Dreaming with eyes wide open.
The Milky Way and Northern Lights illuminate the sky above a moonlit lenticular cloud and snow-capped peaks surrounding Vatnajokull Glacier in Southern Iceland ...
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The Milky Way and Northern Lights illuminate the sky above a moonlit lenticular cloud and snow-capped peaks surrounding Vatnajokull Glacier in Southern Iceland during a solo backpacking trip in 2012.
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Mar, 2014Views
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Awards
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Jaw Dropping
Magnificent Capture
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured along Iceland's South Coast, in Skaftafell National Park, during a two week solo backpacking trip when I was 19. After working as a bricklayer in the UK for a winter, I decided to pack my bags and spend a month roaming around as a light-catching nomad, before returning to my home in British Columbia.Time
This was captured around 12:30am during the warmest March on record. Two days later it snowed a foot.Lighting
The Northern Lights, Milky Way Galaxy and a near full moon illuminate the glaciated peaks of Vatnajokull Glacier & the lenticular clouds above.Equipment
Nikon D90, Sigma 10-20mm, Tripod, Long ExposureInspiration
It contains nearly every element an astrophotographer looks for while on the hunt; Milky Way, Northern Lights, little bit of Moonlight, snow-capped mountain peaks, epic glacier, and a unique lenticular cloud formation to top it off. The lines of the landscape all seemed to converge here, producing an appealing composition of highly concentrated natural wonders.Editing
Slight contrast adjustments and clarity in Adobe Lightroom. Also brightened the glacier slightly to pick up the greens from the aurora.In my camera bag
A strong composition will almost always triumph over gear. Having said that, I use whatever camera and equipment is available to produce the perspective I need. My wide-angle Sigma 10-20mm is almost always on the camera, and when it's not it'll be a zoom-telephoto with lots of versatility. For this photo specifically, I used a Nikon D90 w/ manfrotto tripod & an intervalometer to reduce camera shake.Feedback
A fast wide-angle lens, sturdy tripod, remote-timer release (intervalometer or timer setting) and a whole lot of patience.
