Off to Iceland - what to pack?

Astraeus

Astraeus

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Ciaran
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I am going to Iceland on a four-night break with my girlfriend in mid-December and, being that I am in such a photogenic place, I've assured the better half that I'll be burdened with camera equipment. However, I was hoping TPers could assist in helping me with my packing list.

I'll be visiting Thingvellir National Park, the Blue Lagoon, Gulfoss waterfall, Gesir and the geothermal power plant at Haukadalur and will be based in Reykjavik. Also, I'll be heading out one evening in the hope of catching the Northern Lights.

Now I'm certain I'll need a tripod for the long exposures at the Northern Lights - it'll need to be lightweight and packable in a smallish suitcase - what tripod to people recommend? I'd considered using a Gorillapod - would this suffice? I'd probably aim to attach it to the bus to get the lift off the ground I needed but wasn't sure if it'd be stable enough for 30 second exposures.

So, at present, I am looking at taking:

- Nikon D40
- Hitech ND Grad filters (hard or soft?)
- tripod (don't know which yet)

I don't want to be lumbered with too much as it is first and foremost a romantic holiday. But then again, I don't want to come back having not got the photos I want.

As an aside, when photographing geysers, what is the best approach to take - slower or faster shutter speed? And, using a video camera, how long would I need to film the aurora in order to see it "moving" in front of me?

Regards. :thumbs:
 
Flashgun? It will be pretty dark there in November!

The Blue lagoon is really good, but don't think you can take a camera in, the other lake outside the front it would be suitable though.
 
cable release (and remember mirror lock up iif your tripod is a bit light)

I'd go for hard filters or leave them home and stitch in PS

circ pol of good quality

+1 on flashgun and remote triggers, that way you can get yourself and partner infront of those beautiful night time landscapes

oh and ditch the girl and take me, I come with a manfrotto 055 xpro-b and am good at carrying stuff :D
 
With regard to a tripod, I would not recommend a Gorillapod. There will be little or no opportunity to attach it to anything, especially the bus, as it is pitch dark, people get on and off the bus all the time, the bus rocks in the wind and they keep the engine running to keep warm.

I can't recommend a specific tripod but I took my Hama, which is quite substantial and mounted the camera before setting off, again there isn't much opportunity to faff about setting things up if the aurora appears. Set as much as you can in advance. I used 800 ISO and exposures of around 20 - 30 seconds. Set your long-exposure noise reduction to on, if Nikon have such a thing and trigger the camera with a remote, or wireless.

To catch Strokkur erupting, use a high shutter speed (it doesn't last long) and try to catch the dome forming, just before it blows.

Iceland-401.jpg


Gulfoss makes its own rainbow in certain conditions, worth looking out for.
Iceland-229.jpg


Don't forget your swimming gear for Blue Lagoon and have a great time!
 
The Blue lagoon is really good, but don't think you can take a camera in, the other lake outside the front it would be suitable though
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You can take your camera in without any problem, just keep an eye on it.

IMG_1307.jpg
 
Iceland?? Bags for life as there carriers are awful!!! :) (Sorry someone had to do it)
 
No problems with cameras in the Blue Lagoon. I borrowed a CF tripod that collapsed down brilliantly for carrying around as mine weighs a ton.
 
Craikeybaby said:
Flashgun? It will be pretty dark there in November!
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I don't have a flashgun and, to be honest, I'm not an expert on how to light photos - although it'd be nice to be able to properly light up the self-portraits of us taken at night. Any recommendations for a cheap (sub-£50, second-hand fine) flashgun which I could use with the D40?

Also, how does this change the following scenario: when I've shot flash at night-time before, the subject is well-illuminated but the distant background is underexposed. If I wanted to catch a distant, unilluminated background, whilst keeping the subjects illuminated, what would I do?

zoom said:
No problems with cameras in the Blue Lagoon. I borrowed a CF tripod that collapsed down brilliantly for carrying around as mine weighs a ton.
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Good idea. I might look into borrowing a tripod as opposed to forking out for it on this occasion - the holiday's cost me enough!

Trifid said:
What lenses are you taking? Polariser?
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The only two lenses I have, unfortunately. A stock 18-55mm Nikon and a 55-200mm VR Nikon. I have a polariser but it's a very old one and I suspect it's not a CPL so may be looking at getting a CPL - which one should I be looking at?

To be honest, I'm still a newbie at this. I've tried to read Understanding Exposure but still can't get my head around metering, the relationship between aperture and shutter speed so I'm struggling with my photography!
 
Good cold weather gear especially gloves and hat - that can be a bitter cold wind when your outside with a tripod.
 
