Aurora bay
Aurora over the bay at Meistervik in Norway
Aurora over the bay at Meistervik in Norway
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Jun, 2018Views
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People's Choice in Northern Lights Photo Challenge
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Absolute Masterpiece
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Superb Composition
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in northern Norway on the shore of the Malangen Resort overlooking the Meistervik bay. This is a great area for northern lights.Time
There is only about 3-4 hours of daylight at this time of year which makes for amazing light throughout the day. This shot was taken at about 9 in the evening. I had spent the evening keeping an eye out for northern lights from my hotel room - stepping out every 15 minutes or so to look at the sky. Sitting out all night is all that pleasant as it can be pretty cold outside as might be expected over above the arctic circle in January.Lighting
The northern lights change constantly and can vary quite quickly in intensity and brightness. You need to keep an eye on the shutter speed to make sure that if they are bright and changing quickly, that you don't get a messy blur. This aurora was relatively slow moving, so I used a shutter speed of 10 seconds.Equipment
This was taken using a Nikon D750 with a 20mm f1.8 lens. I used a Rollei carbon tripod and a remote trigger.Inspiration
This was my first visit to northern Norway, and I had never seen the aurora borealis in real life before that trip. The night before I took this photo was the first time to see the lights and I was absolutely blown away by the experience! At first I just had to stare at them for a while and take in the view. Then I tried taking some photos. After a pretty steep learning curve, and very many blurry aurora photos on the first night (knowing how to focus on stars is important), I wanted to approach this with a bit more planning on the second night. This time I tried to concentrate more on composition, think about reflections and other interesting components. I thought the pebbles on the beach and the red cabins along the bay added some interest.Editing
This was processed for some color balancing, boosting the greens of the aurora to make them pop a bit and the magenta of the sky. I also raised the exposure of the whole image, and then brought up the shadows of the pebble beach. I also reduced the highlights from the light in the far cabin.In my camera bag
It really depends on where I am photographing. If possible, I usually try to take my Nikon D750 and two lenses with me when I am going on a trip or a hike. My favorite lens is the 16-35mm wide angle as it gives a nice wide angle while not being too heavy. I then decide either between the kit lens, or a 70-200mm which is fantastic but heavy for long hikes. I also always pack the Rollei carbon tripod, a 10 stop ND filter, a polarizing filter, cleaning cloth, headlamp etc. If I am going on a really long hike, I prefer to travel light and just take my Panasonic Lumix FZ2000.Feedback
It may seem obvious, but if you want to photograph the northern lights, you need to go north. The area around Tromso is a good bet, as it pretty much lies direct in the line of the aurora. The second most important tip is to wear VERY warm clothes. Temperatures of minus 20°C are not uncommon, and at that temperature it feels very cold, very fast. I would recommend gloves where you can free the thumb and index finger instead of having to take off your gloves to operate your camera - these are on my upcoming Christmas wish list! Just saying :-) Get to know your camera before you go out in the dark and cold. Trying to figure out settings on location is more difficult - and it would be a shame to miss a great shot just because you don't know your camera well enough (yes, I'm speaking from bitter experience here). Also take a look around during the day for good compositions so you have a plan when night falls and you are not just aimlessly taking snaps of the sky. Conversely, my last tip is that at some point while photographing the northern lights, put the camera to one side and just enjoy one of the most amazing spectacles that the earth has to offer.
