Winter Photography

El Gato

Finally getting the time to rummage through some older images, these have been "on file" for quite some time but, I thought worth sharing.

Capturing the Aurora shots I seek are best achieved during the winter months. The dead of winter, new moon, clear sky, no wind.

These images are from my Aurora shoot in Bettles, Alaska [66° 54' 44.784'' N // 151° 31' 36.66'' W], February 2010. The North Pole is at 90.0000° N, 135.0000° W!!

A quick shot of the thermostat inside the lodge at Bettles, Alaska.

Lady Aurora makes you work for the shot...but in the end, it is worth it.

BTW, my trusty D300 performed flawlessly. Coldest temp. we experienced during the trip/shoot...-72F!

Stay well everyone!!

Stumblebum

You are so courageous to try during -53.5F. I have shot in -20F to -25F and it was painful. Lowest I have seen is -36F and that was in the comfort of a SUV.

I have never seen these lights so glad you did! Wow, -72F? My brain would freeze!

How long are these exposures? These look like 3-4 minute shots based on star trails.

For night photography name of the game is to collect as much light as possible, as quickly as possible.

So high ISO + wide shutter and use the lens that can give you widest shutter (lowest f value).

Even if the lens is zoom lens, it is better to shoot panos and stitch them then go super long......

FG can be shot by going long and merged with sky. So for that you can do 15-20 minute shot at low ISO to keep noise out.

Cheers Gato!

Lab_Tested

Absolutely beautiful images. Seeing and photographing the northern lights is one of my goals. We made it to Alaska in the summer of 2019, but I know what my wife will say to a trip there in winter. "Have fun on your own."

El Gato

Thanks @Stumblebum and @Lab_Tested for your comments.

The typical exposure length is between 5-25 seconds. When the aurora is moving quickly, a good exposure selection is 5-7 seconds, when it's not moving as quickly you can get away with a setting between 10-25 seconds.

The exposure on second shot (certainly not my best) was longer as the aurora were faint and I was attempting to capture more light. Alas the star trails.

The exposure time for the two images below (taken in Yellowknife, NWT), was roughly 11 seconds. I use a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, super wide angle lens for all of my aurora images.

Thank you again for your comments!

OrvSal

Beautifully done! Looking at these makes me cold, I've been at -30 F for 8 hour shifts in the USAF, that was bad enough.

black mamba

Very well done, Al. I happen to use that same Tokina lens a fair amount. I use the Tokina Pro 20-35 mm F 2.8 even more. I have a bag full of Nikon glass but those two Tokina lenses are hard to beat.

Stumblebum

Last 2 images are killers!

El Gato

@black mamba said:
Very well done, Al. I happen to use that same Tokina lens a fair amount. I use the Tokina Pro 20-35 mm F 2.8 even more. I have a bag full of Nikon glass but those two Tokina lenses are hard to beat.

Thanks Black Mamba!

Totally agree. I have never had a performance problem with this Tokina lens. Works in all conditions, day-to-day to well...extreme.

Next trip will hopefully be to Lofoten, Norway. However, with the current global conditions and the impact on income, disposable and otherwise, the trip will have to be postponed for the time being. I'll get there...the photographyic opportunities are spectacular, any time of year.

Thanks again for your comment.

El Gato

@Stumblebum said:
Last 2 images are killers!

Thank you Sir!! Much appreciate your comment!

Cornflake

These are terrific! I can't imagine those temperatures. You're more rugged than I am.

Juano

I agree with Taz, the last two pics are great!

El Gato

Cornflake & Cristóbal...

Thank you both for your comments. Much appreciated!!

Since it appears that most folks enjoy these shots, I had to share one more.

This shot was taken in Yellowknife, NWT on our final evening out on the ice. We drove our SUV out onto the middle of a lake, following the ice road (not the same as on TV). Several lakes in the area have ice roads, which are used for winter transportation. A lot easier than driving clear way around the lake. It is kind of comical the first time you see a stop sign out in the middle of a lake...gotta watch out for the snow-runners, skiers and dog sleds.

