On the southern coast of Iceland, on a remote black sand beach lies the ruins of a US Navy DC-3. While a popular tourist attraction for those visiting the island nation, I wanted to see it for myself when no one else was around.

At 12:30AM I set out on the 4 mile round trip hike to the wreck. The wind was relatively calm and the night sky was glowing with stars and the distant aurora borealis. I arrived to the site after what felt like an eternity wondering around a black void, with only the night sky, the sound of distant ocean waves, and of course my iPhone, to guide me.

The mangled pile of aluminum was striking. Over 50 years of elemental wear made it hard to believe this was once a flying machine. I took some time to explore the wreck, and soak in the moment of being far from home, underneath the stars with 3 of my closest friends.

This was my first image involving aerial lighting. Perhaps I should’ve done some tests before attempting a shot like this. The temperature was below freezing and the batteries on my drone were not cooperating, which gave me a limited amount of time to work on something I had never done before. Nevertheless, I was impressed with what I was able to capture.