Gullfoss Aurora - 2/14

[Octane]

This is what went down in Gullfoss, Iceland, on the night of the 24th of February, 2014.

Gullfoss is the most famous waterfall in all of Europe.

It was the most intense photoshoot I've ever participated in; gale force winds off the back of a hurricane were racing through the gorge, and, I was down on my hands and knees as I held the tripod down to stop it from being blown away.

My fingers and hands numb from the cold, I watched as the green and purple pulses shimmered in their holographic dance across the heavens.

This is one frame from several dozen that I shot that night.

An absolutely incredible experience, which will take a lot to top!

Canon EOS-6D, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
8s f/4.0 at 20.0mm iso5000

Larger version available here (http://users.tpg.com.au/hqureshi2/ga.html).

Comments, critique, etc., most welcome.

Thanks, for looking!

H (at Amsterdam airport waiting for my connecting flight home.)

[Larryp]

That is spectacular, H! Great shot :thumbsup:

[RickS]

Congrats, H! What a great location for an Aurora. I've seen Gullfoss twice, in summer and winter, and it is an amazing sight at any time.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Rod771]

Amazing shot H!

It must have been such a thrill being directly under that amazing sight ... and soooo cold :cold:

Great determination, well done! :thumbsup:

[nebulosity.]

Awesome :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[matt34]

Great work, I like how the aurora and the waterfall follow similiar lines, or terminate at the same point in the back of the shot. Was there any moon light it is just aurora lighting up the waterfall?

[gregbradley]

Awesome work. That sounds like an amazing experience.


Greg.

[frenchbluehour]

WOW Humayun ....

What an awesome experience!

Magical shot!


:) Nic

[DavidU]

Wow, your best yet !:thumbsup:

[Astro_Bot]

Kewl! That is a beautiful image. :thumbsup: :)

[ourkind]

Electric! Great work!

[leon]

Magic H, just a spectacular image

Leon

[CapturingTheNight]

Iceland image upload 1 of 365 ;)

Awesome work H and very jealous of your trip. Can't wait to see what else you got.

[Derek Klepp]

H well worth the effort look foward to the others.Thanks

[DavidTrap]

Great work, as usual H!

Safe trip back.

DT

[Ric]

A wonderful image H, most definitely worth the effort.

Cheers

[colinmlegg]

Great shot. Everything fits together beautifully :)

[Octane]

Laurie,

Thank you!



Rick,

Cheers, mate! It is a pretty special location, indeed. It was so windy, that I actually called it quits and then went and sat in the car for a bit. Then, tried again 10 minutes later when the colour was becoming more and more intense and a bit more overhead. Best decision, ever!

I can only imagine how spectacular it would be during summer. :O



Rod,

Thank you. Yes, it was a great thrill. I was enthralled; I wasn't looking through the viewfinder except for the first few shots for composition. I pressed the shutter after each exposure (and, associated in camera noise reduction timeout) while soaking it all in. I'm pretty sure I was shouting in joy at the sky. :)



Jo,

Thank you. :)



Matt,

While I was setting up the composition, the aurora was moving in a southerly direction. I started shooting when it was pretty much over the waterfall. So, through some luck, it has turned out as you have noticed -- the aurora following the lines of the waterfall. :)

There was no moonlight whatsoever; what you see here is the landscape being lit up by the aurora itself. It was clearly visible as bright green and purples to the naked eye. It is a remarkable sight which is so hard to describe!



H

[Octane]

Greg,

Thanks, mate. It was an experience of a lifetime. One thing crossed off the bucket list! But, I can see myself going back again in the future. :)



Nic,

Thank you. x :)



David,

Cheers, mate. There's some more yet to come.

I took a handful of images which are portfolio-worthy. I think maybe half-a-dozen in total over the entire trip. Some rather abstract work, too, which I'm really proud of.

In all honesty, my aurora images were snapshots in comparison.



AB,

Thank you, sir!



Carlos,

Cheers, mate. :)



H

[Octane]

Leon,

Thank you. :)



Greg,

lol! Not quite 1/365! :)

Thanks, mate. I will get on to the others as time allows. :)



Derek,

Thank you!



David,

Cheers, mate. Took 36 hours to get back, but, definitely worth it!

How long until you go?



Ric,

Thanks, mate. Appreciate it. :)



H

[Octane]

Colin,

Thanks, mate. Glad you like it. :D



Thanks, all, for looking and commenting. :)

H

[DavidTrap]

Leave on Friday H. I'm looking at 40hrs to get there... You must have had better connections than me!

DT

[Octane]

I was close with 38 hours on the way there, I believe.

Sydney -> Singapore -> Paris -> Keflavik.

Kevlavik -> Amsterdam -> Singapore -> Sydney.

:)

H

[DavidTrap]

Fairly similar, but I'm adding a BNE to SYD leg. Fingers crossed all the connections work!

DT

[Octane]

I booked through Bravofly and had QANTAS as the carrier. Everything was A-OK. My bag made it through on both ends!

H

[Peter Ward]

Sigh.....:thumbsup:

[dutch2]

What an amazing experience!
Gorgeous photos, awesome location.
:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Peter Ward]

Seriously??? While I don't doubt it was likely a code-share ticket.... There hasn't been a QF aircraft (ie with Skippy on the tail) in Paris or Amsterdam for years....

[Octane]

QANTAS, Air France and Icelandair on the way there.

Icelandair, KLM and QANTAS on the way back.

I was using terminology incorrectly which probably bugs the crap out of people in the travel and aviation industry. Sorry about that.

:)

H

[Octane]

Thanks, Ingrid. :)

H