Eerie feeling listening to the ice crack as you roll across it. Then looking at the GPS and your little auto icon is smack in the middle of all this blue.

Stepping out onto the ice and just listening... to the wind and the distant howling of wolves and an occasional "boom" as the ice heaved somewhere off across the lake. I wondered how those early trappers for the Hudsons Bay Company survived out here, without bunny boots, synthetic clothing and down jackets. I thought we (a collective we as humanity) have gotten soft. At -40F, the night was perfect.

Thank you again for your comments everyone!!

black mamba

Another great shot. I can only imagine what early man thought of this display. Perhaps my age is finally catching up to me and my quest for adventure is waning. I, admittedly, have zero experience in driving around on frozen lakes but, at this point in my life, it's a notch on my belt that I won't get. Stay safe.

El Gato

The Valkyrior, the Dance of the Spirits, polar lights, goddess of the dawn, the mythical fire foxes of Lapland, the northern lights, Aurora.

By any name, auroras have intrigued, scared, excited, and fascinated humans since the dawn of time.

Keep well, stay socially separated. 🏝

Cornflake

Another fine shot. From what I've heard and from my limited experience, my impression is that the aurora is quite faint to the naked eye. Is that correct?

El Gato

Cornflake...

Thank you for your question.

The ability to see the aurora is really dependent on four key factors...

Time of year. Fall equinox through spring equinox is the optimal "window."

The Kp level. The level of geomagnetic activity in the atmosphere at the time you are viewing. The Kp level, is a number from 0 to 9, which is used to refer to geomagnetic activity for a 3-hour period. The higher the Kp level the better chance of seeing the aurora.

Your location. A location with low light pollution. A dark sky site is idea. Or out in the backcountry, in the middle of a frozen lake.

Your Latitude. The aurora (here we are talking the northern lights vs.the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights), occur within a geographic area referred to as the aurora zone (or Auroral Oval). It encompasses latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees. That said, depending on the solar winds and solar activity, when the solar wind blows hard, this boundary moves equatorward - sometimes as far as Huntsville, Tel Aviv, or Kyoto.

In reality, the aurora are active daily, chances of seeing them in their fully glory, however, depends on several factors, some we can control others we cannot.

So even given the above, nothing is really set in stone.

I remember one January evening in Norway, we were outside in -56F temps. (yes, dressed VERY appropriately), from 10pm until 3:30am, new noon, crystal clear sky...no aurora sighting at all, nada, nothing. Five and one-half hours of pacing, listening to animals much higher on the food chain than I, howl in the distance (I hoped) and wondering how to convince my better half how this falls under "for better or worse."

That is one significant factor in the Aurora Chase...you can spend a lot of time in planning and logistics, money on airfare (including bush plane flights), lodgings, ground transportation, even guides and come home with nothing.

Fog, snow storms (when none were predicted), delayed or canceled flights, sleet, experienced them all. Simply chalked it up to the experience. I learned early in this game that I can't cue the lights to come out on my schedule...it's all up to the solar winds and Mother Nature.

I have attached an article, which I wrote on photographing the Aurora. Hopefully this may answer any other questions that you may have. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any other questions.

Cornflake

I just read the article with pleasure and interest. Thanks for sharing it.

About twenty years ago I saw the aurora from southern British Columbia. Local friends said it was very uncommon to see it there. It was memorable.

black mamba

Just read your aurora article. Very well written and very informative. There's lots of sage advice in it that novice photographers could benefit from as it's applicable to everyday general photography. The more you can learn and prepare yourself, the more likely you'll be happy with the results. Good luck and stay safe.

El Gato

Cornflake & Black Mamba....

Thank you both for your comments and I am glad that you enjoyed the article.

I really enjoy the aurora chase and shooting them...just wish I could do it more often. I suspect though, it is for the best (a) it is such a rush and wonderful experience when I do get to photograph them and (b) if I did live within the auroral oval, I'd be out every evening possible and never get any sleep.

Thanks again for your comments, I appreciate them!!