Winter Solstice
Category Archives: Atmosphere
Longest day of the year
It is summer solstice – the shortest night of the year. Sunset was at 23:55 and sunrise at 2:57. These are magical nights when the sun is setting and rising so soon afterwards. This photo was taken at 1:30, in the darkest hours, over Ölfusá River and Mount Ingólfsfjall. Now is such a lovely time to go camping because everything is easier when there is light.
There is more or less daylight all the time and does not get totally dark until July 20. No northern lights can be seen until the middle of August.
Turbulent weather
At last we can look forward to some warmer days, according to the forecasts, and hopefully less windy. February has been very turbulent, with storms and snowstorms every other day, resulting in road closures, flight cancellations and the like. Lots of locals, along with the constantly growing numbers of tourist, have had to change their travelling plans. There is no weather guaranty when travelling in Iceland in the winter time. Locals tend to use the summer for travelling, enjoying the warmth of their well insulated geo-thermally heated houses in winter, rather than taking any risks with the turbulence of the Icelandic climate.
Short winter days
The light in these short winter days around winter solstice often creates a beautiful atmosphere and mesmerising conditions.
The sun casts long shadows and the light is soft which is ideal for photographing.
Winter Solstice
Today, December 21, is the northern winter solstice. It is when the sun’s elevation in the sky is at its lowest, i.e. the shortest day of the year and the longest night. Here in Selfoss sunrise was at 11:15 and sunset at 15:29 and the sun is just 2.7° over the horizon at midday.
After tomorrow the days will start to get longer, something almost everyone looks forward to. Happy Solstice 🙂
Always as fascinating
This autumn the Northern Lights activity has been high but weather conditions not always as good as desired. Often there have been cloudy skies but conditions for viewing better in the North.
The Northern Lights are always as fascinating and I never seem to tire of trying to catch a good photo.
Last week I managed to catch some nice photoes but one must be vigilant and ready with the camera because the activity most often only lasts for a few minutes at a time.
The midnight sun
It is summer solstice, the shortest night of the year and the longest day of the year. Icelandic summer nights are ideal for outings and camping. No darkness makes everything easier especially for those who are afraid of the dark.
There is little that beats the beauty of the midnight sun. In the middle of summer the sun sets after midnight and is up again before three in the night so there is more or less daylight also at nighttime.
Excellent week for Northern Lights
Some very nice Northern Lights could be seen all over Iceland last week. The weather was excellent, beautiful clear skies. The red ones were spectacular but only lasted for a short while. When I managed to get outside and put up my gear, they had vanished and the more common green colours had replaced the red ones.
Photos taken by Lake Thingvallavatn.
Red Northern Lights
Normally, the Northern Lights are greenish in colour. Other colour variations from pink, to purple and red and blue can sometimes be seen but are not as common.
In the TV series Fortitude, season 2, filmed in Iceland, red Northern Lights adorn the night sky. These are, alas, not real thing and probably made with the help of computers.
Red Northern Lights are actually very rare and I have never seen anything like the ones in the TV series. Reds with a mix of green are more the real thing.
On February 27, 2014, Northern Lights in red and purple colours, mixed with the normal green, lit up the sky in Selfoss. That incredible evening I caught a lot of photos in my garden.
