Celenawilson

Northern Lights 2

NIKON D5200

settings

Aperture f/4 ISO 640 Shutter 30/1 Focal Length 18/1

upload_date

Oct, 2015

Views

241

Likes

+14

Awards

Absolute Masterpiece

+13

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Outstanding Creativity

Peer Award

Superior Skill

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo is taken in British Colombia at a beautiful lake called Mable lake. I'm a self taught photographer and getting the chance to shoot photos of the northern lights was a very exciting experience for me and a great learning one as well.

Time

I remember sitting around the fire on a late October night, when I looked over to the beach I saw theses gorgeous lights dancing in the sky. I immediately ran to grab my camera and tripod with a huge smile on my face and set it up right away. I took multiple photos until I got the perfect one.

Lighting

I really wanted to capture the northern lights in a way that they would stand out bold and bright, capturing the bright colors. It was very important for me to capture the stars scatterd all around the lights including the Big Dipper. The northern lights were constantly moving and changing so I took a few until I captured it covering the whole sky in a beautiful banner.

Equipment

This phot was shot on a Nikon D5200 with a 18-105mm lens. I balanced it on my tripod while digging prefect holes in the sand to make sure it was even and sturdy.

Inspiration

I love taking my camera out when I go to this lake because I know there is always something to shoot, but it was a pleasant surprise when I saw the northern lights. I have wanted to take pictures of the northern light for a while and I just happened to get lucky.

Editing

I developed the raw once and in this case all I need to do was adjust the exposer, contrast, and clarity to enhance the photo in the areas needed. I worked on making the lights brighter and stand out more.

In my camera bag

At this time I packed everything I owned for my camera.. Which wasn't much. I packed my Nikon body and my 18-105nm 1:3.5-5.6G ED lens. A good everyday lens. having a wide angle lens I think is very key in capturing nature and night shots. I always pack with me a double battery pack being way to familiar with my battery dieing in the middle of my photo shoot. I also take with me a lens protecter and a lens cleaner to make sure my lens is always protected and clean. Then I take my tripod. All my stuff fit in my camera bag which has capstone ya to fit all of these with room and and extra pocket for another lens.

Feedback

I think the most important thing for shooting a simalar image is to have patients. As it will take some guessing and testing to get the right settings. I would start by putting your f-stop (aperture) to its lowest. And bring your lens to 18mm or whatever the shortest you can go is. Then I put my shutter speed to 1/25. And then depending on the moon and whatever other lights you have put your iso to about 800 and and increase or decrease by one until your photo is good. Focus to infinity or where the stars are best focus. And it's important to put at least a two second delay on it if you are dining it by hand so there is no shaking. And make sure to use a tripod or find a sturdy object to balance your camera on so your not holding it in your hand. I think the more you go out and take these photos the more natural and easy it'll come to you with each time.

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Celenawilson

Celenawilson

Northern Lights 2

Behind The Lens

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