Aurora

[steveandthedogs]

Benllech by Steve Ashton, on Flickr

DSCF7883 by Steve Ashton, on Flickr

purple- by Steve Ashton, on Flickr

green by Steve Ashton, on Flickr

S

[adriansadlier]

Howth, Dublin

[Fenris]

Any advice for getting such great shots?

I couldn't go out and see the aurora last night, so hoping for another good night this evening.

[zou]

May 11, 2024 11:22:11 GMT Fenris said:

Any advice for getting such great shots?

I couldn't go out and see the aurora last night, so hoping for another good night this evening.

1. Point camera at sky, focus optimised for depth of field up to and including infinity.
2. Ideally on tripod.
3. Trial and error for ISO but hopefully you know what works for your gear. I like 800 to 1600.
4. Aperture priority can be fine or manual if you prefer. I've not shot in conditions like last night but for 'normal' aurora displays 15 seconds is a good balance of getting the light without losing the shape.
Edit to add, start with f8 and see if you need more or less.

[JohnY]

May 11, 2024 11:22:11 GMT Fenris said:

Any advice for getting such great shots?

I couldn't go out and see the aurora last night, so hoping for another good night this evening.

Oh Fen. We all shoot digital these days. Suck it and see. It's not like shooting a total solar eclipse on CT50 in up country Kenya over 50 years ago when we got feedback more than a week later. Use a prominent, but not too prominent star  to set focus. Aperture a stop or two below max if still on G lenses(Z S line are designed to be used wide open) and off you go.

I missed last night because I didn't think I would see anything because of the Nottingham glow and just slept through it.

[JohnY]

May 11, 2024 0:11:44 GMT adriansadlier said:

Howth, Dublin

This is the best shot that I have seen.  It beats all shots on the Beeb and Torygraph websites.

Edit. Oops.  This is Exhibition but I will leave my original comment in place anyway.

[adriansadlier]

May 11, 2024 19:47:00 GMT JohnY said:

May 11, 2024 0:11:44 GMT adriansadlier said:

This is the best shot that I have seen.  It beats all shots on the Beeb and Torygraph websites.

Edit. Oops.  This is Exhibition but I will leave my original comment in place anyway.

Thanks for the praise - but I think it is due to nature, not me. This is the first time I ever tried to shoot (or even saw) the Northern Lights. I learnt a lot, but I doubt I will ever get the opportunity to put those learnings into practice. The joys of photography 

[Fenris]

May 11, 2024 19:40:42 GMT JohnY said:

Oh Fen. We all shoot digital these days. Suck it and see.

Helpful John.

Perhaps suggesting a starting point like Zou did would've been the right way to go. Not all of us have done any night photography of this type and don't have hours to spend trying to find the appropriate settings.