Northern Lights over a waterfall in Iceland

The Unpredictable Winter Weather in Iceland

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Winter waterfalls in Iceland

Don't give in even if the weather isn't playing perfectly along. 

Photographers coming to Iceland are often hoping to capture that perfect scene in perfect light. Those who are here on shorter trips often only dedicate one or two days to photography. If the weather isn’t cooperating don’t cave in! Those gloomy days often present the opportunity to get great images for those who dare out!

This is especially applicable  during the winter months. The weather can be ever changing and in many cases you could be heading out in a blizzard and still through the course of the day come across amazing photo opportunities.  Experiencing rain, hail, blizzard, howling winds, sun patches and everything in between is sure to provide a proper adventure along the way.

The winter coastline in Iceland

I had the opportunity to take an American couple for a day trip like this on the 30th of December 2013. I had been watching the weather charts intensely the previous days and as we headed out there where howling winds and our objective was to go out to the South coast. As we drove out of town over the first heath the visibility was a mere 20 meters. We were going ever so slow to keep safe and I knew once we got over, things would start to look up. When the gentleman sitting beside me asked as I was intensely concentrating on the driving, “so I imagine we’ll be taking a lot of white images today?”

The sea crashing on the beach, Iceland in winter

 

The winter sea in Iceland

During the span of the day we got every sort of weather and some nice images to boot. If you're lucky enough the weather might even clear before the night to provide you with the opportunity to photograph the Northern Lights.

Northern Lights over a waterfall in Iceland


See also:

Winter Tours

Winter Self-Drive Tours

Winter Activities in Iceland

The Ultimate Winter Itinerary for Iceland

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