Iceland - Midnight Welcome at Kalfatjarnarkirkja

Summertime in Iceland brings endless daylight and lush green panoramas broken only by the many colourful wild flowers. The midnight sun (also known as the black sun) is a natural phenomenon occurring in summer months at latitudes north and nearby to the south of the Arctic Circle, and south and nearby to the north of the Antarctic Circle where the sun remains visible at the local midnight. Given fair weather, the sun is visible for a continuous 24 hours, mostly north of the Arctic Circle and south of the Antarctic Circle. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the farther poleward one goes. Due to refraction, the midnight sun may be experienced at latitudes slightly below the polar circle, though not exceeding one degree (depending on local conditions). For example, it is possible to experience the midnight sun in Iceland, even though most of it (Grímsey being a notable exception) is slightly south of the Arctic Circle. Even the northern extremities of Scotland (and those places on similar latitudes) experience a permanent "dusk" or glare in the northern skies at these times.

This photo was taken shortly after my arrival to Iceland. It is Kalfatjarnarkirkja which is a church very close the airport, the photo was taken 30min after midnight. I think I could not have imagined better welcome and great start to the Icelandic “photomarathon” as the light is always present and the best one is from 8 PM to 8 AM… imagine how much sleep you get when you are landscape photographer !

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Lens’s focal length: 70.00 - 200.00 mm, Photo Focal length: 200.00 mm, Aperture: 4.0, Exposure time: 1/50 s, ISO: 500

All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova

All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.