Aurora Australis & Bioluminescence
One of my captures from couple of nights ago. Originally I was chasing the Aurora Australis at Hobart, Tasmania and Bioluminescence added as a bonus....
Read more
One of my captures from couple of nights ago. Originally I was chasing the Aurora Australis at Hobart, Tasmania and Bioluminescence added as a bonus.
Read less
Read less
Aug, 2015Views
331
Likes
Awards
Top Shot Award 22
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 20 rank
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Mortimer Bay in Southern Tasmania about 25 minutes drive from Hobart CBD.Time
This photograph was one of the most enjoyable ones I have taken in 2015 winter. On the 7th of August, 2015 at night time after dinner I head out with my photographer friends for some night photography and also chase the Aurora Australis as we do often and the Bioluminescence here was an added bonus. the image was taken around 9-10pm at night.Lighting
I was really interested in capturing the Aurora on that night. So since the tide was out I walked in and as I was walking I noticed the sparkles on the spots that I had stepped. I knew straight away that it was the Bioluminescence. But since there wasn't a huge amount and spread patches I set my camera to Bulb in order to get as much light as I could while I ran on the muddy water to bring the blue colour of the plankton and kept it for 86 seconds. Because it was a long exposure more than 30 seconds I had my ISO down to 800.Equipment
This was shot with Canon 6D camera body using Tokina lens 11-16mm at 16 mm with Manfrotto tripod.Inspiration
I am a dedicated Aurora chaser and the locations I choose to go are the darkest spots looking south to get the best possible sky image where stars look better and brighter. Mortimer Bay is one of my regular spots and this particular night when I also noticed the existence of Bioluminescence I knew it would be a rare photographer to have both Aurora and Bioluminescence in one shot so that inspired me to work on disturbance of the plankton to bring their colour out as Aurora was active in the backdrop.Editing
For night images like this one I always do post-processing as I shoot in RAW. I adjust the colours to make sure they are nice and bright. I modify the exposure by making sure it is not too bright . Using Bulb mode can make photos look like a day time capture, so I find it is important to bring the exposure down. And of course making sure that my horizon is straight.In my camera bag
The gear I carry depends on the adventure I go out for. For night photography I tend to have my tokina 11-16mm wide lens with my Canon 6D along with my tripod.Feedback
Night Photography is a lot of fun but I have to admit it requires passion and patience! Because passion brings the constant practise you need and with patience you know that you are always learning and you shouldn't be too hard on yourself when you don't get the image right. For instance, focusing can be troublesome at night but once you know your gear like you know yourself then working on your settings will come as 2nd nature. I also always make sure I have gumboots, towel and warm clothing in my car. Because Aurora is hard to predict, even the predictions can be off so once you know it is active you need to get going asap. So, having most essential needs in your car at all times helps you eliminate the longer preparation time. In terms of my settings at night photography i tend to keep my ISO max 1250 and F as low as possible with exposure time up to 25' at most times, of course this image doesn't go under that category as I was working on bringing the blue colour out which took longer and hence the reason why I started getting the start of the star trail. Now these settings are reasonable for my camera but if your camera can handle the noise than you can try using ISO in higher number if you wish to have stronger Aurora colours. Again it all comes back to practising with your camera gear and finding the best settings for what you aim to create.
