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Alex Blondeau

9 Years Ago

My First Aurora Shot!

Since I live in central Minnesota I rarely get an opportunity to see the northern lights. The last time I saw them was probably ten years ago. The other night, however the sun blasted us with a massive solar storm so a couple friends and I decided to go see what we could come up with. I think it turned out pretty good! Check it out here!

I shot it with my 20mm prime f2.8 with a 25 second exposure, and 1000 ISO. The stars trailed just a smidge with that long of an exposure, but not too bad. Any tips from those of you who shoot auroras regularly?

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Bonfire Photography

9 Years Ago

Saw no reply so let me be the first, nice shot, I can offer no advice as seeing them in NE Iowa is even more rare. Have played with night photography some but was just that, playing.

 

Mary Bedy

9 Years Ago

Beautiful, Alex. I don't live in an area (North of Detroit) where they are visible, but my son said they were pretty nice up in Houghton, Michigan when he was in school. I've always wanted to see them. I understand they move around? Or were they static when you took that photo?

Nice shot. Sorry, i can't give you any advice either, but I'd be interested in what someone else has to offer if I ever get the chance to see them myself.

 

Alex Blondeau

9 Years Ago

Thanks Bonfire Photography and Mary!

Mary, YES they were moving. It's absolutely breathtaking when it happens! They shimmer in and out of sight. For one who rarely gets to witness such things it's nearly a religious experience (and perhaps the "nearly" is being too cautious!).

 

Hi Alex! Beautiful capture! I was born in Ft. Dodge, Iowa. My g'parents were from Sibley, Ia. We had a cabin on Lake Vermillion when I was very young, 1950's. In the summer I almost always saw them.
When we moved to Maryland, 1957, I never saw them until about 9 years ago and 2 days ago. I posted some pics on the Contest for this type of image.
Again great capture!
Greetings to you and the poster from Iowa..near Sibley??
Dan

 

Mary Bedy

9 Years Ago

Darn, I really want to see them some time. Some day.....

 

Julie Adair

9 Years Ago

I do not get to see this event since I am in Florida so thanks for sharing, it is a lovely capture. Very pretty colors!

 

Alex Blondeau

9 Years Ago

Thank you, Dan!

Julie, it's a small reward for the punishing winters we endure up here! :)

 

See My Photos

9 Years Ago

Awesome! Great decision to go along.

 

Sharon Mau

9 Years Ago

✿ . ¸.•°*.✿ :: it is a beauty :: ¸.•°*.¸☆ ✿☆¸.•°*.¸ ✿ ✤ •*`*•.¸¸.•*`*•.¸¸✽ ❥

 

Suzanne Powers

9 Years Ago

I'm surprised to hear you can see them at all in the United states except Alaska. I thought they only showed up in very northern regions like Canada and Alaska on this hemisphere.

 

Alex Blondeau

9 Years Ago

Thanks Craig & Sharon!

Suzanne,
Only rarely are we able to see them this far south. There was a particularly strong solar storm in effect the other day, which was the only reason it was possible.

 

Sarabjit Singh

9 Years Ago

A great encounter with nature captured in perfection!

 

Debbie Oppermann

9 Years Ago

Super shot - lucky you - I haven't seen one in years and that was up north - I live in southern Ontario so not happening here!

 

Elizabeth Bathory

9 Years Ago

Fantastic shot Alex. great capture.. it is amazing.. JGP

 

Alex Blondeau

9 Years Ago

Thank you Sarabjit, Debbie, and Jean Gabriel!

 

Richard Reeve

9 Years Ago

Super work, Alex. The AB is on my bucket list. Some day....

- Richard Reeve
ReevePhotos.com

 

Robert Kernodle

9 Years Ago

Beautiful shot on a computer screen.

When I view with the high-resolution squares (oh no, I sound like Mike S.!) things look a bit fuzzy, and I want to see them sharper.

But then again, I have the same complaint about some of NASA's Hubble Telescope shots too -- some of those are advertised as very high resolution, but when you zoom in, they are horrible. Yours is actually better than some of their not-so-good ones.

 

Julie Adair

9 Years Ago

Too true Alex. I am sure the winters there are quite brutal. I am so far South we really do not have a winter, more like a cool breeze and that about sums up winter here. (:

 

Alex Blondeau

9 Years Ago

Thanks, Richard

Robert, I feel the same way. The 20mm gets a bit soft when shot wide open and my tripod is cheap, was not weighted, and was on soft grassy ground. Definitly room for improvement!

P.S. "oh no, I sound like Mike S.!" lol It probably wouldn't kill all of us to sound a bit more like Mike S. from time to time. :)

 

Maggie Terlecki

9 Years Ago

Alex, I live in Quebec, Canada and tried to shoot the ones here on Tuesday night, but did not have a tripod with me so my images are blurry. I am not a regular Aurora shooter as I can't stay out in the cold too long but I tried again on Wednesday with a tripod but they just wouldn't come out to play. :-P

Yours looks great. As for what to do, you are doing it right! Depending on how subtle they are, you can go anywhere from ISO400-to ISO1600 but you need to be aware of noise. Newer cameras do better than older ones, obviously.

Shoot pretty open.. but perhaps not open completely to 2.0 ... stop it down to 2.8 - 4.0 so you get better sharpness. If your tripod is not very sturdy, there is usually a hook you can hang something heavy on or place something heavy on the braces between the legs.

As for how long, anywhere from 4 seconds to 30 is pretty normal; it will always depend on how bright the display is.

All in all, you did everything right and I think your photo is very beautiful! Congrats!
:-)
Maggie

 

Janine Riley

9 Years Ago

Wow ! How fortunate for you - great capture.

I have never seen them either, although they were rumored to be viewed occasionally from The Hudson Valley of NY .
I imagine it's pretty awesome to watch.

 

Her Arts Desire

9 Years Ago

Nicely done. One of the things on my bucket list to see and photograph.

 

Marlene Burns

9 Years Ago

Breathtaking! Thanks for sharing, Alex!

 

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