Photographing Northern Lights
Nov 5, 2014 15:53:58 #
I know this has been discussed but I didn't pay a lot of attention because I knew I wasn't going there. I have a friend that is going to Norway and go on up and photograph and see the Northern Lights. He is not very savvy on cameras. He said he bought a Canon Xti. Would appreciate it if you would share your knowledge on what type of settings he should use and should he do time exposure shots. Thanks.
Nov 5, 2014 16:00:59 #
A quick search via GOOGLE showed these 5 as the top hits -
A Beginning PhotographerÂ’s Guide to Photographing The Northern Lights
Photographing the Aurora Borealis
How to snap the northern lights
How to Photograph the Aurora Borealis (Made Easy!)
How to photograph the northern lights with a digital camera
This should point him in the right direction :)
A Beginning PhotographerÂ’s Guide to Photographing The Northern Lights
Photographing the Aurora Borealis
How to snap the northern lights
How to Photograph the Aurora Borealis (Made Easy!)
How to photograph the northern lights with a digital camera
This should point him in the right direction :)
Nov 6, 2014 05:36:27 #
I shoot manual mode, tripod with remote shutter release, mirror-up release mode, f2.8 aperture, lens focused a hair to the right of infinity mark, ISO 800-1600, shutter speed 20-30 seconds. You can experiment with ISO and shutter speed in the field. Although it is possible to use a faster shutter speed to freeze Aurora movement and get a great photo, a longer shutter speed will result in the camera capturing more of the light spectrum, i.e., you will get more of the purple and red colors of the Aurora.
Nov 6, 2014 11:23:18 #
joehel2 wrote:
I shoot manual mode, tripod with remote shutter re... (show quote)
What lens do you use, and if it's a zoom lens, what focal length? Thanks.
Nov 6, 2014 11:33:41 #
Far North wrote:
What lens do you use, and if it's a zoom lens, what focal length? Thanks.
I am using a Nikon 17-35, f2.8 and I normally shoot between 20 and 28mm on a D800. With my D300 I am using a Tokina 11-16, f2.8 shooting at 12-14mm.
Nov 6, 2014 11:39:35 #
joehel2 wrote:
I am using a Nikon 17-35, f2.8 and I normally shoot between 20 and 28mm on a D800. With my D300 I am using a Tokina 11-16, f2.8 shooting at 12-14mm.
Thanks for the info. We get some pretty good northern lights displays up here, but I get frustrated at trying to take photos of them. And in the middle of the winter when the lights are out and it's zero or colder, it's not fun having to spend a lot of time fiddling with the camera trying to find a right setting. Again, thanks. This should save me some time.
Nov 6, 2014 12:24:16 #
Far North wrote:
Thanks for the info. We get some pretty good northern lights displays up here, but I get frustrated at trying to take photos of them. And in the middle of the winter when the lights are out and it's zero or colder, it's not fun having to spend a lot of time fiddling with the camera trying to find a right setting. Again, thanks. This should save me some time.
Good luck, you'll have to post one of your Aurora photos.
Nov 6, 2014 13:08:39 #
joehel2 wrote:
Good luck, you'll have to post one of your Aurora photos.
I just need to remember to get up at 3AM.
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.