ll need for each location. This will depend on the length of the hike and the subject I aim to shoot. I consider what I might need, pack my bag for that particular spot and leave the rest xof my gear in a safe place. 

After arriving in Iceland, we headed straight for the highlands to shoot some product shots of our hire cars. We used the Panasonic S1R and 50mm f/1.4 prime.  

For on-the-road locations, like the iconic Mælifell volcano, I shot some frames with my Nikon Z6 with the 14-30mm f/4 and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro straight from the car. Then we finished with a fairly short hike to Holmsarlon, just in time for sunset. 

For the hike, I wanted to pack fairly light. So I left all my prime lenses in the car, along with my Nikon F 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens and x2 adapter. I knew it would be a wide shot, so my Panasonic S1 and 24-105mm f/4 would cover most bases. I wanted my tripod and filter kit for this one. 

Great start, lovely sunset and a successful product shot. Next, I’m off to the campsite in preparation for tomorrow’s sunrise.

Day two

The day started badly in the highlands, with strong winds, so we decided to pack up and head out for a drive and a relatively easy hike to the so-called ‘secret canyon’. Múlagljúfur is fast becoming a popular spot, but for all the right reasons—it offers a truly jaw-dropping view.

For this hike, I added the Nikon Z 20mm prime. I thought I could easily make some short Instagram reels with this lens. For my reels, I use the 20mm with the Z6 and use the camera’s built-in slow-motion function. It’s very simple and creates smooth cinematic movement without the use of a gimbal or any additional videography gear.

My full kit setup for this hike was the Nikon Z6, Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4, Nikon Z 20mm, Panasonic S1R, Panasonic 24-105mm f/4, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Manfrotto tripod and PolarPro filter kit.

We then headed to the famous Stokksnes Beach via the glaciers and glacier lagoons and were thankfully greeted with some mood.

You can drive your car right up to the beach, so I took my S1R with the 24-105mm f/4 and my Nikon Z6 with the 14-30mm f/4. I later returned and swapped my S1R for my drone, and my Nikon lens to the F 70-200mm f/2.8 so I could get some more detailed images of the mood wrapping around Vestrahorn.

Our last stop of the day was a camping spot near Hengifoss, the third-highest waterfall in Iceland. The forecast was looking good, so we made plans to shoot the sunrise. 

After finding a campsite near Egilsstaðir, which is a short drive to Hengifoss, we settled down. That night, I dreamt of the vast waterfall that I’ve been wanting to see for at least the past five years! 

Day three

My gear list for the day: the Nikon Z6 and 14-30mm f/4, 20mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8, plus the Panasonic S1R and 24-105mm f/4, the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Manfrotto tripod and PolarPro filter kit. 

In the morning, I sprung out of bed and packed my base kit with my tripod and filter kit to capture all that moving water. I also added my Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 prime and my 20mm f/1.8 prime for both portraits and video. I wanted to have my friend shoot a portrait of me in front of the waterfall.

Iceland, however, had other ideas. Today was not going to be my day. We were greeted with thick fog, which had not been on any forecast. 

Regardless, I hiked to the waterfall with my gear, hoping that it would clear—unfortunately, it didn’t happen. I ended up standing right next to the waterfall, unable to see anything at all. The noise it made was incredible though!

I had to mend my broken heart and move on quickly. So we headed back to the south, as the rest of the east had the same foggy conditions. It looked like the fog wasn’t going to clear any time soon. 

The forecast in the highlands had improved, with the winds settling down.  As I was prepared with my full gear in the car, ready to shoot, we decided to head back via Eystrahorn and planned some road stops en route.

Day four

We woke up to a white-out in the highlands at sunrise. Honestly, you couldn't make this up! It feels at this point that the world is against us. So far, every detailed decision we’d made had turned out bad. I was with a local, who knows the land inside out, and he was as confused as me! 

We decided to throw up our drones and see the damage. To our amazement, we could see a mountain peak poking out above a sea of clouds! On this occasion, the drone did something the cameras couldn’t do—without a three-hour hike. 

But, later, the Nikon Z6 did capture something that the drone couldn’t. You’ll have to wait and see! This is why I love having both in my arsenal, they both tick completely different boxes.

Afterwards, we went back to Kirkjubæjarklaustur to refuel and rethink. But we did pay a little visit to Stjórnarfoss. I needed to get my cameras out and shoot!

We were very close to the car park. So, knowing I could easily return if needed, I took the Nikon Z6, 14-30mm f/4 and 20mm f/1.8, plus the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Manfrotto tripod, and PolarPro filter kit. I knew I would need the polarising filter for the water and an ND filter to slow down the shutter speed. The Nikon 14-30mm would be absolutely perfect. 

