Colour Explosion by HougaardMalan

One of the greatest prospects of visiting any far Northern country is the opportunity to witness the Northern Lights. I was almost guaranteed to see and shoot it on my trip, as I had a full 20 nights there. Surely enough, the forecast promised level 5 Aurora activity (very strong) for my first night. After running around Reykjavik to get microspikes and thermal boots, I headed to a nearby lake that a friend told me of. As night fell, I could already see streaks of green above the street lights of the capital. I went to the lake feeling inspired, but upon getting there I realised that I don't know the place, the full moon is out, I've been travelling for 48 hours and it's -12 degrees, by far the coldest I've ever experienced. I enjoyed simply witnessing it and went to bed. Then, as Murphy would have it, the Northern Lights remained dormant for a full 17 days. The last few days of my trip were dreary and unlucky as the clouds always did just the wrong thing. Finally, on my 2nd-last night, the Aurora forecast showed level 4 activity and the weather forecast promised clear skies. The display started just as darkness fell, slowly and with plenty of cloud cover. I was hoping for something much better and between the clouds, a weak display and a temperature of -9 degrees, I was almost ready to give up. Like a sign from the gods, the sky suddenly exploded with light, shapes and colour. The dark night turned into a green day as the Aurora cast enough light to make everything clearly visible on a moonless night. My heart pounded with pure joy as the streaks of green, purple and red changed shape and colour. It was hands down, by far, without a shadow of a doubt the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen. To see more of my Iceland images, visit my Website. via 500px http://500px.com/photo/104324039