PHOTOS: Last-minute dash to catch Northern Lights in West Iceland

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

Northern Irish photographer Tyler Collins was so determined to get images of the Northern Light show which graced Iceland last week that he took a 500 km round trip all the way to Snaefellsnes Peninsula on the night before his early-morning flight back home.

He had returned back to Reykjavik from his Iceland travels last Tuesday afternoon – where the plan was to take it easy in the capital before a 9am airport check-in the next day – when news came though of the impending powerful Northern Lights show expected that night.

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

“As I’m an avid chaser of the Northern Lights, I had been checking the data all day and noticed that the Northern Lights where going to put on a fantastic display - a really powerful one!” Collins tells Iceland Monitor .

He had visited the famous Snaefellsnes Peninsula in West Iceland earlier in his stay but was greeted with torrential rain and gale force winds. Seeing a completely clear weather forecast for his last night, he jumped back in the car and drove off to the famous Kirkjufell mountain.

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

“After dark, the sky was just green – north, south, east and west. For over 6-7 hours I took pictures, I filled six memory cards with time-lapse footage and had to start backing up photos onto my laptop so I had enough space to take pictures.”

After this mammoth session, Collins realised the night was wearing on and that it was time for the long drive back to Reykjavik to get ready to drop off the rental car and get his flight back to Ireland.

The fruits of Collins’ labour that night are here for all to see in this fine sample of some of the most stunning images. You can also see more of his work on the Tyler Collins Photography website .

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

Photo: Tyler Collins Photography

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