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iceland_olafsvik_cabin_northern_lights_01



Isolated cabin near Olafsvik, Iceland. Feb 12th 2016. Composite blend of 2 images f4.5 25 secs ISO 1600 with second 3 second exposure of figure with torch. Niko...
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Isolated cabin near Olafsvik, Iceland. Feb 12th 2016. Composite blend of 2 images f4.5 25 secs ISO 1600 with second 3 second exposure of figure with torch. Nikon D810 14-24mm Lens.

I just found out I won the World at Night Photo contest...thrilled and shocked...thank you so much to every one who voted for my image to, ViewBug, the judges and Spencer Pablo...and of course my family and all who have supported me through the tough times...you know who you are! :D
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cameraNIKON D810

settings Aperture f/4.5 ISO 1600 Shutter 25/1 Focal Length 150/10 

upload_dateFeb, 2016

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14943

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41 Comments | Report
Kmuzic
 
Kmuzic March 18, 2016
very nice capture !!
LucBaekelandt Platinum
 
LucBaekelandt April 01, 2016
Fantastic shot!!!
elainewhitelaw
 
elainewhitelaw April 01, 2016
Fantastic shot
DeductiveDee23
 
DeductiveDee23 April 01, 2016
These are the kind of shots that make you go hmmmm Evolution or Creation.... Fantastic Capture!
soulinabox
 
soulinabox April 02, 2016
Excellent!
gilesrrocholl Ultimate
 
gilesrrocholl April 06, 2016
I just found out I won the World at Night Photo contest...thrilled and shocked...thank you so much to every one who voted for my image to, ViewBug, the judges and Spencer Pablo...and of course my family and all who have supported me through the tough times...you know who you are! :D
momurum
 
momurum April 07, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
momurum
 
momurum April 07, 2016
love this photo wonderful. congratulations
Kksgram
 
Kksgram April 07, 2016
Absolutely mesmerizing.......It takes a great deal of technical know how to get a shot like that. Congratulations!!!
JPatterson
 
JPatterson April 07, 2016
Excellent photography work !
MelissaKateStrong PRO
 
MelissaKateStrong April 07, 2016
Wow!! Stunning capture!! Congratulations!!
TravelerSandro
 
TravelerSandro April 07, 2016
congratulations.
brigitteccastonguay
 
brigitteccastonguay April 08, 2016
this one caught my eye as soon I opened up the site…Amazing & incredible photo..
pauladubin Platinum
 
pauladubin April 09, 2016
Well deserved ward. Your woek is what I call work of art.
t-Sqd
 
t-Sqd April 21, 2016
Fab photo lucky just been to iceland but not lucky enough to see the NL Great capture just wish I had got something half this good
aphotoaday365
 
aphotoaday365 April 29, 2016
Great work!
lyoung403b
 
lyoung403b April 30, 2016
Incredible!
Tanti-Photography
 
Tanti-Photography May 01, 2016
Great
ks_pics Platinum
 
ks_pics May 23, 2016
This is amazing use of light! So well done!
Joanna101
 
Joanna101 June 15, 2016
Congratulations - this is unbelievable beautiful.
prettylilay
 
prettylilay August 18, 2016
breathtaking ????
AnaRossoPhotography
 
AnaRossoPhotography September 05, 2016
Wow!
Highless
 
Highless September 20, 2016
wow I realy love that shot amazing!
gilesrrocholl Ultimate
 
gilesrrocholl September 29, 2016
Thank you very much everyone for your kind comments :)
bldmmiller
 
bldmmiller November 30, 2016
Beautiful
6769_8416 PRO+
 
6769_8416 February 13, 2017
Stunning image
johnraymondgriffin
 
johnraymondgriffin February 17, 2017
That's so cool
cyndimccoun
 
cyndimccoun March 26, 2017
voted
cjalessandro
 
cjalessandro April 10, 2017
this is amazing! great shot!
sujatasetia
 
sujatasetia June 26, 2017
This is mindblowing
fla-n8tive
 
fla-n8tive June 28, 2017
Wow! This is breathtaking!
Spoony PRO+
 
Spoony August 24, 2017
Simply amazing
Hood PRO+
 
Hood September 07, 2017
Great capture...love it!!
tadbrowning
 
tadbrowning October 19, 2017
Thought I recognized that shot! Great shot Giles!
gilesrrocholl Ultimate
gilesrrocholl August 18, 2019
Cheers!
v_moreen
 
v_moreen October 20, 2017
Stunning :)
ReneeLouise
 
ReneeLouise February 24, 2018
Beautiful ! Congratulations
AlexKnufPhotoVideo
 
AlexKnufPhotoVideo May 22, 2018
Wow!! Amazing photograph! Awesome shot! Love it!
susieclark
 
susieclark July 04, 2018
Just amazing! Wow! Congrats!
TracyJane51 PRO+
 
TracyJane51 December 31, 2021
Magical, capture amazing pictures.🙃🙂😉😊😇🤩
paultownley
 
paultownley May 20, 2022
Beautiful shot,the colours are amazing👍
ladycassandra
 
ladycassandra Aug 14
Breathtaking photo!

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Behind The Lens

Location
This photo was taken near Olafsvik, Iceland..
Time
It was taken between 1am and 3am on February 12th 2016
Lighting
Photographing the northern lights is a challenge as you are never quite sure what you are going to get in terms of display and brightness. Whilst wanting to capture the aurora I was also keen to capture a sense of wonder and exploration so asked a fellow photographer to pose with a torch to light the cabin. I set up the camera on the tripod and after a few test exposures I shot a series of images of the aurora at f3.5 25 secs and ISO 1600 then without moving the camera at all I took a series of torch lit images checking the exposure to check highlights on the LCD screen after each shot to see how long the torch needed to be on to light the cabin without over exposing, in the end the torch exposure was just a couple of seconds within the 25 second exposure.
Equipment
I shot the image on a Nikon D810 with a 14-24mm lens using a Gitzo series 4 tripod.
Inspiration
Our tour guide Mark Jones had seen the cabin on several other trips he has had to Iceland and offered at as a suggestion for a photo that night. As we had just arrived that night in Iceland we were keen to capture the aurora at the first opportunity. We stayed out until past 3am rolling around in the snow like excited school boys loving every exciting moment of the experience.
Editing
I used Adobe Bridge to process a couple of images and blended them in Photoshop using masks to combine the best sky with the best illuminated image of the cabin and torch. I then made a few adjustments in NIK filters to produce the final result.
In my camera bag
My kit comprises of a Nikon D810, Nikon D800E, Nikon f2.8 14-24mm lens, Nikon f2.8 24-70mm lens, Nikon f4 70-200mm lens and 3 Nikon SB910 flashguns.
Feedback
My advice is to not get too over excited and rush the capture, this s hard the first time you see this amazing event but work out where the main lights are forming and find interesting foreground or other landscape angles to frame the beauty of the display. Start off around 20 secs at f3.5 ISO 1600 do a few test shots and check the LCD for brightness, it is worth also displaying the histogram to check that the exposure sits comfortably between shadows and high lights. Be carefully not to over expose the northern lights as you can easily lose the beautiful detail and shapes. Err on under exposure and try to favour a low ISO where possible to reduce noise and increase quality. But have fun and experiment too if you have time so on your return home you have a rich and in depth supply of RAW data. Always shoot RAW if possible.

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