We are lucky here in Alberta, because some nights are full of light show. We had a couple of gorgeous Aurora showing last fall and I have managed to capture some shots without leaving the city.
Chasing Aurora
There are a lot of spectacular photographs of northern lights on internet. Beautiful lights dancing on the night sky are quite amazing to behold. However, it is not as easy as you would think to get a good shot of them. It, often, requires hours of waiting for the sky to turn dark enough in summer or freezing your bottom on location in winter.
Aurora in the City
We all love watching northern lights. Even when they are week, we will strain our eyes and stare at the night sky to see them. The best viewing is, of course, outside the city, where there is no light pollution and the sky is dark. Cities are, generally, not the best places to watch them. However, there are nights, when the lights are very bright and quite easily viewable even inside Edmonton.
Flirting With Aurora - Part 2
When we go out at night we never know if we come back with something usable. Our weather here in Alberta, changes very quickly and even if we leave the city with clear skies above, by the time we reach a specific location it all might change (mind you, we need to travel quite a distance away from the city in many cases - sometimes more than 100km, which can make quite a difference as well). Landscape photography does require certain amount of sacrifice and hard work..
Flirting With Aurora - Part 1
She can be very elusive. She can show up where you don't expect her to be and don't show up, when you count on her. Sometimes, it's only a pale green hue of the night sky, sometimes - a line across. Some nights, you can only spot her out in the country, where city lights don't obscure the views, but some nights, you can clearly see her from my own back yard, covering most of the sky and showing off for everybody to see.
A Night Of Amazing Aurora - Alberta Landscape Photography
Aurora, Fuji, Sony and Fish-Eye - Alberta Photography
Photographing the Aurora, is relatively easy. Tripod, wide angle lens, possibly a remote shutter cord, and patience.
Aurora Painted Sky
Sometime ago, in my post Waiting for Aurora, I have shared some of my photos of northern lights, taken at the end of September at Elk Island National Park. Today, I would like to show you some more of the images from that night when magic was happening in the sky. Such amazing views!! We are so lucky being able to witness and record this amazing phenomenon. So here they are , the pretty colors of the night sky that always fascinated me. Enjoy! :) Kasia
Lights in the Sky
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University of Alberta has a website that monitors geomagnetic activity in the Edmonton area, called Aurora Watch. There you can sign up for free email alerts, when aurora borealis or northern lights have a chance of occurring. I received a red alert a few weeks ago, and decided to take my oldest son with me to Elk Island Park for a "capture the lights in the sky" mission. Unfortunately at the site, Konrad realized that his little point and shoot camera did not have the settings necessary to record the northern lights. I setup both of my cameras, one with fish eye lens, the other with wide angle, on the beach of Astotin Lake. Since Konrad wasn't able to take any photos, I let him operate one of the cameras. It was a great time, just being there, chatting, counting down exposure time, and watching the amazing light show in the skies above us. Great great time. Enjoy!
Night at the Lake
Last night I noticed that the sky was clearing up nicely, so immediately decided to go down to Elk Island National Park, for some night photography. I called and texted a couple of friends, but none had the time to go.... so I had to go alone. When it finally started to get dark around 11pm, I setup my tripod, programmed the remote for the 35 picture sequence, and settled in for a long wait. Unfortunately there were a lot of activity at that spot. At 1am couple of cyclists went through one frame, then a car showed up and drove around the parking lot. The best thing happened when the sequence finally finished at around 1:45am. Right behind me there was a spectacular display of norther lights. Here are some fruits of hanging around at night at the lake. Enjoy.
