Copperfly Loc: Southern California

I'm heading for Alaska next week and am hoping to get a chance to photograph the northern lights. I would like any tips for camera settings and/or lenses to use to capture this phenomenon.

Thanks!

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

There's a great sub forum on UHH on astrophotography. Lots of helpful folks. I'd recommend reading links there.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Enjoy your time in Alaska, but don't expect to see any Aurora.

First it is too late in the spring for much activity. Visit in February and March or in September and October to be here when there is Aurora.

But even more important, if there is an odd instance of activity... you might read about it in the newspaper but you won't see it because the sky is too bright. Fairbanks is the most likely place to have both no clouds and Aurora, but today there is a total of about 18 hours of direct sunshine, and it is never darker than Civil Twilight (far to bright to see any Aurora).

Otherwise May is perhaps an odd month to visit in other ways. Lots of the tourist attractions won't be open yet, but some will. The Interior (north of the Alaska Range and south of the Brooks Range) is well into the warmer period of the year, all snow is gone, and things are rapidly turning green. However, farther south and anywhere on the West coast, are thawed out but too cold to turn green yet. A very drab time of year in many of those places. And above the Brooks range we are still in full blown winter, snowing some days and thawing on others, but it won't be above freezing for at least two or three more weeks.

All that makes this a great time to visit with the culture of Alaska rather than the landscape! Come up to Barrow and we will be happy to feed you fresh caught Bowhead whale!

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

That is exactly right.

tom hughes Loc: Phila Pa

I believe the University of Anchorage has an app that will give you a notification , short notification, for a pending Aurora.

billgdyoung Loc: Big Bear City, CA

Above all (pun intended) make sure to actually look at the AB with your eyes and not just through a viewfinder... same applies to the eclipse coming in August.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

They do have that app, but this time of year, even if the auroras were to be out, which is unlikely, you couldn't see them anyway because of lack of darkness.

Copperfly Loc: Southern California

Thanks all for the info. I have been watching the University of Alaska - Fairbanks aurora website. My purpose for this trip is to meet with a friend that I used to work with and now he lives in Alaska and we will be driving from there all the way to Los Angeles, so my photographic opportunities are not limited to the aurora. I was just hoping to see it.

PaulBa Loc: Cardiff, Wales

Well put

JPL

Use tripod, a kit lens at f8 and shutter speed about 10-15 seconds and ISO 100 will be about what you need to get the shots. Use normal kit lens like 18-55 or similar. It should allow you to control your composition for aurora borealis.
Try these settings and then fine adjust according to results, basically you will probably only need to use a bit faster or slower shutter speed, that depends on how strong the Aurora is and how much other light is in the picture.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Harmless advice only because he won't see any Aurora. I'm assuming you've never tried shooting aurora anyway. : - )

The best lenses are wide angle fixed focal length with at least an f/2.8 aperture. Usually it can be stopped down to f/4, hopefully f/5.6 and on wonderful rare days with an extremely bright display f/8 might be used. But always with an ISO of significantly higher that 100. Shutter speeds range from even as fast as 1 second, but more likely the 10-15 you say, and often more like 20 to even 30 seconds. None of that has anything at all to do with composition!

Shutter speed is usually a matter of how fast the lights are moving. A long exposure will blur moving curtains, but if the motion is slow anyway it brings out more in a low intensity display.

Composition for Aurora displays is interesting, because it generally has nothing to do with the lights. Look around the scene, pick an interesting location with trees, mountains or whatever to give the Aurora context. It's the context, more than the totally unpredictable light patterns that make an image.