Iceland Trip in January

Hello everyone, in a few weeks I will be headed to Iceland for several days, and would like to get tips from those of you who have had experience with winter photography in Iceland.

I plan on taking the Golden Circle route and visiting the South Coast, and hoping to get a few shots of the Aurora Borealis too. I understand that particularly for the latter, many recommend a fast and wide lens, but I am not planning on purchasing new lenses any time soon, so whatever is in my gear list will have to do.

I would appreciate it if you could provide any tips on lenses to bring, as well as techniques to get the best winter shots with the limited daylight available during this time of the year.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

Having been to Iceland multiple times in all sorts of weather, my advice to you is thus:

In the winter, keep your plans loose with plenty of time around each activity. Weather is notoriously unpredictable and I can't think of a worse idea than rushing around snowy Icelandic roads which are often rarely traveled with minimal safety mechanisms in place.

I would honestly recommend skipping the golden circle entirely, as it has been photographed to death and you will not come up with anything unique in that regard, plus in my opinion there are much nicer sites which can be seen that are no further from the capital and will yield better shots (Snæfellsnes peninsula, for example). If you're also visiting the south coast, the golden circle will leave you feeling underwhelmed. Þingvellir is historically significant, but, as far as photography goes, not that interesting in my opinion, and going to the Geysir area is like going to Sandwich to eat a Sandwich, big whoop. Jökulsarlón, Skógafoss, Vík, Sólheimasandur, Höfn, the glaciers, etc are far more interesting.

Your 24-70 at 2.8 with 5d2 will be ample for aurora shots.

To be quite honest, in Iceland, the gear doesn't matter, the only thing stopping you from taking epic photographs in that country is your own mind's eye. Everywhere you point your lens is beauty, either built or natural.

Hi Mike, thank you very much for all your suggestions. I will definitely be headed to Jökulsarlón, Skógafoss, and Vík, as you suggested. I am really looking forward to visiting the south coast. I completely understand your point about the golden circle, but that is the one excursion that my wife wanted to do, so I am afraid there is no way out of that

Regarding lenses to bring, other than the 24-70 you mentioned, I was wondering if there will be a need for a telephoto lens. I have read about people bringing them, but not getting much use out of them.

I would recommend telephoto if you have it. Here are a few telephoto shots that I took while I was there:

80mm

When I was in Iceland I had my 10-22, 17-70, 30 1.4, and 70-200. The 10-22 and 70-200 were used for 95% of the photos. From your list, I would take both bodies (just in case), the 17-40, 70-200 f4, and maybe the 24-70.

Thanks for sharing some of your images, Mike, they are really impressive. Also thanks to you too, Sirrith, for the suggestions on which lenses to bring. It looks like that both of you are in favor of having both bodies available, so I may end up doing that. I am also convinced about the 70-200, so it will definitely hold a spot in my bag. I usually bring the 24-105 with me, because of its versatility, especially in urban photography. But I in this case I guess the 24-70 may be the better choice.