Dancing with Light
Aurora Borealis
Aurora Borealis
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Nov, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Umeå Sweden where the northern lights are visible during the solar storm. I am a hobbyist photographer so every time I heard or read the Aurora forecast during its active moment, I have to grab my camera and tripod and find the best place to shoot. So this was taken just near my home place.Time
Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis are most visible during the night, even it is active during the day, not all countries are blessed to see this phenomenon, but if you are in Europe The Northern Lights are most often seen in the Lapland regions of Finland, Sweden and Norway along with Iceland and Greenland during the month of September to March. So this photo was taken last October 14, 2014 around 9pm where skies are more darker.Lighting
Taking Aurora Borealis for the third time is still not easy for me as I have to find the best place to shoot where no harsh lights are on the way, so I have to avoid city lights as much as possible.Equipment
I have a Nikon D600 with 18-200mm VR f3.5-5.6 and a Manfrotto tripod.Inspiration
When I was a kid I already have passion in photography and I love looking at beautiful pictures. I have seen Aurora Borealis pictures when I was still living in the Philippines and that became my dream shot. I got my first DSLR camera when I work in the middle east and learn the basic photography course. So when I started to live in Sweden with this basic photography in mind, I waited a lot to see this phenomenon and at last I got to see one last year around September 2013, it was very beautiful and that didn't stop me to see more to take more photos. It was a dream come true. I admit the one who really inspire me in this photo is the Creator of heaven and earth and this reminds me of one biblical text I want to share - "The heavens are declaring the glory of God, and the work of His hands the expanse is telling" - Psalms 19:1Editing
Taking photos in the night is not easy for me as it was hard to take sharp images so I commonly use infinity. I did a little post processing in this image, I have used sharpening and a little bit of contrast using Photoshop Lightroom.In my camera bag
I got my Nikon D600 with 18-200mm lens attached, and extra telephoto lens which is 70-300mm. I always bring with me the charger so wherever I go I can charge my camera. I also have SB 800 Flash and some filters for my lens if it's too much brightness. As a hobbyist photographer sometimes if you find something interesting you just take a snap so I bring also extra memory card, a laptop and an external hard drive to save my photos in case it gets full.Feedback
I did a little checklist here to capture Aurora Borealis as base on my experience: 1. Need to check the Geomagnetic activity level, should be above 4kp. I always used this website to check the forecast http://www.softservenews.com/Aurora.htm 2. Best time to see in part of Europe is around September to March 3. During this time the weather will be very cold, so you need warm clothes. 4. It is also dark so you need flashlight 5. You need to set your camera before going to the place if possible, at first i use ISO 800-2000; F3,5 (F2,5 is ideal); Exposures 4-30 seconds (it depends on brightness of light); Though i have to play between this settings only; white balance i set to incandescent; and wide angle lens 6. Always bring Tripod, Use timer or remote to your camera to avoid shake 6. It was too much dark so i cannot make a good focus so i set my camera in manual focus to infinity. 7. Find a good location with interesting subject. 8. Patience and always be ready as sometimes Aurora Borealis is unpredictable.
