A friend messaged me late last night to ask if I was seeing the Northern Lights, but I was here on the couch, unaware. Being on the couch a lot seems to mean being unaware of a lot of what is going on in life, but that is another topic (I talk about often enough) we won't get into now. However, once I knew there were lights in the sky, I put on some pants, grabbed my camera and then hobbled outside to see what was on offer.
They were above the lakeside, which meant a bit of a walk that took me a while, so I didn't catch them at their height. Still, I managed to get some photos for the first time in a few years, which made me happy. It is always great to see the aurora, but I want to one day get an "epic" shot of them. That will require me going further up north though, to not only get more sightings, but be further underneath them with less light pollution.
One day.
For now, I just have to be content with what I can capture when it is both in the sky and clear enough to see them. The best time in the area is in the Autumn because it isn't yet too cold, but it tends to also be very rainy and cloudy. Last night though, it was clear, with a full set of stars out on display.
And then, as the lake was still too, it was possible to capture some of the reflection in the water at the beach where we will often swim in the summer. It is always better in my opinion to have something personal in the photo, or something that gives contrast for the lights, as it makes it a more interesting image than just colours in the sky.
I tried to get a "meta" photo of the camera taking photos, but using my phone for it, it turned out pretty bloody grainy. I think that while everyone seems to take photos of everything with their phone these days so they can remember it, it is often just better to put the phone away, and enjoy the experience itself. Especially with night photography. Though, the processing in the phone made the aurora more visible - but much grainier.
It is always a trade-off.
And as I came home, I noticed that I could get a sliver of aurora into an image with our house and though, there probably isn't relatively that many people who have a photo of their house with the northern lights in the sky. So, that is kind of cool to have - though not epic.
Before the next time I try to get some images, I have to read up on what are the best settings for the camera to capture it (If anyone here has ideas, please share), as I struggled fumbling around in the dark looking for what would work. I went for a long exposure instead of a higher iso, to get more light in with less grain. But doing this, means that the lights themselves cloud and lose the lines, because they are always dancing slightly in the sky. Next time, I hope to have a better balance and I really should learn, just in case the chance for an epic shot arises unexpectedly.
Have you ever seen the aurora first-hand?
Taraz
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I think you missed the strongest time when the sky really lit up. I was just beginning to leave my spot after 2 hours and then boom, half the sky lit up with strong auroras in seconds. The time was 22.35
As for the camera settings. For the best results I use no more than 3 or 4 seconds of exposure time, otherwise the patterns get blurred when lights move quickly. Aperture is usually around f8 so other details on the photo remain mostly in focus too. ISO setting depends on how strong the lights are, usually I use 4000-5000 ISO.
My camera can handle quite a bit of ISO really well, but some sure can be seen with 5000 setting. Adobe Lightoom’s AI noise removal work really well though and rids the photo of noise without losing detail. I don’t have my yesterday’s photos proccessed yet but here is one from my phone.
The light pollution you see at the horizon is Helsinki btw😄
Don't worry about going further north for getting epic shots. Im a bit more south than you and still getting epic stuff. It comes down to patience being hours in cold and hoping for the the blow up. I have alerts turned on on my phone when stronger bursts of sun waves hit the earth. We still have a couple of years of Solar maximum so we will see more of these events here on this latitude. Plenty of solar storms but clouds are the biggest enemy.
That is awesome! Where are you tracking to see if there will be any?
I didn't realise you could use such a fast ISO for it. I am going to have to up my game a lot :D Thanks for giving me some pointers, it is highly appreciated!
That is a pretty great shot with a phone too.
It depends on your camera too, how much it can handle higher ISO. My old one was quite bad at 5000(extremely noisy)and I had to use longer shutter speeds like 6 or 7sec, so I could use lower ISO like 2000.
To track northern lights activity I use Space Weather Live app, can also be watched on pc.
It usually sends an alert on my phone about the current KP index, which tells me generally how strong the storm is, like right now for example.
If there is good activity going on, I look for local cloud forecast, if I have clear sky or at least somewhat clear, then I’ll check out different metrics in the app if it’s worth driving to somewhere dark. Usually I check out these indexes. Hemispheric power near 100 is very promising but yesterday it was only 70 for example.
There is a couple of more I look at when deciding to drive out. Still, there is never a guarantee, I might sit for hours and see nothing besides a faint glow, or sometimes get very lucky. Northern lights can appear in seconds and be gone in seconds as well.
Tonight is quite promising too, but Estonian cloud forecast is pretty bad tonight so I won’t bother.
I am going to have to test my camera a bit, as I rarely use high ISO. It should be pretty decent, but let's see!
Thanks again for the info and suggestions. I will start digging around.
(The clouds are rolling in here too)
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Dude, it's cool to see you post into the community! I always get excited when i see a post about the Auroras and then i noticed who posted it. hahaha
For settings help... you may want to ask the LightPainters. Most of them here have captured them before. In fact, @darrenflinders was just recognized for one of his epic shots... so maybe he has some tricks of the trade for you?!
This is something i have been saying for a while now. I am tired of everyone living their lives' vicariously through their phones when they are actually THERE in the Flesh and IN THE MOMENT. We have brains and memories for a reason... well at least most of us. I can't tell you how many times i have seen people miss out on the splendor of life by wasting the moment trying to digitally capture it as opposed to just appreciating the moment and living it out.
