Aurora Chasing
Shot in October in rural strathcona county, Alberta, Canada.
Shot in October in rural strathcona county, Alberta, Canada.
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Mar, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
On a cool early October's Eve I drove along a dark dirt road in rural strathcona county, when suddenly the darkness was overpowered by dancings hue of green delight.Time
The sun had already disappeared beyond her horizon a couple hours prior to this shot and my lovely young children were suposed to be snug in their beds but weren't. I took them with me to gaze into the fury of wonderment overhead.Lighting
The rural road had no street lights and darkness enveloped all that surrounded us. I could not even see my feet. Only a tiny light or two from the distant farmhouse guided our way as the glorious green Aurora above us.Equipment
My gear was a Clanky tank like manfrotto tripod, older than my children that I inherited from my dear dad. It's weight gave me the stability I desperately needed for this long exposure. I used a tokina f2.8 at 11mm on my old canon rebel T1i.Inspiration
The amazing Aurora compelled me to pull over on the side of this dark rural road and capture her dazzling dance.Editing
My post processing consisted of a minor crop and straightening of the shot, slight colour adjustments and a small increase in exposure.In my camera bag
My goto gear: I always have a tripod in my truck-either my old manfrotto or a small, heavy duty gorilla pod I keep under my seat. My trusty Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens (my Aurora lens). A remote trigger to avoid camera shake. My Canon 60D. A Canon 17-55mm f2.8 lens. Either my Canon 55-250mm or 75-300mm lenses. Extra batteries and lens cleaning cloth.Feedback
Be patient, be ready, always have a tripod and keep moving. Aurora hunting requires a lot adjusting and repositioning if you want to get the best shot. The lights constantly move and change in brightness and duration. Which means you are constantly moving and changing settings/positions/locations too. Shoot in manual, wide open f2.8 or better. Use your timer or a remote trigger and review your first few shots to see if your settings are good. Focussing takes a little finesse in pitch darkness.
