Long - Photographing the aurora borealis: how to shoot the northern lights

Thank You!

Id like to thank Steve Rew, Bob Dean, and Betty Holling for their work with editing this book. You found things I missed and helped clean it up, making it a better read for everyone.

Thanks to my wonderful wife, Rhonda, for putting up with my crazy travel schedule of roaming around the globe, taking pictures, and teaching others the fine art of photography. Your support is a true blessing.

Copyright 2017 by Andy Long.

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc., PO Box 538, Buffalo, NY 14213

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Editors: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt, Beth Alesse

Acquisitions Editor: Harvey Goldstein

Associate Publisher: Kate Neaverth

Editorial Assistance from: Roy Bakos, Carey A. Miller, Rebecca Rudell, Jen Sexton

Business Manager: Adam Richards

ISBN-13: 978-1-68203-209-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016952103

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

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Contents

Table of Contents

N umerous years back, while leading an Alaska brown bears workshop, I saw some books of aurora borealis images. I was hookedand a winter trip to Alaska to photograph the incredible beauty presented on the pages of those books was soon to follow. Ever since my initial scouting trip in 2005, I have been leading workshops yearly to the far north to let others see, experience, and photograph this amazing phenomenon.

While my true love is bird photography, my favorite thing to see and photograph is the northern lights. Im glad that my passion of teaching others about the aurora can now reach more people through this book.

I invite you to take a journey to see some beautiful shots of the aurora and learn how you can take shots like this whennot ifoffered the chance to visit an area where the sky comes alive with color. When you want to experience this, visit my web site, sign up for a northern lights workshop, and let me take you to the best possible spots in Alaska and Icelandand teach you personally!

EQUIPMENT

As I am a Canon shooter, most of the images were shot with a Canon 5D Mark III or a 1Ds Mark II with multiple lenses. All of the instruction, however, is relevant for any DSLR. After all, my workshop participants have used a wide variety of camera brands and lenses to take memorable photographs.

ORGANIZATION

This book is divided into four parts:

Part 1: Understanding the AuroraThis section provides an understanding of what the aurora borealis is and how and why were able to see it. The discussion will tell how the various colors come about and describe some of the shapes it takes as it dances across the sky.

Part 2: Getting You and Your Camera ReadyAs you prepare to go out to photograph the northern lights, its important to get both yourself and your camera ready. The last thing you need is to walk outside and see a great display going on and not have anything ready to take a photo. This will cover both the clothing and the equipment needed, as well as how to get it prepared for a night of shooting the aurora.

Part 3: Shooting the AuroraThis is the heart of the book, covering the why and how of capturing the shots shown throughout these pages. Theres more to it than first meets the eyewith f/stops, shutter speeds, ISO, lighting techniques, timers, cable releases, and more.

Part 4: Image ProcessingSome special techniques will be covered in this section, including how to put together a time-lapse film and a stacked star trail with some northern lights in it. There are also tips on what to do in post-processing to clean up aurora shots to make some beautiful prints and what to do to get them ready for posting on the web.

No pencil can draw it, no colors can paint it, and no words can describe it in all its magnificence.

Julius von Payer, Austrian explorer