Is that northern lights I see? This was my second time going out to photo northern lights, and first time seeing them, but quite faintly! I had heard the camera will see them better...

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

This was my second time going out to photo northern lights, and first time seeing them, but quite faintly! I had heard the camera will see them better than the eye, so trusting that, I aimed the camera, waited for the exposure, and saw the lights. So I grabbed the tripod, and started shooting. This is one of my favorite shots of the night.

(Download)

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

justhercamera wrote:

This was my second time going out to photo northern lights, and first time seeing them, but quite faintly! I had heard the camera will see them better than the eye, so trusting that, I aimed the camera, waited for the exposure, and saw the lights. So I grabbed the tripod, and started shooting. This is one of my favorite shots of the night.

Looks like you caught the Northern Lights.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

photophile wrote:

Looks like you caught the Northern Lights.

yes! I did have to let a bunch of disappointed local people let them know it didn't look this good to the naked eye.... so that they didn't feel they missed something so spectacular.

dave.m

I too was a little disapointed when I first saw the Northern Lights, yet the camera saw it just fine.

So a bit of investigating after the event. The reason is the human eye is poor at seeing green at low light levels. A modern camera sensor is the complete opposite. So the camera will always see much more than we do in that part of the spectrum. Also of course the eye is an 'instantaneous' view whereas we typically expose for several seconds for a night exposure. Incidentally, the lights can be several colours, green the most common. The green is an indication that there are high oxygen content.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

dave.m wrote:

I too was a little disapointed when I first saw th... (show quote)

Thank you for explaining. I knew some of it, but not all. :)

dave.m

Also if your lucky enough to be in the Northern Lights activity area the USAF app is really useful

http://aurora-alerts.com/

tcthome Loc: NJ

Nice capture & thanks for the link. What lens ?

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

justhercamera wrote:

This was my second time going out to photo northern lights, and first time seeing them, but quite faintly! I had heard the camera will see them better than the eye, so trusting that, I aimed the camera, waited for the exposure, and saw the lights. So I grabbed the tripod, and started shooting. This is one of my favorite shots of the night.

Very nice, Sue. Your experience mirrors mine in Alaska. Everyone around me was disappointed that the lights "didn't show up" that night as promised. I confess, I thought they were only wispy clouds until I saw the images later. I wasn't lucky enough to get a shooting star, though.

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

justhercamera wrote:

This was my second time going out to photo northern lights, and first time seeing them, but quite faintly! I had heard the camera will see them better than the eye, so trusting that, I aimed the camera, waited for the exposure, and saw the lights. So I grabbed the tripod, and started shooting. This is one of my favorite shots of the night.

Nice shot. Something we DON'T get to see in Florida!

erickter Loc: Dallas,TX

Looks great.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

dave.m wrote:

Also if your lucky enough to be in the Northern Lights activity area the USAF app is really useful

http://aurora-alerts.com/

Thank you

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

tcthome wrote:

Nice capture & thanks for the link. What lens ?

Tamron 15-30mm G2

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

cameraf4 wrote:

Very nice, Sue. Your experience mirrors mine in Alaska. Everyone around me was disappointed that the lights "didn't show up" that night as promised. I confess, I thought they were only wispy clouds until I saw the images later. I wasn't lucky enough to get a shooting star, though.

Thank you. Yeah, it was not the display I hoped to see with my eyes. But I am glad the photos displayed it well.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

rmm0605 wrote:

Nice shot. Something we DON'T get to see in Florida!

I suppose not, but then again, you don't see snow in FL either. Thanks

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

erickter wrote:

Looks great.

Thank you.