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SteveDondero_Iceland_AuroraOnBeach



While visiting Iceland in March 2013, we made the most of the solar storms that gave us multiple nights of incredible aurora borealis shows, including this one ...
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While visiting Iceland in March 2013, we made the most of the solar storms that gave us multiple nights of incredible aurora borealis shows, including this one over a black sand beach scattered with ice formations deposited during higher tides.
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upload_dateSep, 2014

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10 Comments | Report
ilmar Platinum
 
ilmar October 05, 2014
Beauty at the end of the earth. Voted.
clownsonvelvet PRO
 
clownsonvelvet November 26, 2014
About the best Northern Lights I have ever seen. WOW!
Just met your work. I am a BIG FAN!
sdondero Platinum
sdondero November 27, 2014
Thank you, that's a fantastic compliment!
janland PRO+
 
janland December 01, 2014
Beautiful creative capture! Congrats!
THOMMAS
 
THOMMAS December 01, 2014
one of a kind,super kool
iamslogy
 
iamslogy December 23, 2014
Love the colours.
Marston
 
Marston July 11, 2015
Superb capture of Northern Lights. Marston :)
BryanTilghman
 
BryanTilghman July 27, 2015
KILLER!!!
adavies
 
adavies August 05, 2016
Gorgeous capture! Great job! If you haven't done so already, please consider joining my Peaks and Valleys challenge:)
viewbug.com/challenge/peaks-and-valleys-photo-challenge-by-adavies
GeraintRowlandPhotography
 
GeraintRowlandPhotography October 09, 2016
Fascinating
BrianBasson PRO+
 
BrianBasson June 18, 2017
Wonderful capture. Something that I'll never see. Congrats with being a Contest finalist.

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Tags

#Jokulsarlon-Glacier lagoon #aurora borealis #black sand #ice #iceberg #iceland #night photography #northern lights #snow #stars
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Behind The Lens

Location
With high hopes of catching the Aurora Borealis during a solar maximum year, I trekked to Iceland in March of 2013. My expectations were blown away, and the nature's finest fireworks were on full display. This is one of my favorite moments from the trip, taken on the black sand beaches near the Jokulsarlon Glacier lagoon on the south-eastern coast of Iceland. Watching the surreal colors of the northern lights tear across a starry sky as waves swept chunks of crystalline ice onto the black volcanic sand was something I'll surely never forget.
Time
I captured this image about five hours after sunset but, importantly, before the moon had risen. This provided a perfect starry backdrop to offset the green and magenta auroras.
Lighting
This image is all about the lighting. Being after dark, the sun wasn't lending a hand at all. Instead, the ambient light was provided courtesy of the stars and solar winds crashing against Earth's magnetosphere. The length of the exposure (10 seconds) allowed for the foreground to register on the sensor, and nicely smoothed out the waves in the ocean to the right. Satellites also left their mark as thin lines in the sky, crisscrossing the scene as they reflected their light back down from above.
Equipment
This was taken with a Canon 5D Mark III body, an EF 24mm f/1.4L II lens, a Manfrotto tripod, and a cable release.
Inspiration
Since I saw my first image of the auroras when I was a kid, I've been fascinated by this incredible phenomena. I've had a special passion for night photography for a long time, and when the opportunity presented itself to visit Iceland with Seth Resnick and John Paul Caponigro specifically to photograph the Northern Lights, I was all over it.
Editing
After running the RAW file through Lightroom for basic adjustments of exposure, contrast, noise reduction, lens corrections and white balance, I further polished this image in Photoshop to deepen midtone contrast and add sharpening. I also got handy with the clone tool and removed a few fellow photographers from the scene (apologies to them!).
In my camera bag
As a Canon shooter, I typically run with the following: Two 5D MKIII bodies, an assortment of lenses (16-35mm f/4 L, 24-70mm f/2.8 L II, 70-200mm f/2.8mm L II, 100mm f/2.8 L, 135mm f/2 L, 200-400mm f/4 w/ 1.4X built-in extender), Manfrotto tripods, a variety of filters (ND, Graduated ND, Polarizers), tele-extenders (1.4X & 2X), Canon SpeedLights, and PocketWizard remote triggers. For this trip, I also added (and shot auroras nearly exclusively with) the EF 24mm f/1.4L II lens.
Feedback
Time of year is critical for taking images of the Auroras. Obviously, if it's not dark (and it won't get dark in summer months near the poles), you won't be seeing the lights, so there are optimal windows. March seems to be prime time, which is nice in that there is also some daylight that allows you to explore the other incredible things places like Iceland have to offer. Also, as is the point of this contest, good sturdy tripods are an absolute must, and remote shutter releases are strongly advised (though you can also use your camera's timer if needed, but that delay can often make you miss shots when the auroras are really firing!). And of course, just because it is night doesn't mean that you can ignore composition. One challenge with Auroras is that--in a similar fashion to wildlife--you often have to predict where they will flow next, and be there with your camera before they arrive to really nail it. Lastly, dress warm, keep hand warmers strapped to your extra batteries, and don't forget the vodka!

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