One of nature ’s most incredible phenomena are theaurora borealis , more ordinarily hump as the Northern Lights . We ’ve been photographing them in Iceland and we ’re go to show you how to shoot them yourself .
What are they ? The Northern Lights are a natural luminance display in the sky , preponderantly pick up in Arctic realm . Geomagnetic tempest can cause the auroral ovals to expand , sometimes bringing them to scurvy line of latitude . They illuminate the poleward horizon as a greenish gleaming , or sometimes a faint Bolshevik as if the Sun were develop from an strange guidance .
The light produced by most sunup is between 90 and 150 km above the earth , but sometimes can widen to more than 1000 km . They ’re most clearly seen against a dark night sky in positioning nearer the north terminal , such as Alaska , northern Canada , Greenland , Iceland , northerly Scandinavia , and Siberia . Near the opposite pole , the aurora australis , or southerly Light , can be discover from Antarctica , South America , New Zealand , and Australia .
The auroras take many forms and colour . The most distinctive are the curtain - like auroral arcs . These can be incredibly burnished and , in the correct conditions , will light up the entire sky . A “ diffuse ” dawning however , is a comparatively featureless glow sometimes close to the bound of visibleness . Those can be distinguished from moony cloud by the fact that stars can be seen undiminished through the glow . dark-green auroras are the most common , but they can also be red , blue , or pink and yellow ( a mix of red and green or blue ) .
It ’s not known precisely what causes them , but inquiry has show that there are a few potential cause . What we do know however , is that they are AWESOME .
The Bardarbunga vent extravasate in the background as the aurora borealis dodge behind cloud above the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon in Iceland .
late advances in digital photography have made it comfortable than ever to snap the aurora borealis . Here ’s what you need to eff to burgeon forth them yourself .
positioning : The aurora borealis are most seeable near the arctic circle . They can be seen from Alaska , Canada , Greenland , Iceland , Scandinavia , and Siberia — however , travel to Iceland and Norway is probably most approachable . Iceland Airhas a great stopover program allowing flyers to have a week - foresightful “ layover ” on the island in between other finish . Reykjavik — the human beings ’s northmost capital city is only a five - hour flight from New York and you may actually see the aurora borealis from the metropolis limits . Norwegian Airoffers lineal flights to Oslo from JFK for under $ 400 rotund - trip . ( Their firebrand young 787 Dreamliners are prissy too ! ) When choose a specific position to shoot , attempt to get away from cities ’ idle contamination . Find a billet with dark sky and interesting subject matter ( think mountains , lake , frozen lagune , etc ) .
When to Go : The best time to experience the northern sparkle is between September and March . Statistically speaking , March is the most alive calendar month ; October is a close second . Spring is clearer but cold . Autumn is warmer , but muddy ; cloud cover will have a Brobdingnagian affect on whether or not you may see the auroras . They are seeable in winter too , but temperatures will be much cold and day will be much shorter ( which would maximise your opportunity to see them , but would give less opportunity to do other things ) .
Equipment : You do n’t require much .
Camera – You ’ll want a tv camera that allows for manual exposure control , and one that can make at least 30 - second exposures . A full - frame television camera like theCanon 6Dwill permit you to take full vantage of wide lens system and offers superior figure of speech lineament and high ISO carrying into action to a cropped detector — but any digital SLR will forge ; one of the newfangled mirrorless tv camera should do the thaumaturgy as well .
Lens – A wide lens of the eye will allow you enamor an talkative view of the aurora and palisade landscape . The newCanon 16 - 35 mm f/4L IS USMis great for shoot landscape and works brightly when pair with a full form camera , but any wide lens will do .
Tripod – You ’ll need one to prevent television camera shake while shooting long exposures . I ’ve been using theManfrotto BeFree Compact Lightweight Tripod($200 ) . It ’s hardy , packs down well , and is relatively lightweight given its robustness ( I ’ve been backpacking around Iceland with it ) . A lighter , less expensive selection that works great for risky venture travel is theJoby GorillaPod($45 ) — though the GorillaPod is definitely harder to go with . A trashy lightweight tripod will do in a speck , but the wind in these areas can be quite violent , so something sturdier will serve you best .
Remote ( optional ) – A cheap remote control , like this $ 30generic intervalometer(which is also utile for timelapses ) can be decent for actuate the shutter , allowing you to keep your hands in your pockets ( it ’s gon na be cold out there ! ) .
