The Magic of Goðafoss in Northern Iceland
Back in March we made our fourth trip to Iceland, one of our favourite countries to visit. This time, rather than travelling around the country, we based ourselves in one place in the far north, giving us chance to explore the spectacular sights in that area in more detail. Where we stayed was only around ten minutes from Goðafoss Waterfall, one of the most special places we’ve ever visited, and a place I’ve been longing to return to since our first all too brief visit back in 2017.
Since that first visit I’ve had a dreamy idea in my head of seeing and photographing the northern lights above this amazing waterfall. It would take a lot of luck with both the weather and the solar activity, especially since the best views of the waterfall are facing mostly south, but since we’re currently around the peak of the sun’s eleven-year cycle of activity, it had to be worth a try!
The first morning of our trip (after a cloudy and snowy evening) saw us up bright and early and off to make our first visit to photograph Goðafoss Waterfall. Upon arrival though, it was so windy that we could barely stand up, let alone use a camera or tripod. Welcome to the wild north of Iceland!
The early morning sun catches the snow on the distant hills beyond Goðafoss Waterfall, the Waterfall of the Gods.
During the week our repeated visits resulted in some beautiful early morning sunshine, mystical blue-hour light just before dark and one evening of the most spectacular aurora display that we’ve ever witnessed.
Golden light at the start of the day picks out the ice-laden rocks at the top of the falls.
It’s easy to be captivated by the overall scene, but a closer view reveals spectacular details such as the amazing ice formations in amongst the flowing water.
Just before dark Goðafoss takes on an even more other-worldly, ethereal character.
Blue hour gave the chance for some creative long exposures of the waterfall. This 25 second exposure revealed some weird but beautiful patterns in the water.
What an evening! The aurora covered such a huge area that I captured this as a panorama of 5 vertical images.
After waiting patiently for darkness to arrive on this mostly clear evening we were hopeful that the aurora would show, but weren’t really expecting a strong display, especially with the bright moon high in the sky. I wandered off to find somewhere photogenic facing north to see if I could catch a glimpse, when suddenly the sky erupted with dancing streaks and patterns of vivid green. In disbelief (and slight panic!) I ran down to the waterfall and set up my camera and tripod to capture the spectacle.
We’ve been very fortunate to see the northern lights on many occasions, but this was the brightest, most spectacular display that we’ve ever witnessed, with curtains of colour dancing around the sky in all directions.
The sky lighting up like this over the waterfall was a dream come true moment!
The aurora streaks away into the distance over the bright lights of a nearby settlement as it dances across the sky.
At one point a huge corona exploded in the sky directly above us. We couldn’t quite believe what our eyes were seeing!
Snow-covered rocks, a beautiful waterfall and an amazing aurora. It doesn’t get much better than this!
Another stitched panorama. Tricky to achieve with the aurora moving and dancing in the sky!
All too soon our week in the frozen north of Iceland came to an end. We had just that one evening of really clear skies, so were super lucky that it was that evening that coincided with the spectacular display of the aurora borealis whilst we were at Goðafoss Waterfall. That’s another one ticked off my bucket list!