Brandywine Photography

Brandywine Photography Casual and informal photography based in South Yorkshire, UK

After a few months of only taking the camera out at night, it’s great to have some sunshine again.
26/04/2026

After a few months of only taking the camera out at night, it’s great to have some sunshine again.

A Nothern LightsHouse…
24/04/2026

A Nothern LightsHouse…

A quiet moment after most of the tourists had left for the day. Just this one lady who slowly ambled to the centre of th...
24/04/2026

A quiet moment after most of the tourists had left for the day. Just this one lady who slowly ambled to the centre of the frame. Perfect!

The morning after the night before…I had planned to get here before sunrise, but the amazing aurora storm the night befo...
17/04/2026

The morning after the night before…

I had planned to get here before sunrise, but the amazing aurora storm the night before kept me up for hours, and plans had to change a bit! In the end it was 11am when I got to the deserted Fauskasandur and this awesome monolithic sea stack, which is what I came to shoot. Even more of an issue than missing the sunrise was missing the low tide, and with a fierce wind the walk down to the beach was just too dangerous.

I took what I could from the clifftops, trying not to get blown off my feet, and retreated back to the car for the drive to my next stop, taking care not to let the wind rip the doors off! 🚙💨

Definitely a location that deserves another visit.

15/04/2026

Bucket list moment.

When I first booked this trip, I had in mind photographing waterfalls, mountains, crashing waves in the sunset. That sort of thing. And if there was a chance of aurora then that would be a bonus, because A) I expected clouds and wind and rain, not clear skies, and B, you can’t assume anything with the Northern Lights anyway. They show up when they want to.

But then when I got there, the clouds parted and the sun spat out a series of massive ‘X’ class solar flares and for two days I had the most amazing nights of aurora.

This was early on the second night, 12th Nov 2025, and the arrival of the ‘full-halo’ CME from an X5 flare two days before. As it turned out, it was the less impressive of the two nights, but this moment at the very start of this storm ticked all the boxes for me.

I’d picked my spot earlier in the day, on the Hvalnes beach in front of Eystrahorn, and the moment that loop of light swung over the top of Eystrahorn I knew I’d got one of the shots I’d always wanted. I look at it now and wish I’d had the tripod a little lower and the wind hadn’t been blowing as hard, but I could go back ten times and not get a shot as good. A little bit of careful planning and a huge amount of amazing luck. What a great night.

Walking around an ice cave last Nov, under Breiðamerkurjökull, the glacier that feeds Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. This i...
15/04/2026

Walking around an ice cave last Nov, under Breiðamerkurjökull, the glacier that feeds Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon.

This ice first formed over a thousand years ago and has been compressed so much in its long journey towards the coast that it’s mostly crystal clear. This old ice absorbs red and orange light but scatters blue light, giving ice caves their famous azure colour.

I was very lucky with this cave. It’s generally been a poor season for ice caves and up until a few days before I went there wasn’t much worth seeing, and then this one opened up right before I went and it was spectacular. Caves are discovered by the guides on their off days, and have to be inspected and approved before the authorities will licence them for visits. Whoever discovers the cave gets to name it. This one was called the ABC cave - The Amazing Blue Cave… cave.

3 April 2026, Peak District A little frustrating this one. The hill to the north was just a little taller than it looked...
04/04/2026

3 April 2026, Peak District

A little frustrating this one. The hill to the north was just a little taller than it looked on the map and so I couldn’t see the horizon. Still, I had a pleasant couple of hours out on the wiley, windy moor, on a night when a drive to the coast wasn’t an option. Bonus pic is a meteor that streaked through one of my frames later in the evening.

— at The Head Stone, Rivelin Valley

The twisted geology and vibrant colours of Stuðlagil Canyon in East Iceland, August 2024. Once hidden almost entirely un...
31/03/2026

The twisted geology and vibrant colours of Stuðlagil Canyon in East Iceland, August 2024.

Once hidden almost entirely under the river, the canyon was only revealed around ten years ago when the river level was lowered for a hydroelectric scheme, and it rapidly became an Instagram favourite with views from the other side being particularly popular.

Sadly a minor injury in my family meant we couldn’t manage the necessary walk for the East side and were limited to a view from the more accessible west viewing platform, but even then it’s really a beautiful sight.

07/03/2026

Midnight at the reservoir, 11 Oct 2024

The previous evening was one of the great aurora displays, visible way further south than normal. I’d spent it at a nearby hill, not realising that I’d be joined by half the town, car headlights on, phone cameras flashing. Still an amazing display but not quite what I’d wanted.

On the way home I thought I’d just stop by the reservoir and see if there were some good reflection shots of the afterglow, away from all the crowds, and just after midnight I was rewarded with this incredible explosion of light. Curtains of red and green pouring over the reservoir, drenching it in light. The water, the trees and the ground all turned green, then the deepest red as the storm broke, the whole sky aflame.

Absolutely magical.

✨ Aurora Borealis over South Yorkshire.





The strange alien landscape and playground of the imagination that is Fellsfjara / Breiðamerkursandur: The Diamond Beach...
01/03/2026

The strange alien landscape and playground of the imagination that is Fellsfjara / Breiðamerkursandur: The Diamond Beach.

Formed from compressed glacial ice which fell as snow a thousand years ago this ice is so dense that it’s as clear as glass and refracts the light like diamonds, from where the beach gets its nickname. The ice is washed back onto the beach after icebergs floating out to the ocean from Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon are broken up by the waves.

The first time I came here, in August 2024, there was thick cloud and no colour in the scene at all; the sea, the sand, the ice, the sky all just shades of grey and white. This time, in November, the midday sun was low and strong and casting a golden light which made the sand and ice a vivid blue in contrast.

I’ve seen a lot of photography here which smooths out the motion of the water with a slow shutter speed, but I find the shapes the water makes when you freeze the action to be fascinating, and in any case I’d left my filters in the car. Oops.

Editing these photos I started to see animals in the ice. A turtle, a pig-dolphin, and a family of polar bears playing. What do you see?

Nikon ZF, 24-120mm, Nov 13, 2025

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