Headlamp – Chance are , it ’s pop off to be dark where you ’re shooting at ; aheadlampwill save you from trip up around .
habiliment : You ’re going to be shooting near the Arctic rope in Autumn , Winter , or Spring . It ’s going to be cold . crop for it .
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Weather : Weather is perish to be a big settle gene here . If there is serious cloud cover , chances are that the aurora borealis will not be seeable . In Iceland in fall , that is often the casing . calculate on where you ’re shooting at , there should be an aurora forecast for that area . Theforecast for Icelandshows a map of cloud cover over the intact island , and it apply a meter of the aurora intensity for about a week at a time . This tool can be utilitarian for planning , but like all things weather , sometimes you have to just step out of doors and see for yourself . Last nighttime , for example , the daybreak forecast for Iceland bear witness full cloud - cover , yet we could still see them whirl above us while walking to the barroom , despite Reykjavik ’s clean befoulment .
Photographing The Auroras : First things first , countersink your camera and tripod up , then create an interesting composition . You ’ll want to feature some sort of foreground constituent , whether it ’s a lake , mountains , or yourself standing beneath the colorful glow . This will give some context to the illuminated sky that you ’re photographing .
Next , focus on your foreground constituent . It can be tough to auto - focus in the dark , but if you ’re confining enough to the discipline , you could use your headlight to shed light on it for focus ( just be witting of other shooters nearby , you do n’t want to shine a light through their exposure . ) If that does n’t influence , set your nidus to manual , turn the focus ring to “ infinity ” ( the crabwise 8) then back it down a couple of millimeter . If your foreground element is off in the length , chances are this will bestow it into focusing .
Change your exposure set to “ manual . ” Shooting in manual will give the most ascendancy over your photo . Because you ’re charge at night , your camera ’s sensor will need to collect a lot of light . spread your aperture up wide . When bring with the aperture setting , a little number means a cock-a-hoop opening , which permit more light onto the detector . If your electron lens will go down to f/2.8 , that ’s a good place to start . reckon on the strength of the auroras , you may call for a shorter , or longer shutter speed . If they ’re not very intense , try set your shutter speed to 15 seconds . This will keep the shutter open for a full 15 seconds , allowing a lot of light to achieve the sensing element . If they are more acute , experiment with shorter shutter hurrying . Finally , jell your ISO . This will most likely be the variable star that you ’ll change to properly uncover your prototype . depart with an ISO of 1600 . If it ’s too dark , increase the ISO to 3200 . A higher ISO will increase the faint sensibility , giving you a promising simulacrum , but it will be grainier . A lower ISO will be a clean image with less grain , but it wo n’t be as bright . The key here is to really capture the intensity of the daybreak , so do n’t be afraid to push your ISO to get a properly exposed effigy . I ’ve simplified my start point below , but keep in psyche this can vary greatly depending on the intensity of the break of the day :
15s , f/2.8 , ISO 1600
If flash with a remote control , practice that to fire off your exposures . This will prevent photographic camera shake because of pressing the shutter passing . An add bonus is that using a remote control will allow you to keep your hands in your air hole while pip . If you do n’t have a remote control , do n’t worry . Set the self timer on your camera , and habituate that to release the shutter . I have a 2s self timekeeper on my 5D Mk II ; that works great for scud landscapes in a pinch . If your camera only has a 10s self timer , that will work too , you ’ll just have to wait longer to expose your shot .
Tips :
Shoot a bunch ! The aurora borealis are perpetually changing , so continue to photograph as long as you may . This will give you the most chance to bewitch a really great shot .
flash in RAW ! This will admit for the most latitude in post processing , which is especially crucial when administer with farseeing photograph and Nox photography .
Remove any filter from your lenses before shooting as they can get out concentric rings around your images .
Taking the word picture is only the first footprint . Editing your photos in a program like Photoshop or Lightroom will give up you to get the most out of your RAW images . Try bumping up the contrast and coloring saturation — just do n’t exaggerate it !
Batteries discharge much faster in the frigidity , so always have a spare . Keep it inside your jacket so that it stays warm and will be quick to go when the meter comes to swap it out .
chemic handwarmerscan be really helpful for keeping your hand , bombardment , and camera warm .
Photos : Filip Polách , Chris Brinlee , Jr.
Adventureaurora borealisHow ToNorthern Lights
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