Planning a trip to Norway

[nitevision]

Hi all,
So a couple of friends and I are planning a trip to Norway next year in mid-late January, mainly to see the Northern Lights. Naturally I plan to take some photos of the event and this is why I am now asking for help.

I am a novice shooter and currently have at my disposal a Hasselblad XPan and a Ricoh GR as digital backup. Any suggestions as to how to prepare my skills, what times of day to plan for and what film to use would be much appreciated.

Many thanks!

 

[JHutchins]

Hi all,
So a couple of friends and I are planning a trip to Norway next year in mid-late January, mainly to see the Northern Lights. Naturally I plan to take some photos of the event and this is why I am now asking for help.

I am a novice shooter and currently have at my disposal a Hasselblad XPan and a Ricoh GR as digital backup. Any suggestions as to how to prepare my skills, what times of day to plan for and what film to use would be much appreciated.

Many thanks!

You are most likely to see Aurora around local midnight. I like to look at this site to get an idea of what's going on and what's likely to go on over the course of the evening:

http://WWW.swpc.NOAA.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast

It presents information in a way that's pretty easy to grasp.

If you're still looking at dates, try to plan the trip so the new moon falls in the center of it. The brighter the moon, the less likely you are to see Aurora and the less impressive they will be -- same idea as veiling flare really. I've seen the aurora with a full moon but never an impressive one.

For exposure, I'd use your digital camera as a guide. Shoot, chimp, use that as a basis for setting your film exposure. But look up the curves for the film you'll be using -- reciprocity failure is likely to be an issue. I'm not sure a rule of thumb can be given since the aurora is a light source of variable brightness. Your exposures will be long -- shooting aurora is not a handheld game.

And be patient. They oscillate so you can expect it to flare up, stay for half an hour or so, go away for an unpredictable period but half an hour is again a good average, then come back.

 

[Tin]

Two sites that cover the basics and more:

http://www.alaskaphotographics.com/blog/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-a-digital-camera/

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/82...aphy-a-guide-to-capturing-the-northern-lights

But based on my limited experience, I'd say that using a digital camera is a better bet.

It provides you with instance feedback, as well as allowing to take numerous photos at no cost.

With a film camera, although you can use the results from your digital camera as a guide for basic exposure, you still have to deal with the uncertainty of reciprocal failure. Furthermore, as auroras are fuzzy objects all the time, film photography does not give you any advantage with regards to better resolution, contrast, or the subtlety of colours that different films might give you.

Make sure that you bring along a LED red light for you to see in the dark, but not ruin your night vision with a regular white flashlight.

 

[JHutchins]

And dress appropriately. Because it oscillates you can't really just stay inside and check every now and then. Or you can, but if the principle purpose is to see Aurora, you won't want to because you're severely reducing your chance of seeing anything. Though if you have local friends you can ask them to call you when they're out. Here at least people tend to call or text friends or put notices up on Facebook when the lights are out.

Use fast lenses wide open. This is an exercise in light gathering not sharpness. The aurora aren't sharp. It's also, alas, not a place for things like velvia 50. You really want iso 200 or 400. The lights move and how fast they move varies unpredictably. Sometimes it's quite fast, usually not. Longer exposures brighten things and bring out more color, but you lose well defined curtains

Oh and no filters. They tend to cause newtons rings.

 

[nitevision]

Thanks for the helpful replies guys, will definitely keep these in mind as I plan the trip -I am obviously in the company of experts here!

 

[Ezzie]

Remember to acclimatise your equipment when going in and out of the cold. Wait at least a half hour before taking camera and lenses out of your bag. That or risk condensation, or even frost. Also make sure elderly cameras (and lenses with shutters) are recently CLA'd. Ancient grease and bitter cold is a recipe for disaster.