Anyone shot the Northern Lights before?

mrk

mrk

mrk

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I have a wedding shoot in Finland coming up in Feb and I've been told they are expecting the Aurora at some point then!

Question is, anyone shot them before here? If so, pics? There's many online but just pics, not much in way of details, kit use, filters if any and so on.

My shot in mind is to photograph B&G in the foreground with the aurora in the night sky so fill-light them with 2 speedlites on umbrellas/softboxes then let the longer exposure handle the sky.

Apparently they don't last long though and the only warning is a bell to let people know it's happening!

To say that this is exciting is an understatement!
 
Would it be worth having your back-up camera pre-set up to the shot? Then rather than having to worry about changing settings/filters/lenses etc... you literally just pick up the other camera and go?

Would possibly help with the time issue?

kd
 
Hmm that would mean the 40D gets used but I don't really want to use that for such a shot really! If I use the 5D as backup for that then I won't get the dof indoors using the 40.

I can change lenses and kit and settings quickly that's not an issue at all, it's the how have others done it that I'm quite interested in!
 
Lol Ray, why can I just imagine Kai W saying that :-P

I think the setup plan will be just to have the flashes at the ready on the stands, they're yongnuo 560s that are built to last so no worries there haha! Set up the tripod then just seat in place when it kicks off and everyone goes outside to marvel.

That is of course of the phenomenon happens that night!

I just would like some info from others who may have shot the aurora and any pics to share :-)
 
I managed to catch the Northern Lights once when I was living in Canada.

Found the photo I took, but annoyingly I no longer seem to have the full resolution original that I once did.


Aurora Borealis by Taiga Studio, on Flickr

I found that it was quite a difficult thing to shoot as the photo isn't really representative of how it looked in reality. I've not tweaked the image much, so it really was that green. How it looked to the eyes though was more wispy shapes that remained static, but would then suddenly shift to form a new shape. Using a long exposure, it obviously renders it all green, rather than defined shapes. I've lost the EXIF, so no idea what exposure length I used.

I think to capture the wispyness, you probably need to use a much quicker shutter speed and a higher iso for the sensitivity.
 
I think EOS magazine had a article on this at some point. I'll have a look tonight and let you know.

Al
 
Serious answer.

Surely you expose for the scene then lit the foreground (couple) with flash. Best obviously off camera with a soft box.

You can meter the scene easy enough an quick enough, it's setting up the flash that will cost you time. With ETTL off camera will be quicker but putting up the flashes on stands getting ready for it would be way I would do early on and then if need be, shoot the flash in manual if don't have PW triggers.
 
When I saw it, it pretty much went on all night, so it wasn't like it was something where if you didn't have your camera to hand you would miss it. However, it only ever occurred quite late at night (least midnight).
 
Ah that's excellent then! Yeah the setup will be done early on and waiting, my riggers are not TTL neither are the flashes, all manual, I can control these easily enough and quickly as well.

If it lasts most of the night then that's grand!

Edit*

Just seen your post Nexus, many thanks!

Edit2
How fast was it moving when you saw it? I'm thinking this might be an epic opportunity for a cinemagraph!
 
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Ah that's a bummer, if it carries on randomly throughout the night I'll be out there snapping intervals I guess :D
 
Don't have any images to give you, but don't worry .... the Northern Lights aren't that fleeting at those latitudes ( if they occur ). I used to watch them for hours on end when I stayed in Canada. The biggest hinderance will be having clear skies, and being sure to be in a remote location away from light pollution.

If you want to capture the movement of the Lights in the sky then you will have to go with a long exposure. How long, will depend on how still your subjects can remain in the foreground ! I think I would go with one softbox or umbrella/reflector to illuminate them with the flash set to manual ( otherwise the TTL system is going to tempted to blast out at full power ).

Be prepared to have several takes to get it right.
 
I've shot them - spent four days in the Arctic Circle (Sweden) back in March.

Looking at the picture time stamps from the best night, I started at 20:33 and finished at 00:03. I think the time on my camera must have been out, as it was more like 3am local when I went to bed.

When they are good, they are mind blowing and just dance through the sky :cool:
 
Cheers guys!

Seriously excited about this, I must the lights on at least one of the nights if not the wedding night!
 
I went to Finland (100km north of the arctic circle) at the end of February this year to try and see and photograph the northern lights.

For those that are making out that this is an everyday occurrence that goes on all night, every night, well they are being very optimistic I'm afraid. You have absolutely zero guarantee you will see them so don't bank on it. They simply just might not show up. The big plus in your favour is that next winter the solar activity will be at the peak of its thirteen year cycle so you should have a decent chance. Even if there is solar activity then it might be cloudy which won't be great either.

The actual lights themselves don't take on one particular form. Some will be very static and last a long time and will slowly get brighter. Others will fade away in the split second it took them to arrive. Some move like water or fire in the sky and ripple around quite quickly. Your hardest challenge will be to actually compose a shot in the darkness that is lucky enough to be pointed in the right direction. They can move from being infront of you to the side and overhead to behind you as quickly as it takes you to pickup your tripod and turn it around so I don't think there will be much value in precomposing the shot as when and if they arrive you could be facing the wrong way.

Settings wise I was using f2.8-4.0 with iso 1250-3200 with exposures of 20-30seconds depending on how bright it was appearing at the time. It was a lot of experimentation though as I'd never done anything like it before. It's the composition that I found hardest as it's pitch black so mostly guess work.

One thing I would say is don't forget to actually enjoy them. It's such an incredible experience, totally surreal and extremely mesmerising.
 
Yeah they certainly don't occur all the time!
In the two years I lived in Canada, I saw them twice and my friends saw them a third time on another night. Of course there is a chance they may have occurred other times when I was sleeping, but it certainly was a chance encounter, which is why we sat up most of the night watching it.
 
Yup I heard the solar storm activity would increase the chances at that time hence the sudden interest!

Interesting about the ISO usage though, was that due to it being pitch black?

The location we'll be at is the Arctic Circle, the Igloo Village area!
I should have a couple of days to experiment before the big night so fingers crossed for that.

The next trip will be Toronto where some family live but that's not until late next year.
 
I'd try and keep ISO as low as possible to reduce noise, and if you are going for a very long exposure then make sure to switch on long exposure noise reduction in camera.

Agreed with olv - the Lights aren't an every night occurence, but these days with solar flare forecasting etc there is a bit more predictability to it now.

Your location sounds like it wil be great for minimal light pollution. Seriously, other than the Lights just not happening your biggest problem will be hoping that the skies are clear !
 
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