Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, Endicott Mountains, Brooks Range, Alaska (Steve Greer / SteveGreerPhotography.com)
By Steve Greer
First published in the November/December 2004 issue of Photo Techniques
My mind began to wander as the clear Arctic night enveloped me in its cold grasp. The peace and solitude were evident as I gazed out into the vast alien land, seemingly desolate and barren, hostile to life. Yet frozen within the enduring isolation of these snow wastes and uplands is an immense hidden beauty that lays beneath the casual glance. The full moon peeked out from behind the Brooks Mountain Range. Sensing all was well, it climbed high into the sky lighting the snow covered peaks with a soft white that reminded me of my pillow. Into the second hour of my silent vigil, the sharp night air tugged at any remaining warmth in my hands and feet. I hardly noticed the faint slivers of green light beginning to snake slowly across the frozen sky.
“Look! Over to the North!” The stillness was shattered with a bellow from an alert companion. Spinning around to see what the fuss was about, I saw undulating curtains of glowing colors fill the sky. Within moments, growing formations of reds, yellows and greens streaked across the heavens and filtered down upon us creating a truly ethereal setting. Giddy with a child’s delight, we quickly swung our cameras and tripods around, recomposing and activating the shutter. Crowning the night sky, the Goddess of Dawn had arrived and we were catching it all on film.
Photographing the Northern Lights is an incredible experience for any photographer interested in capturing this beautiful and haunting phenomenon on film. With sleep deprivation being the biggest obstacle to overcome, there are only a few technical challenges to creating striking images of the aurora borealis.
Equipment
Whatever your format of camera, you will need a sturdy tripod and cable release. Because of the long exposures required, handholding your camera is out of the question. As for focal length, wide-angle lenses are recommended, as the aurora can span the horizons and fill much of the sky. Also, the more you zoom-in on the glowing heavens, the more you will create star trails. A range of 17mm to 35mm is best. A 35mm lens will produce star trails at about 30 seconds of exposure and a 50mm lens will begin to produce star trails after only 14 seconds.
Avoid using filters of any kind as they can produce concentric circles. These ghost like circles show up in the center of your image and are caused by the atomic oxygen emissions in the aurora. Simply put, any optics that try to filter or ‘sort out’ these emissions will appear as rings on your photographs.
Exposure
The speed of your lens will essentially determine exposure times. Because of the constantly changing flow of light moving across the sky and the long exposure times required, you camera’s light meter will not be able to determine an accurate exposure. Instead, all calculations are manual with your camera set on ‘bulb’. On average, and depending on the intensity of the aurora, a f1.4 lens with a 10 – 20 second exposure using 100 speed film works well. Using a f2.8 lens, I use exposures ranging from 20 – 35 seconds with my film rated at 400. With f4.0 lenses, I would use exposures of 20 – 40 seconds with 1000 speed film.
On very black nights with no moon, I will increase these exposure times by 5 seconds. With a full moon, I will back off my exposures by around 5 seconds. When I have foreground light, like the snow covered mountains shown here, I will reduce my exposures around 5 to 10 seconds. Remember, these are just guidelines to get you started. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try a variety of exposures. Part of the joy of photographing the aurora is the opportunity to use all these variables to your creative advantage.
Overall, the faster the lens, the more images you can create during any given light show simply by reducing the time of each exposure. An aurora display can be very brief, and having a fast lens can yield more results.
Film
Many of the fine grain films produced today are ideal for photographing the northern lights. I generally use Fuji’s Provia-F 100, pushed two stops. This film retains its fine grain principals when pushed and has no reciprocity failure until 36 seconds! I have yet to try Fuji’s new Provia-F 400. The test results I
have read thus far claim it has the same fine grain pattern as the 100. Experiment with a variety of film types. If you are going to photograph using a lens slower than f2.8, I would recommend using a high-speed
print film rather than any of the chromes. This will give you a lot more exposure latitude and avoid any unwanted color shifts.
When processing your film, find a lab that offers ‘clip processing’. This is a process where the technician will isolate or ‘clip’ the first four or five frames of film and develop it. The results will afford you an excellent opportunity to evaluate your exposure readings without processing the whole film. If by chance the images are either under or overexposed, the lab can compensate before processing the rest of your film. This is a great way to ‘tweak’ your exposures. The drawback to this technique is the potential of clipping in the middle of a great image. Hopefully, you will have several more ‘winners’ in the roll. It is also important to note that this process works well only when you are consistent with your exposures during an entire roll of film. If at any time you feel the need to change your exposure calculations, change to a new roll. Make notes of any adjustments as you go along and mark-up the film canisters as necessary.
By following these simple techniques, you will be well on your way to creating beautiful images of nature’s gigantic light-show. So set your alarm clock and prepare to step outside during the wee hours and witness the dance of the night sky. Good Hunting.
(All images were taken on the North Slope of the Brooks Mountain Range in Alaska using a Nikon N70 and a Sigma 28mm, f2.8 lens)