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Workshop photographing the Aurora

First: when and where. If you are already on your way you can skip this and go directly for the photographic instructions below. If you landed here from the workshop menu then be aware that the menu has changed. You are now at the aurora dedicated section!

In this workshop you will learn the ins and outs of photographing the Northern Lights. As not every visitor of the Aurorea is a photographer this workshop will be low-level in photography explanation to enable everyone to get a decent photo of this phenomenon. At the lower part the more experienced photographers will find useful things as well.

Are just in for a smartphone photo? No problem. smartphoneclampGet a simple tripod (look for the Sirui K-005KX for an example) and phone clamp like in the example and select niightphotography. Most modern smartphones since 2021 do a reasonable job in taking a usable picture of the even not moderate auroras. Don't expect to much of it. But when the aurora is bright you may even well be able to get a good print too. If you want a good detailed photo... move on to a camera as described below.

Technique

Equipment.
This falls into two categories:

  1. Camera
    Though listed here, do not buy it only weeks before you leave for the lights. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands under the lights, you will need to familiarize yourself with it in advance as the lights can hold for hours or... for less than a minute.
  2. Computer
    If the Aurora is part of your vacation then just load your pictures on any computer and you'll be fine. If you want the Aurora on your photo like I do you will either have to have so much luck that the circumstances are optimal for your camera or... be as meticulous as I am and invest seriously in your computer and software.

Main problem: focussing in darkness on anything.

There are a few ways to focus. For shooting people I provided a description below. But the stars are what you need to get them and the aurora in focus.

Autofocus is useless for this so your camera has to be able to focus manually. There are a few ways to assist you with that. Either a distance scale on your lens or an electronic scale in your viewfinder or on your screen. Both are not really reliable. Some cameras and camera/lens combinations focus automatically on infinity, if you have that you are ready. If not then look for a function called focus zoom or something like that. It (temporarely) zooms in 1 or 2 steps in on the subject in this case the stars. now you can really focus well on the stars. Once you got this carefully not to move the slightest bit stick ducttape on your lens to fix the focus ring. Or if available lock it with a selector switch on the lens.

For a novice:

Camera:

  • must be on a tripod for long exposure times
  • must be set to manual exposure and manual focussing. Auto is no option.
  • set your ISO for 3200 or 1600
  • If you shoot jpg files only (standard for most non-hobbyist camera's): set your whitebalance for flash or if you can at 5600 K. Do not use auto white balance.
  • set the aperture on 4.0 max, preferred on 2,8 or lower if you have
  • set the shutter for 10 seconds to start with.
  • take enough batteries with you. Cold will make them halt before they are drained and long exposure times do drain them quickly. The camera doesn't have to be expensive but really does need these manual possibilities.

When there seemes to be nothing in the sky: Set the camera for starters on your tripod with iso 3200, aperture wide open (lowest number) and shutter 15 seconds (15", not 15). Set the focusring for infinity (the flat laying 8). When there is a reasonable light in the sky set your ISO for 1600 and shutter for 10" (seconds) When there is good light 1600 and 2,5"-5" seconds. When bright moving multicoloured 800 iso at 1 second. Remark! These settings are guidelines depending on your own perception of brightness of the lights.

A good camera that is not very expensive is by example the Sony DSC-HX400V. It has a good lens with a good max aperture of 2,8 at wide angle.

Do's and Dont's

Beware for THE ONE destructive thing when temperatures are below zero: DO NOT breathe or even talk in the direction of the camera!!! Your warm moist breath will most definitely freeze your lens over instantly. Trust me with this... I did that... When that happens DO NOT take a cloth or lenspaper or whatever for that matter and wipe. The ice crystals are rock hard and intensely sharp. Wiping WILL damage your lens beyond repair! Let it defrost slowly and then clean it carefully. This whole thing can be avoided by placing a UV filter or a protection filter (they are different). If you have multiple of these filters you can simply replace the frozen one but HOLD YOUR BREATH during that process!
Be extra aware with this if your camera extends the lens when you switch it on. If frozen moist gets on the lens tube and the camera wants to retract the lens... it won't be very happy.

Also do not jump to get warm while exposing for a photo. The ground and specifically snow is springy like a mattress and you exposure is ruined.

Do not shine around with torches unless you want half lit trees and other stuff in your field of view.

Is your tripod made from aluminium then beware of touching it with your bare hands when the temperature sinks below -10 Celcius. Some tripods have foam grips to protect you from this mistake. Your hand may well freeze to the tripod.