I thought your shots turned out good. I would be happy enough to just see one in person. =) Cheers browski
Greddy gave some tips also, which is cool, and he is only a few hundreds kilometres away in Estonia, and saw the same lights! :D
I think the taking of photos of everything culture also kills the value of photos themselves. They are taken and then never seen again - people used to make treasured albums - now they are all disposable.
I have never seen the Northern lights first-hand, that is pretty cool that you even captured your house with aurora lights as a background! For some reason I didn't realize that these lights are green :)
Yeah, they come in various colour, but normally green. The best ones have more red and orangish in them :)
I’ve seen them twice. A not really impressive display a few years ago and a mind-blowing stunning extraordinary display in 1975. And the one from 50 years ago was from within a city.
These are the best ones I reckon, because they look so out of place!
I got the alert that they were out last night, but it is a school night and I knew we wouldn't be able to see them as well as we did a year or two ago, so I didn't bother getting my wife up. I agree with you though, I am part of a Facebook group that tracks them in my area and some of the shots these people get are amazing. Even without edits. Your shots came out really well!
I haven't tracked them before, so now I have a couple apps I will explore to see what is going on. Did you feel kinda special seeing them a couple years ago?
I saw them for the first time when I was at a music festival. I was drunk and high at the time so it was cool, but it didn't really hit me as hard. My wife had never seen them before, so being able to be with her when she saw them was much better than that first time I saw them. Then we got to see them again a few months later, so that was cool too.
Wow. That's one of nature shows I definitively want to see. Tried in Iceland a few years ago, but didn't happen... and learned that I lost one opportunity due to a salsa night! Good thing is, its a great excuse to go back and try again.
you missed out! Depending on what kind of styles you are dancing! What do you dance?
I have never really seen them except in pictures. I do like how they reflect in the lake and surely if there wasn't the background light it would have been much more pronounced. Hopefully someone will be able to give you some advice on settings so next time your out you can catch some even better shots, although these are pretty cool to a layman like me.
If you get the chance to see them, they are pretty magical. It really does make me happy every time when I see them :)
Greddy gave some pointers!
👍
These pictures are pretty darn cool Taraz! Having it in a picture with your crib in the background is meta cool in a natural way. Next time, even more glow! The power of nature.
Some afterglow!
You took some great photos. I was wondering which one was the best. I looked at them all and then gave up. They were all so beautifully shot that choosing one would be unfair to the others. I think the photos would have been clearer without the city lights and light pollution.
I've never seen the Aurora live. But I'd like to see it live in the Nordic countries someday. Last year, there were vivid images from Türkiye. The reason: "A rapid coronal mass ejection from the sun."
They must be pretty rare that far south, but that makes them even better! :D
That little sliver over your house feels so personal, the kind of keeper that makes the epic chase feel less urgent. If you want the lines to stay crisp, try shorter exposures like two or three seconds with ISO bumped a bit and teh lens wide open, then tame the noise in edit. The reflection at the la#ke already adds contrast that pops, so you probably dont need to push the exposure too far. Also respect for the midnight pants sprint, photographers cardio is real :)
Photographers cardio! That should be a class offered at gyms these days :D
From the part of the world where I live I doubt auroras can be seen. It's an awesome sight nonetheless, not just the auroras, but any astronomical sightings. I plan to get a telescope and get a gaze of the skies, maybe view stars and planets, see the moon up close. That has always been an exciting thought for me.
A telescope would be cool. I have never owned one, but if I ever move back to Australia, I think I will. From there, the milky way is pretty clearly seen when out in the country.
I've never seen the Northern Lights with my own eyes. But I'm not sad about it; your photos show everything clearly.
No one should be sad, but seeing them is something special in my opinion. It is a piece of nature we don't normally get to experience.
I find it interesting how adding personal elements to photos can make them look even better. Taking photos of reflections in the water gives the images a special depth, particularly sky and houses.
Yeah, I like the water a lot. For someone who can barely swim, that is dangerous :)
In Ecuador we don't have those events, but the colors of the sky look super beautiful as they adorn the water. They make a magical combination, full of colors and imagination.
Yeah, I am not sure how far down they ever reach, even in the strongest storms - Ecuador is a bit too in the middle :)
😍
:)
I'm sorry to say that I've never seen the Aurora live, except online. The reflection of the light rising up as the green light from the sky falls on the quiet waves of the lake is remarkable.
It is a pretty cool thing to see in my opinion - even if seeing them often like up north from where I am.
I can not even imagine how impressive it must be to see that in real life.
Thanks for the shots!
It is awesome! And it is better with people. I was alone for the taking of these, but at least I get to share them here :)
Wow... A spectacle like no other!
Simply wonderful!
Pretty decent.
You would try an epic shot, but for me was it. Here where I am, is imposible watch the aurora, so, you are lucky. Maybe in another matter I'm luckier than you
That wouldn't be hard.
Wowwww, beautiful
!DIY
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It's really one of my dreams to see the aurora borealis gosh! huhu I'm so jealous of the people who can see this and be close to it. huhuhu
So beautiful photos!!
No, I haven't seen aurora before. It's not something that's on my bucket list, but it would be cool to see them one day too. The one thing that deters me is probably the cold temperatures. :P