Little John said:
So your going on a romantic break and your worried about the camera?
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Not at all. As I've already stated, it's not going to take away from the romantic aspect of it but everyone likes having photos to remind them of holidays - I just don't want to miss the chance to get good photos to remind me. :thinking:
 
If you get the chance try to visit Vík, a tiny beautiful village, about 300 people if I recall. I hope you don't get too embarrassed about being naked as well, Icelandic are very big on hygiene in pools/blue lagoon and look to see if you get naked before you shower! It's not as bad as it sounds, but some people get funny about it, my girlfriend used to work in the blue lagoon and people would get really uppity!

Be prepared for very cold weather and most likely snow, I was there last December and it was bloody FREEZING, but then again I was outside in the middle of nowhere at 2am looking for the northern lights...
 
I've not been to Iceland yet - but would love to go someday! If the temperature is anything like Lapland though, prepare for some extreme cold! I have heard that it's best to get hold of some external batteries that attach via a cable and you can keep them warm under your thermals???

Or did I imagine that????

Or definately take a few batteries and be prepared to have them on constant charge because they'll lose their charge a lot quicker than in normal temperatures.

Have a fab time - and don't forget to post your results when you get back!!
 
I've just come back from Norway where I got some shots of the Northern Lights. I did a couple of bus trips to the middle of nowhere to get away from the city lights and there is no way I would have coped with just a Gorillapod as there was nowhere to put it.

I went with hand baggage only and took a basic Jessops own brand tripod I've had for years that extends to around 5ft and that did an adequate job. You will want to use a wide angle (fortunately I had just got a Canon 10-22 which did an excellent job), but I was still exposing for about a minute at F3.5 and 1600 ISO as it was dark and the aurora was not spectacularly bright, although it was spectacular in the photos.

Advice I was given out there, which I would definitely agree with, is that even if the display doesn't look that much, just take the shot anyway, as the camera will show more than you can see.

For bigger, brighter displays, you will be able to use a shorter exposure. Hopefully you will get a new Moon and clear skies. Full moons can tend to mess things up, especially if it is not too bright.

Good luck in finding the lights. :thumbs:
 
david1701 said:
to get a good bg with flash manually expose the bg then let the pop up flash do its thing :D
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Sorry, I'm awful at this. "Manually expose" is what exactly?

Lukey said:
If you get the chance try to visit Vík, a tiny beautiful village, about 300 people if I recall. I hope you don't get too embarrassed about being naked as well, Icelandic are very big on hygiene in pools/blue lagoon and look to see if you get naked before you shower! It's not as bad as it sounds, but some people get funny about it, my girlfriend used to work in the blue lagoon and people would get really uppity!

Be prepared for very cold weather and most likely snow, I was there last December and it was bloody FREEZING, but then again I was outside in the middle of nowhere at 2am looking for the northern lights...
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I think, in December, there are highs of 2° and lows of -1° so yes, I'm anticipating the cold. The nudity shouldn't be a problem - I'm often told that I spend a little too much time with a few too items of clothing on!

klc_001 said:
Or definately take a few batteries and be prepared to have them on constant charge because they'll lose their charge a lot quicker than in normal temperatures.
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Thanks. I'll be taking two spare batteries and trying my hardest to keep all of the equipment warm!

Goody13 said:
I've just come back from Norway where I got some shots of the Northern Lights. I did a couple of bus trips to the middle of nowhere to get away from the city lights and there is no way I would have coped with just a Gorillapod as there was nowhere to put it.

I went with hand baggage only and took a basic Jessops own brand tripod I've had for years that extends to around 5ft and that did an adequate job. You will want to use a wide angle (fortunately I had just got a Canon 10-22 which did an excellent job), but I was still exposing for about a minute at F3.5 and 1600 ISO as it was dark and the aurora was not spectacularly bright, although it was spectacular in the photos.

Advice I was given out there, which I would definitely agree with, is that even if the display doesn't look that much, just take the shot anyway, as the camera will show more than you can see.

For bigger, brighter displays, you will be able to use a shorter exposure. Hopefully you will get a new Moon and clear skies. Full moons can tend to mess things up, especially if it is not too bright.

Good luck in finding the lights. :thumbs:
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I'm thinking that I'll replace my heavy Velborn tripod with a lighter, and slightly more sturdy Redsnapper before I go. I was thinking of opting for the carbon fibre tripod but the extra £50 for a weight saving of 400g just didn't cut it for me. The Gorillapod idea is well-and-truly out of the window! :thumbsdown:
 
So jealous!! :D

Pretty much all the basic equipment is mentioned by the others... a decent tripod, good cpl, 3stp ND grads (1 hard and 1 soft if possible), spare SD card, and battery. Don't forget your lens cleaning cloth or lenspen:D

I'm trying to arrange a trip in spring/summer but the car rental costs an arm and a leg.
 
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