Anyone shot the Northern Lights before?

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 13:13

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!

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 13:30

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!

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 13:54

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 :-)

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 17:56

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!

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 19:16

Ah that's a bummer, if it carries on randomly throughout the night I'll be out there snapping intervals I guess

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 21:19

Cheers guys!

Seriously excited about this, I must the lights on at least one of the nights if not the wedding night!

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 21:55

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.

mrk · 12 Sep 2012 at 22:12

NR in camera won't be used (5Diii) as the algorithm the camera loses too much detail compared to manually reducing noise in LR/PS

I can use up to 12,800 ISO without having noise ruin a usable photo so I'll definitely have a good old play on the nights before!

mrk · 13 Sep 2012 at 00:59

Nexus said:
Where did you discover that?
Through personal testing?

When shooting JPEG yes, I shoot RAW anyway though so doesn't really matter either way I guess.

ISO12800:

50mm, f/2.0, 1/80s. AF point was the arrow but I'll 100% crop the plugs as detail loss is visible on the grips there.

JPEG with NR on max:

JPEG with NR on standard:

JPEG with NR on low:

RAW with Lightroom noise reduction (Luminance @ 25, Detail @ 65):

RAW with no noise reduction:

Obviously for web use most people would not tell the difference on a processed 800pixel wide image but for production work it's quite important that as much detail as possible remains post any noise reduction being applied.