Keep your batteries warm! Stowe 'empty' batteries warm if the temperature is below -10. It won't bet the first time they come alive again.

Photographing persons in the foreground

This is quite a challenge. The main problem is the difference in distance between the camera and the persons and the stars in the background. The persons in the foreground are what is important, they want to be recognized it is as simple as that. So... focus on them. When they are in focus the stars will obviously be not. There is very little to be done about that. Forget about changing focus during exposure.

For a novice

Normal torch

  1. FIRST: Set the exposure time for the aurora on that specific moment.
  2. Place the persons about 4 meters in front of you and tell them your procedure so they co-operate with you.
  3. Let them close their eyes till you tell them to open again.
  4. Light the persons with a torch and let the camera focus or do it yourself. Don't forget to go back to manual focussing if you let the camera do it on its own.
  5. switch off the torch and let the persons open their eyes again.
  6. Be sure to tell them that they do not move the slightest bit during the full exposure time which you will tell them when it has finished.
  7. expose the photo and light the persons by painting them with your torch for about 1 second. Say for yourself "twenty one" to time that second and practice this often to get a good feeling with that timeframe. Use a watch with second hand to practice. The value of 1 second will vary with the ISO value that you set for the exposure on that moment.
  8. Repeat 6 and 7 untill you got a good result.

    Try to set the exposure on aperture 4.0 or even 5.6 if the Aurora is bright enough. This smaller aperture will increase your exposure time and ISO value drastically but also gives you a more forgiving error margin in focussing or... when correctly focussed it will give you tack sharp faces and smaller stars (a star becomes a planet when it is out of focus, see my selfportrait).

    Selfportrait
    Stars out of focus

On camera flashlight

You can also do this with an on camera flashlight. The camera may assist you with focussing by an infrared beam or maybe white light. Otherwise use the instruction in steps 1 thru 6 and 8 as above. Step 7 can then be replaced with just releasing the shutter which will also fire the flash. For this exposure technique you need the camera to weigh the distribution of the flashlight so let the camera manage the flashlight while the camera is in full manual mode. The flashlight should be well balanced now.
To achieve this put a:

  • Sony in ADI flashmode
  • Nikon in ITTL
  • Canon in ETTL
  • query the respective manual for other brands.

Experienced photographers

If you know what the hyperfocal distance and technique are... use it but it will provide you with a few challenges as you want to get more close-ups. HighMpix cameras like the 61Mpix types can help you out with cropping later.

Before you put the next into action be very sure you have practiced this in advance INCLUDING the processing!!!
Basically you do the same as in the above. The difference now is that you deliberately focus behind the persons. This can go up to 4 meters behind them when you use a wide angle lens like at least 24mm full frame or equivalent on your cropped sensor size. If possible place the persons at 6 meters from the camera. Just be sure that the aurora is very bright so she gives you a relatively high amount of light.
Combine this with an ISO setting of 6400 and close your aperture to a setting 5,6 or 8 but keep exposing to the Aurora!

This will result in much sharper stars but also in faces that will most likely not be in focus. This is the part where your practice has to show... The faces will have to be sharpened in your software on your computer. You cannot do that beyond a certain lack of focus. That point is what your experience has to stand in for.
The technique to get the most of it is first denoise with the only denoiser that is capable of taking care of this delicate process and that is Topaz. Lightroom does a good job as well but Lightrooms new AI technique demands more than 16GB of memory. Then after denoising you have to sharpen also with Topaz. This will increase the overall quality of the whole image in sharpness of the stars AND the faces.

experienced technique
Faces and stars in focus

Be aware that this is really not for novices and even experienced photographers will have their hands full with this technique. Also know that Topaz is no free software. On the contrary... it will cost you some €300 depending on the past time since I wrote this and the moment that you read this. And it will take time to process this which by the way will show your computers graphic capabilities.


Panoramics are a subject to follow next

Latest version:
26-10-2024, 08:49 UTC

Novice and Experienced
Learn to handle:

  • 1 Equipment
  • 2 Quick course of settings
  • 3 Neutral whitebalance
  • 4 Speed versus pale
  • 5 Temperatures
  • 6 Dos and don'ts
  • 7 Placing people

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Weather and Bortle classification

This is an app (CLEAR OUTSIDE) for both iOS and Android. Very detailed info on your current location. The lower the bortle number the darker your location is at night.
App Clear Outside