Due to a big solar flare heading our way Friday September 12th, there is a great chance of getting a glimpse of the Northern Lights! Thought I'd repost about the time I went to photograph some meteors and instead got treated to the Aurora Borealis! And of course share tips on how to shoot them!
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So I went over to Gorham's Bluff for a nice dark spot to shoot the Draconid Meteor Shower last December...and all my photos were ruined by this stupid red and green light in the sky...
Oh wait, that's the Northern Lights!
Something I have never seen before, and something that is a bit rare in my part of Canada (New Brunswick, on the East coast. Next to Maine for my American visitors who may have never heard of it)
So needless to say, I forgot all about the meteors and started shooting the sky!
FULL POST WILL ALL THE TECHNICAL CAMERA INFO NOW AT WWW.LEARNPHOTO365.COM
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18 comments:
Fantastic photos of the northern lights. For sure a rarity in our part of the world New Brunswick. I'm further north in Saguenay Quebec this weekend so maybe I'll go out this evening.
To see Northern Lights in on top of my bucket list. Hope it will come true one day!
Hi, I have a cannon t3i and the standard 55 lens that came with it, or the 55-200 lens. Any suggestions for trying to shoot the aurora?
Hi Arimenthe.
You'll want to use your 18-55 lens, probably at the widest setting to get as much sky as possible. Use Manual mode and the settings I list in the blog post above.
Don't forget the TRIPOD!
I saw the Northern Lights in Central Oregon in about 1958, it was amazing! Sure hope to see it again someday. Won't be in the best place for this one, but will sure be looking anyway! I we get lucky & it happens again the next night, I might have a chance, will be camping in Central Oregon, not far from where I saw them before
Awesome photos Noel! Thanks for sharing! I'm in ND about 90 miles to the border. Will be looking for the northern lights tomorrow night!
I hope you both are able to view them Darlene and Michelle!
I didn't even think they could be seen where I am (New Brunswick, Canada, next to Maine).
Hoping for clear skies!
My camera only seems to go to a 30 second shutter speed. Am I maybe missing something? I'm using a Canon Rebel, older model. Also when I point to the night sky my camera has nothing to focus on and so won't let me take a photo. Is there a trick to this? Thanks!
Thanks so much for the advice on shooting the northern lights. Hope to see them here in Yellowstone.
Hi Becky
You need to be in manual mode and then you can select BULB mode, which will leave the shutter open as long as you hold down the button.
Also, to focus, you will probably need to switch to MANUAL focus as the camera can't focus on the dark sky.
Hi Tom
My pleasure! Hope you get a chance to see them there!
Woohoo! This is going to be a lot of fun! My wife, daughter and I will be going to the Utah/Idaho border tonight to check out the Aurora Borealis. Thanks for putting up the map of North America because it shows that we are right in the midst of a green section. KOA here we come!
Warm Regards,
J, A and J
Becky, if its a digital rebel, switch to manual focus, press the set button to change the display to live, zoom in ( digitall) so you can focus manually. then zoom back out ( digitally) press SET again to turn off live mode. then set it up. BULB works best if you have a remote shutter release. if not, GET ONE or make one ! http://petapixel.com/2012/12/24/make-a-diy-remote-shutter-release-using-a-cable-and-a-soda-can-tab/ or http://www.instructables.com/id/Remote-shutter-trigger-for-Canon-Cameras/
Updated the post to include focus info and bulb mode.
Thanks for sharing that DIY tip becky!
So I can use a unwired, remote control to do this? The website I was looking at said it needed to be a cable remote. Is that true?
Noel,
These pictures are beautiful! I'm in Ogden, Utah and a photography student but it's been a few years since I've really used digital, so this refresher was perfect for me! As the map shows, we may be able to see the lights all the way down here and I REALLY hope I can! So we're going to go hike and I'm going to get out my trusty camera and pray for clear skies!
Hi Becky
It depends on your model. Some cameras will do bulb mode with a wireless remote where pushing the button starts the bulb exposure, pushing it again stops it.
Wired ones usually have a lock on them.
Noel
Glad to help Tara. Hope you were able to get some great images! At the very least I hope you had a nice hike! :)
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