Shooting the Northern Lights?

Chet

Hello grinners,
In a few weeks I will be attending a conference for work in Alaska. While I won't have a lot of time up there I was hoping to get a chance to try and take some photos of the northern lights. Having never been to Alaska, or even seen the northern lights in person I'm not sure what to expect. I will be staying in Fairbanks, Alaska which is in the interrior. According to some of the web sites I have checked out I have a decent change of seeing the northern lights come out at least one night.

Does any one have any pointers or expierence shooting the northern lights? Outside of using a tripod and a remote/cable release and a slow shutter speed, what are other techniques I should use?

Shay Stephens

Even if you don't see one, shoot as if one was there. You may catch one not visible to the eye. And there isn't a trick really, just shoot and expose for the scenery. So like you mentioned, tripod and remote release.

If the aurora is bright and active, it can move pretty fast, so long shutter speeds can loose detail of the structure. So I would give priority to shorter shutter speeds and open up the aperture and bump the ISO as needed. Work with the exposure to get the desired shutter speed to capture the structure you want.

Don't forget to spend some time just enjoying the show either. I have seen two, and one of them was bright and active and it was very powerful and moving for me to watch.

You can practice by shooting sky glow from city lights. Try to make it look intersting as if it were an aurora. That should get you some good experience.

wxwax

Some helpful links from folks who've done it.

Link #1

Link #2(See last post.)

Link #3

Rhuarc

Does anyone from the Washington State area know if the AB is visible from anywhere in Washington? Just moved, and would love to catch them in action sometime!

Shay Stephens

Rhuarc wrote:

Does anyone from the Washington State area know if the AB is visible from anywhere in Washington? Just moved, and would love to catch them in action sometime!

In washington, they are frequently photographable, though they may not be visible to the eye, or sometimes not recognized as such to those who don't know what to look for. So try shooting in a northerly direction when the action is hot and you might get something.

I monitor this site:

http://sec.noaa.gov/pmap/pmapN.html

When the activity level is around 10 I start thinking about making a trip to somewhere dark.

Shay Stephens

wxwax wrote:

Some helpful links from folks who've done it.

Link #1

Link #2(See last post.)

Link #3

Great links!

wxwax

One of them mentions keeping your batteries warm. I think this is a big deal. In extreme cold, their life shortens dramatically.

Chet

Thanks
Thanks to everyone for your tips. The links were especially useful. I will let you all go know how it goes. Hopefully I will have some photos worth posting.

wxwax

Chet wrote:

Thanks to everyone for your tips. The links were especially useful. I will let you all go know how it goes. Hopefully I will have some photos worth posting.

I'm envious, I've spent a few days in AK and never seen 'em.