Standing in subzero temperatures waiting and hoping the aurora will show itself (it was -20 on this particular evening) is a unique experience and one I would highly recommend to everyone. If you’re lucky and it does appear it can feel like you’re on another planet. 2012 and 2013 are supposed to be particularly good years for seeing the Northern Lights. We were certainly blessed on this particular evening. The most amazing display of shimmering greens, yellow, reds and purples criss-crossing the sky and lasting for around 3 hours. You may get a crick in your neck by the end, but it’s more than worth it! – near Tromso, Norway
Thanks guys for your comments! Okay, a couple of notes on how this was shot and the challenges, both at time of capture and during post-processing, for those who may be interested or indeed intend to try and capture the lights themselves someday: The lights themselves vary considerably. One moment they can be quite muted, barely visible and relatively predictable in terms of movement, the next strong, dramatic, fluid and very unpredictable. In terms of exposure you have two choices 1) long with low ISO (for instance this scene would’ve taken around 60+ secs @ ISO100, or 2) short with high ISO (this shot was taken @ ISO3200 on a 5D Mk2 for 6sec/f4. The problem with choice 1) is the stars, which show movement with the long exposure and, to me, spoil the image. Also the aurora moves more during this time so you end up with less definition in the light. The benefit of choice 2) is the stars stay as relative pin pricks instead of small streaks and you capture more definition in the lights. The issue of course is noise which you need to deal with after the fact.
The lights on this particular evening were quite bright but to the naked eye slightly darker than you see in this image. The same with the landscape (I actually didn’t know there were sleds in the snow ahead of me – an added bonus I think :) )
The image has been post processed to remove noise and general image balance, other than that not much really. The green cast on the landscape is from the lights and left as is.
It really is quite breathtaking to witness this display first hand. The tricky bit is timing. We were exceptionally lucky not only to have clear skies but that there’d been strong solar activity the day before from which the lights are created. Very fortunate indeed!
Comments
wow oh wow….how long a shutter speed was this Dave. Any post-production going on or is this what you actually see?
Stunning capture and colors Dave. just beautiful.
Cheers Jude
the most wondrous image! how lovely to see this.
Awesome capture. Definitely a magical wonderland.
Thanks guys for your comments!
Okay, a couple of notes on how this was shot and the challenges, both at time of capture and during post-processing, for those who may be interested or indeed intend to try and capture the lights themselves someday:
The lights themselves vary considerably. One moment they can be quite muted, barely visible and relatively predictable in terms of movement, the next strong, dramatic, fluid and very unpredictable.
In terms of exposure you have two choices 1) long with low ISO (for instance this scene would’ve taken around 60+ secs @ ISO100, or 2) short with high ISO (this shot was taken @ ISO3200 on a 5D Mk2 for 6sec/f4. The problem with choice 1) is the stars, which show movement with the long exposure and, to me, spoil the image. Also the aurora moves more during this time so you end up with less definition in the light. The benefit of choice 2) is the stars stay as relative pin pricks instead of small streaks and you capture more definition in the lights. The issue of course is noise which you need to deal with after the fact.
The lights on this particular evening were quite bright but to the naked eye slightly darker than you see in this image. The same with the landscape (I actually didn’t know there were sleds in the snow ahead of me – an added bonus I think :) )
The image has been post processed to remove noise and general image balance, other than that not much really. The green cast on the landscape is from the lights and left as is.
It really is quite breathtaking to witness this display first hand. The tricky bit is timing. We were exceptionally lucky not only to have clear skies but that there’d been strong solar activity the day before from which the lights are created. Very fortunate indeed!
Wonderful Dave – minus 20 sounds a bit harsh tho’!
Awesome
It’s absolutely brilliant Dave. I don’t even have the words. I can’t imagine how insane it was for you in person!
fantastic capture
This is great, with i could see the lights with my own eyes :D