A Hint o' the Green
Aurora at the horizon over Lake Superior, Little Girl's Point, Michigan
Aurora at the horizon over Lake Superior, Little Girl's Point, Michigan
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Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Little Girl's Point near Ironwood, Michigan, Upper Peninsula, overlooking Lake Superior. It was early fall (September 2015), and we'd had some pretty high wave warnings that summer, pushing debris and fallen trees up on the beach. I loved the tree...it was such an interesting foreground prop, it set off the lights and the calmness of the lake perfectly.Time
This was taken at night...10:54 PM.Lighting
I've learned more about my camera and light settings by shooting nighttime photography! Lighting seemed to be my trouble area when I first started photography, but night shots require you to know exactly what your camera does and how much light you need to let in. When I started shooting landscapes three years ago, I was afraid to set my camera on Manual...now I can't imagine using any other setting. I can control every aspect of my shot. And shooting at night helped me perfect my landscape shots in daylight as well. I see light differently. I'm always looking for reflections, shadows, and filtered light. Living in the Upper Peninsula, I've had plenty of opportunities to practice with different light sources. The lens for this shot was set at 2.8, and I held the shutter open for 60 seconds. I learned most of this by experimenting. Depending on how strong the solar storm is, I usually shoot auroras anywhere from 15-60 seconds at 1600 ISO. If it's a big storm, I don't need to hold the shutter open as long. This shot was set at 3200 ISO because I didn't anticipate auroras that night. I try to shoot in the smallest ISO possible to keep pixelation down.Equipment
My Canon T3i Rebel was set on a Targus Tripod and I used my Tokina 11-16mm lens I shot it with my Canon remote shutter release...Settings: f 2.8, 3200 ISO, for 60 seconds --RAW file.Inspiration
Honestly, I didn't expect to see an aurora that night! I had been practicing nighttime photography, and I wanted to try and capture the milky way. It was the perfect night for shooting...Lake Superior was so calm...just like glass--the perfect time to shoot a reflection. I had just begun to see the white ribbons in the sky, and a reflection bounced off the lake.I took the shot This wasn't a particularly big aurora evening, and the colors of the aurora don't show up to the naked eye unless you have a really big storm. The camera lens actually picks up the color. The fallen tree root in the foreground is left over from a series of storms we'd had that summer -- 25 foot surges left a lot of debris on the beach. It's great for taking night shots!Editing
Yes. Using Adobe Photoshop, I had to bring the brightness up...I shot the scene at night and used a pretty high ISO, so I had to take the noise out as well. I enhanced the colors a little, but I'm a purist...I don't like to push the sats up on a picture..I want more of a natural shot. You can see the rivers stones on the beach...there's a lot of magenta and purple that my camera picks up. I took those down as much as I could without taking out the detail of the rocks.In my camera bag
It depends on the time of year. Living in the north, shooting auroras during the winter can be brutal. I have four batteries...always! I keep the extras tucked in the pockets of my inner jacket so they don't drain in the cold. Since I shoot mostly landscape, I always have my Tokina wide lens and my tripod with me. I usually take my zoom lens just in case I see wildlife, but most of the time, I use my wide angle lenses.The other landscape shot I like to take are flowing waterfalls, and like auroras, tripods are a must. I usually have my remote starter with me as well. I rarely use a flash. I love to shoot with natural light as much as I possibly can...even if I'm doing portraits. If I'm shooting auroras in the winter, I have an alpaca blanket and hand warmers, boots, and gloves with me--it might not be technical, but these essentials will save you on a cold, northern night.Feedback
First, in order to shoot the northern lights, you really need to live close to the source or be able to get to the northern hemisphere (or southern) pretty readily. The night I took this picture, there was a Kp3 storm...that's the minimum I need to shoot an aurora. Space.com is a great resource that gives aurora forecasts. I've been so fortunate to have the opportunity for several shots over the last three years, and I've joined an awesome group on Facebook called the Great Lakes Aurora Hunters (GLAH) so that I know when the northern lights will be up. I also have an app on my phone that alerts me when a solar storm happens. I have all of my equipment ready to go. Second, you need to know where to go ahead of time...scout your area. Get out of the city...away from all light pollution if you can. I live fifteen miles from here, and most of my aurora shots are taken here. I try to use natural things as a foreground point to make the shot more interesting.I recently took an aurora photo with snow on the ground, and I found the perfect shot in between two bare trees...they framed the picture beautifully. Third, you need to know have the right equipment. A tripod and a remote starter are a must for shooting auroras...a fast SD care always helps, too...I have one that's made for shooting video because when you leave your shutter open for 60 seconds, it takes a while for the camera to upload that data. The faster the card, the better. The Tokina lens was recommended to me by the GLAH members, and I use it for most of my landscape shots. Last, you need to play around with your settings on your camera. Depending on what I'm shooting, the settings above are typically what I use for an aurora shot. I always adjust them as I need to. The f stop is always at 2.8...I never change that. And, I try to shoot with as low an ISO as I can. From there, it's just a matter of how long to leave the shutter open. The bigger the storm, the lower the ISO and time I leave the shutter open. Last August I shot the blood moon, and I had to readjust the settings with every phase because as it went to a full lunar eclipse, there was very little light to shoot with. When I shoot the milky way, sometimes I'll leave the shutter open for one minute thirty seconds...any longer, and you'll be getting star trails.
