Northern lights photography

[Jonathan Huyer]

Ben - That's fantastic... love it! Yes when the aurora really gets going, it is very bright and the surroundings will light up as if there is a full moon out. In that case the colours in the pictures are representative of what you see with the naked eye. In the early stages when the aurora is very dim, the camera does a better job than the human eye. A long exposure will reveal colour that you just can't see otherwise, as you experienced with your own shot.

When the aurora is in full bloom, it is much more spectacular in person than what a photo can show. The exciting part is how fast the filaments can move, something the camera can never catch. And the dynamic range is also far more than the camera can handle. It is reminiscent of when I went to see a total solar eclipse, almost 20 years ago. I thought I'd be prepared for what I was going to see, since I had studied all kinds of pictures. But when I saw it in real-life, I was completely blown away. It is much, much more beautiful than any picture can ever show. The aurora is just like that... it's well worth the trip to see it!

[Busted Knuckles]

I just added two time-lapse videos to my web page, made by splicing together stills with QuickTime. It was pretty easy to do, and sure works well with aurora.... I'm going to have to try this some more! All I did to create the sequence was to lock down the button on my cable release, with the camera drive set to continuous. There's no need to set an interval timer, since the shutter speed is long enough to take care of that for you.

http://www.huyerperspectives.com/Nat...8401080_4CKTqj

Very very very very nice. You are a tempter Jonathan, truly trying to coax this warm weather bird to the frozen north where I will undoubtedly expire from thermal shock. Very nice indeed. You have inspired me to do something similar - though nothing comes to mind of such a grandeur nature - but I have some ideas.

Mike

[conropl]

The movies really help to show the grandeur of the lights. I have not seen anything like that since living up north, and even then it was rare - I sure do miss it.

Very impressive Jonathan.

Pat