After this stop, we headed back to the highlands to Langisjór for sunset. We got a puncture on the way. At this point, I was sure this trip was doomed! I’d driven for hours and had only managed shots of a waterfall and a drone shot of the mountain peak. I was starting to wonder why I had such bad luck. 

After replacing the tyre and being a little behind schedule for our sunset hike, we parked up at Langisjór. As it’s a steep hike, I thought there would be no moving water—so the tripod and filter kit came out of the pack. It’s a high vantage point over a black desert surrounded by mountains, so the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 allowed for some more interesting compositions. I took the Nikon Z6, 14-30mm f/4 and 70-200mm f/2.8, the Panasonic S1R and 24-105mm F/4, and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro.

The sunset was worth all the drama. I won’t even try to describe it. Instead, let this image speak for itself. Just look at those rays. After emotionally tormenting me for 24 hours, Iceland was instantly forgiven. 

But, little did I know, the best was yet to come!

The night was drawing in fast and the sky was continuing to clear. As I checked the aurora forecast, I saw that a KP 6 performance was predicted. [The Kp-index is a scale used to characterise the magnitude of geomagnetic disturbances]. 

Kp-6 and clear skies! Oh, Iceland, you are a wild roller-coaster of emotions. We headed over to a spot close to our campsite and prepared ourselves for a phenomenal display. Remember what I said about the Nikon Z6 doing something the drone can’t do? Well, this is it.

The aurora borealis can dance pretty fast. I was in the middle of the Icelandic highlands, with absolutely no moon or light pollution, so I needed a shutter speed of 1 or 2 seconds to capture the motion. Without the f/1.8—and the absolute class of the Nikon Z6 working at high ISO—I wouldn’t have been able to shoot these images. Amazing. Some may prefer a wider lens for astrophotography, but the 20mm lens is wide enough for me. I stayed up until sunrise, shooting this amazing display.

Day five

I could have done with a few hours of sleep. Today, we’d planned a long mountain hike—but this is one of the sacrifices you make for the northern lights!

The day started with the sunrise at the Aurora spot. We then made our way to Landmannalaugar to hike 15 miles [24km] to Grænihryggur, ‘the green ridge’. 

The forecast was 18C [64F] with sunny skies, so I knew it wasn’t going to be a great day for photography conditions. But it was our last full day, and I really wanted to complete the hike.

As it was a long, gruelling hike, which included river crossings, I had to make sure my pack was as light as possible. I chose the 28-300mm as my only Nikon lens. My camera bag consisted of the Nikon Z6 and 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6, the Panasonic S1R and 24-105mm f/4, and the DJI Mavic 2 Pro.

It was truly a spectacular hike. Even though the weather was horrendous from a photography perspective. And I wasn’t wearing any suncream—oops. After the hike, I made it to Sigöldugljúfur for an amazing sunset with three quick drone stops on the way. We then headed on to Selfoss as we made our way back towards Reykjavík.

That evening, we ended up aurora hunting again until 3 am. The activity continued to be strong. However, this time, there were a lot of clouds in the sky—it just wasn’t the same as the previous night. I was using my trusted aurora setup again, but the conditions were not right.

Day six

After being awake for more than 48 hours and hiking 15 miles [24km] the day before, I finally managed to get some much-needed sleep. We woke at 8 am and travelled to Hvolsvöllur to shoot abstract river shots with the drone. I often like to do something a little different with photography, so I found some perfect locations using Google Earth.

Before our flight home, we had time for one more stop—so I chose the mighty Haifoss. As the skies were still clear, the light was really harsh. But I thought Haifoss could potentially have a rainbow in front of it, as it often does in the midday sun. 

This turned out to be a great choice, and we took the short, steep hike into the canyon to get up close to the waterfall. I took the Nikon Z6, 14-30mm f/4 and 20mm f/1.8, and the Panasonic S1R and 24-105mm f/4.

I like a slower shutter speed on the water, so I added my tripod and filter kit to my bag. I also took my 20mm for video, but I didn’t change my lenses in the end—the spray from the waterfall was amazing! I did, however, take a shower cap for my camera. As you can see, we were treated to a stunning rainbow and reflection combination, and this was a great way to round off our trip.

I hope you have enjoyed gaining an insight into my trip! 

Thanks, Paul. Check out the MPB guide to shooting the northern lights or read more articles on the MPB Content Hub.