lightandshadowjourney Loc: Virginia

What are your thoughts on shooting the Aurora, particularly in Norway, in late February, early March with a waning Gibbous moon? I am concerned about the temp change from inside a van and out into the cold with condensation. The excursion company will provide suitable clothing and tripods. I will probably be using a Sony 65A with a Tamron 18-270, F3.5-6.3. I am curious as to taking a video if there is a probability of success with that, as well.

tcthome Loc: NJ

I don't know about the Northern Lights & moon thing as far as timing goes but, in regards to the cold. Going out into the cold is not a problem, coming back into the heat is where the condensation forms. Take a pack or bag outside with you so it gets cold also. Before going back into the warmth, put the camera/lens combo in the bag & seal it up & let it warm up to room temp before removing it from the bag.

Enjoy your trip, Tom

lightandshadowjourney Loc: Virginia

Good info, thanks, Tom. I've heard that before. I will have a backpack with me that I was thinking to use for this, maybe with a plastic bag to go inside that. I do not know what to expect as to how often the van might stop on our route, but I hope to have enough time to stabilize the camera and lens before we step out again.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

There is a new moon on Feb 23 and the full moon on March 10, so you will be shooting a night sky with varying moonlight. There will be better shooting in February, since the new to quarter moon will set shortly after sunset, leaving a dark sky earlier. You still might be able to shoot the aurora in the full moon. The aurora is centered roughly over the geomagnetic pole which will be west of you. At your latitude, the aurora will be to your northwest, so to get the moon to your back, you need to shoot before the moon gets too far west.

People at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have shot videos of the auroras but they were using specialized gear. I briefly did a Google search and found several cases where the movies were made from a time-lapse sequence, not shot as video.

Good luck.

ralfstinson Loc: SF Bay Area

Patrick Endres has some great information for shooting the Lights! Also, everyone likes to say use layers of clothing for the cold, and that is good advice for active people. But you are standing or sitting by a tripod for long a long time. Bulk up on cloths. Lenses, normally wide angle and fast. Set the lens to infinity during the day, then tape it (gaffers tape) so you don't have a focus problem and knock it off by accident. Learn to use your camera in the dark by shooting stars before you go. Red light for any flashlight and turn the camera flash off, it does not help and really irritates fellow photographers. Camera settings for getting stars is a good start for the Aurora. If you can, turn the brightness of the monitor down, and remember to turn it up for the next day (I thought my monitor had broken in the bright light.)

lightandshadowjourney Loc: Virginia

Several thoughts in there I have not considered. Thanks so very much! I really want to get some illumination of people with the aurora background, so that lighting is still open in my mind.

Hsch39 Loc: Northbrook, Illinois

I never tried Video for the Northern Lights, but I used an intervalometer with success. Settings are the same as you would use for single images with an interval of 2-5 seconds. Hopefully your tour leader gives you at least 1/2 hour in each location.

lightandshadowjourney Loc: Virginia

Had not even thought of that. This little exercise confirms my belief in the generosity of photographers every where. Thank you, so much.

tiphareth51 Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska

Hello...have you thought about a camera parka? I do photograph the Northern Lights here in Alaska and I use a at frosted lens brand camera parka. There are other brands. I do believe it helps keep my camera warmer and you can attach a hand warmer to the battery compartments side. Others have given you good advice about layering your clothing, etc. Happy aurora shooting.

lightandshadowjourney Loc: Virginia

I have never heard of that but, boy, does that look interesting! Thank you! Love the hand warming feature.

Linda S.

Hello lightandshadowjourney! I am going to Iceland on a photo workshop during the same time frame as you (2/26 -3/7 or so). I did some research on the weather/moon phase and the pro leading the workshop and this was the time that worked for me.

Know nothing about using video for the Lights, but I was told for still photos, an ultra wide lens required. For my Canon 5DM4, I chose the Rokinon with an AE chip. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1158452-REG/rokinon_ae14m_c_14mm_f2_8_wide_angel.html.

I needed a remote so I could do timed exposures...no more than 30 seconds because the Earth's orbiting would interfere with the photo's quality. Most photos are taken at much less than 30 seconds.

Here are the links I used to get a better handle on the weather/light conditions etc. I am sure they exist for Norway as well. Doing a search using the terms with Norway replacing Iceland might yield new helpful information - but again, nothing on videoing the Lights.


Num Daylight Hours source: http://www.iamreykjavik.com/daylight-hours-iceland

Cloudy and Rain Data Source: http://www.reykjavik.climatemps.com/precipitation.php
To see Northern Lights: need high solar activity and very little cloud cover
Lunar calendar source: https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/iceland/reykjavik?year=2020
Factors affecting the Northern Lights: https://www.offthemap.travel/news/does-a-full-moon-lower-your-chances-of-seeing-the-northern-lights/

Some random links I found interesting:
https://iso.500px.com/northern-lights-photo-tutorial/

https://luxeadventuretraveler.com/northern-lights/

https://fullsuitcase.com/photograph-northern-lights-beginners/

http://auroraforecast.is/strong-auroras-likely-the-first-weekend-of-november/

Hope this helps! Would love to compare notes after our respective trips! Told my husband if the lights didn't co-operate in Iceland, next year would be Norway! :)

rtryan

If you have internet here is the site for aurora forecast. https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-3-day-forecast
Last year trip included Baffin Island and lucky to have 3 clear nights in September and Northern Lights great show. Unlucky to have left tripod home but still took this handheld with Sony RX 10 IV. If good show you could shoot video. If active displays moving surprisingly fast. Enjoy

Hsch39 Loc: Northbrook, Illinois

If the group agrees on a group photo, you can use a flash with a long exposure, but the group can't move for the duration of the exposure. I attached a photo I took of my wife and me in Alaska.

Linda S.

If your hands get cold easily, as mine do, I purchase these gloves from B&H Photo Video.

I purchase the liners, the actual photography glove, and then the mittens that go over in case we're sitting for long periods of time and I want the extra protection until we start shooting again.

https://photographygloves.com/products/vallerret-photography-glove-ipsoot

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Keep battery on you. Place equipment outside for about 10 minutes. Stay in van for that 10 minutes, then, go outside, place warn battery into camera, take photo's.