Going cheap can damage your eyes and camera. Don't do it. Welding glass shade 14 or a certified solar filter. Forget the ND filters. Yes, maybe for you, a one time event. Your camera can be replaced. Your eyes can not. Remember when kids would take a magnifier glass and burn ants. Don't do it to your eyes. If you are in position to have total eclipse, during totality, you don't need solar protection, and you can see and photograph the corona. Don't ruin the enjoyment of your first eclipse with trying to get a picture. You can practice solar photography without an eclipse. I use a 400mm lens with solar filter to photograph sun spots.

Going cheap can damage your eyes and camera. Don't do it. Welding glass shade 14 or a certified solar filter. Forget the ND filters. Yes, maybe for you, a one time event. Your camera can be replaced. Your eyes can not. Remember when kids would take a magnifier glass and burn ants. Don't do it to your eyes. If you are in position to have total eclipse, during totality, you don't need solar protection, and you can see and photograph the corona. Don't ruin the enjoyment of your first eclipse with trying to get a picture. You can practice solar photography without an eclipse. I use a 400mm lens with solar filter to photograph sun spots.

Welder's Glass Shade 14. There are other shades and if less than 14, not good enough!

Welder's Glass Shade 14. There are other shades and if less than 14, not good enough!

You might be surprised, but the Sun and Moon are at infinity. Learn Critical Focus on Infinity, put focus in manual and tape your lens (gaffer's tape). Note: The infinity mark on a zoom lens is not always at focus on infinity. For a zoom lens, do critical focus at the zoom setting you plan on using. In some situations, auto focus does not work. While doing eclipse photography, that is not the time to have an Auto Focus problem. Solve it in advance, then tape the lens.

The sun color is white. When viewed through the atmosphere some of the blue light is scattered giving us a blue sky and a yellow sun. Most astronomical photography has extreme brightness variations that our great eyes can somewhat take care of, but not the camera. So go manual and lots of test/practice shots before the DAY. Distance is usually infinity. Don't trust the infinity mark on your lens. Use a near full moon, focus on that. Take note of the distance setting. On the DAY, use gaffer's tape and lock in your infinity setting (make sure the focus is in manual).

If the sun is visible, you must use a solar filter! Buy one like a lens filter, or make your own from a solar filter designed to protect your eyes, and tape it to a filter. During totality (moon fully covers the sun), you need to take off the filter to get the corona (white), and hopefully some solar flares and Baily Beads. As the sun disappears behind the moon, and reappears you get the diamond ring effect. Be careful about exposing your camera and more important your eyes to the sun. Practice! The telephoto lens concentrates the sunlight making it very dangerous.

These are pictures of the Lights I took just outside of Fairbanks, AK.

Reykjavik, Iceland, is positions about the same a Fairbanks, AK. So unless there are other factors that draw you to Iceland, Fairbanks is a good US location for the Lights. As for "Chasing" the Lights, they are 60 miles or higher in the atmosphere. To make a real difference you would have to travel 60+ miles on icy roads at night. The only advantage of "Chasing" would be to get to a spot with a more open horizon or less clouds. Plan ahead. Check the moon phases. Try to be near the fall or spring equinoxes (tends to be more auroras and not as cold as mid-winter). Check the number of days of clear weather for the months you are thinking about going. For Fairbanks, September is warmer, but more cloudy days. March is colder but more clear days. Have you checked Iceland? We now have COVID to think about. Also, what daytime activities are available to you.

I have made over 6 trips to Fairbanks to photograph the Aurora. If you really want to do your homework in advance, download Patrick Endres's PDF book on Photographing the Lights! This is extreme photography! It is cold, and sometimes very cold. You are away from civilization. It is night photography. While practice not purchase is good advice, you will need to make some significant purchases. Good D-SLR or Mirrorless camera with an wide angle fast lens. I use the Nikon D600 with the Nikkor 14-24mm F/2.8 lens. Wide and fast, with a camera that had good high ISO w/out noise. Avoid the moon and get close to the equinoxes. Learn to use the Aurora predictions. Practice on night photography of stars. For most of my Aurora pictures, the stars are there bright and clear. Practice with gloves on and no lights. Red light if you must use a light. Get critical focus on infinity, and tape your lens! If you email me (ralf1@comcast.net) I will send you a word document (3+pages) on Aurora Photography that I made.

When shooting through screens and similar things, get as close as possible and open up the F/Stop! That will reduce the interference and sometimes like your beautiful picture, make it disappear.

1. Start Preparations Now. Find and go to the Aurora Prediction Sights and learn how to read them and find one or two you like and really understand. The aurora is in a ring around the magnetic pole, and the ring gets bigger (father south) when stronger displays are there. Displays are usually better in Fairbanks than Anchorage. For some unknown reason, the displays around the solar equinox on the average are more energetic. So close to the equinox and new moon will give you the best changes, now hope for good weather. Warmer and less predictable weather for the September equinox, better in the colder March equinox. Winter is cold.

2. Your camera settings will be about the same for star photography. You can do that now during the new moon. Practice that now without flashlight (or a red one if you must) and wear gloves! Don't forget to set the camera's monitor to low level, and return it to normal for the daytime (I thought my monitor was broken.).

3. Cold: No problem taking a warm camera into the cold, but bringing it inside, you will get condensation. Plan for that. From my Nikon experience with a dozen Aurora trips, The camera won't have temperature problems (maybe monitor slow, but not damaged), but rubber contracts and plastic becomes brittle. Inspect your setup and see where things can go wrong or rubber shrinks and the camera become loose on the tripod. Have gaffer's tape on hand to temporary repairs. Also, best to remove filters from the camera.

4. Check the weather. I was up in colder Fairbanks. My friend who lives there said not worry about getting waterproof (Gortex) clothing, there is no water, it is all frozen! Also, most recommendations for clothing tells you to use layers. Great advice for the active person. You are motionless by your camera - bulk up!

5. Get away from city lights with a clear view to the north. Be careful to stay oriented. In the cold dark of night, you can get lost, and might not be seen until springtime!

6. The best lens for Aurora Photography is the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8. Even confirmed Canon users will use that lens with an adapter. Buy, Rent, Borrow but please don't steal. If that is out of your reach, you have something to aim for.

7. I have a couple pages of advice for Aurora Photography. If you email me (ralf1@comcast.net), I will email it to you.

Also fun to take picture of the balloon as you fall away from it. Gives you a unique prospective. Also, when you jump from an airplane, you have forward airspeed, so with the wind on the body, you have some control. When you jump from a balloon, your airspeed is zero, so zero control for the first few seconds, a new falling sensation. PS: If you jump, best to wear a parachute.

Wear a broad rim hat. When the burner is going, the radiant heat is hot.

Yes, some people are not intimidated by a DSLR. Some are! I have met a number of people that are intimidated by the DSLR (includes my wife). Yes, most DSLR's have an AUTO mode that lets the person get the picture, like an expensive big heavy Point & Shoot. I think the idea of the DSLR is to get away from the AUTO mode, and that can be intimidating. The camera manual helps some. A book specific for that DSLR is very good. A close friend or neighbor willing to help is the best! (also camera/photo club) And to facilitate that, same brand and similar camera really helps. Also borrow lenses to experiment in new areas of photography. I have the Nikkor 14-24mm F/2.8 lens. Fantastic for Aurora Borealis, Milky Way and other photography. A new person to photography will not spend the money for that lens, but a friend who has a Nikon can borrow mine.

Interesting, you quoted me, then did not address what I said. Any feedback for my recommendation?