Aurora and Light Painting
Spinning steel wool on the shore of Lake Superior with the Northern Lights in the background.
Spinning steel wool on the shore of Lake Superior with the Northern Lights in the background.
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Jul, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the mouth of the Autrain River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, near where it empties into Lake Superior. The river used to sing to the East before it emptied into the lake, but the end of the channel was plugged by sand washing in when a new channel was cut, leaving a large pool of water undisturbed by the flow of the river.Time
This was captured about 11:30 at night.Lighting
The main source of light for this image was steel wool, which was placed in a kitchen whisk attached to a chain, lit on fire, and twirled on the end of the chain. There were a couple street lights a quarter mile away that might have added a little bit of light.Equipment
This was captured with a Canon 5D MarkIII with a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8, with the camera on a tripod set low to the ground to maximize the reflection.Inspiration
The local camera club set up an outing to do light painting, but I had another commitment and arrived after the activities had already begun. The rest of the club is on the spit of land and reflected in the puddle. I knew that there was a possibility of the Northern Lights being out, and visualized them behind the spinning, burning steel wool, and approached the group from this direction with this shot in mind. When I saw the reflection of the steel wool, and the Northern Lights behind it, I quickly set up my camera down low on the edge of the water and started capturing images, trying to time the exposure to get maximum effect without overexposing; this was was just the right amount of both. The rest of the club standing and photographing from the other direction, and being reflected in the water added an extra element to the image.Editing
I shoot in RAW, so I have to do some processing using Lightroom to be able to output jpeg images. This was optimized similar to my typical Northern Lights images; minor adjustments to White Balalnce, Contrast, Vibrance, and Clarity (no Saturation adjustment), and some noise reduction.In my camera bag
For night shots like this, I typically currently carry a 5DIII, 5DIV, and several wide-angle lenses such as the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART, Sigma 20mm f/1.8 and Bower 24mm f/1.4. I also carry remote switches and a cleaning kit.Feedback
Since the burning steel wool throws out sparks as it burns, it is imperative to do this only on areas that are nonflammable, and have water available for any unexpected fires. Also, the person doing the spinning should wear a hat and clothes that won't matter if they get holes in them. You will have to experiment with timing, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc. to see what works for your particular circumstance. This image was captured at 17mm, f/2.8, 10 sec, ISO 2500. Because the camera can't focus at night, Manual focus is a necessity; if you haven't figured out where infinity is on your lens (it probably isn't right on the Infinity mark), experiment ahead of time at the focal length you will likely be using and adjust it so the stars are in focus, and double-check once the spinning starts to make sure the foreground is adequately in focus. I was far enough away that it worked fine. You will also need to shoot in Manual Mode as the camera will not know when it has collected enough light for the proper exposure.
