Ewen Bell 📸
I have a few thousand frames to dig through tonight. Just wanted to share something right away, because it's a little bit exciting.

I wasn't in the mood to head out and shoot tonight. I was tired to the bones after yesterday's outing, and the thought of leaving our cosy cabin to stand in the cold just in case things kicked off was marginal at best. But the satellite data was pretty convincing. And I knew a half decent spot to shoot from, about 10mins drive away.

I grumbled and made a fuss and got in the car and stood out there. Buzzed a buddy and he came to join too. And then it went off like a frog in a sock. Maybe the second best aurora of the season so far. Not fast paced, but very generous and very pretty.

This scene is taken on the Lumix S9 with an 11mm F2.8 MF Fisheye by TT Artisan. Half decent lens. Tricky to tame that fisheye effect, hence setting the horizon as close to the centre as possible.

#EwenInNorway #Lumix #Photography #Norway #Aurora #Nordlys #11mm
Jan 7 at 8:48pmWeb
Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 7
If you look closely you may notice the otter tracks in the snow. He came ashore just after I started shooting and was not impressed to have company. Cannot blame him for that.
Show threadSibylleJan 7
@ewen thank you for sharing that backstory of not wanting to go outside, still going... and look what you got. What a beautiful capture!
Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 7
@sibylle

I'm so lucky to have a chance to spend time with nature. My wife is my favourite thing on this entire planet, but nature comes a close second.
Show threadDale HarveyJan 7
@ewen I am soo jealous of these they look amazing. I have taken 2 trips to arctic circle specifically to see the northern lights and still havent managed. Hopefully one day 🤞 Cheers for sharing
Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 7
@dale

Thanks Dale :) I've been coming up here since 2010. Have learned a few things over that time.

Was reflecting today on all the mistakes I've made over the years, and how different I approach things now. Luck plays a big part in all this, but local knowledge makes a huge difference too.
Show threadDale HarveyJan 9

@ewen That reminds me of my first time trying to shoot the milky way, thinking I had done amazing and coming home to everything being completely out of focus :)

Thanks for the offer once that sounds like something the kids would enjoy then will definitely take you up on it.

Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 9
@dale

👍
Show thread@iveylineJan 7
@ewen Awesome.
Show threadsadele2Jan 7

@ewen

Lovely. Stunning.

Curious, what's the time exposure?

I've only seen aurora once, in NY. Could see nothing w/ naked eye, pulled out iPhone, shot handheld big sheets and/or blobs of pink/rose w/ edges of green. Phone automatically shot at 3.4 seconds. Not great photos but I was thrilled to see it at all

Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 7
@sadele2

That image was a 6sec exposure, at F2.8 and ISO 4000. Very dark sky, with the moon not rising for another 30mins or so.

At its peak tonight the colour and movement was really easy to observe with the naked eye. Earlier in the night things were more subdued and the camera showed much more than the eye could pick up.
Show threadsadele2Jan 7

@ewen

Thanks a lot. Very interesting

Show threadBob HorowitzJan 7
@ewen Worth it. This is really beautiful.
Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 7
@BobHorowitz

🤍

And I get to bed at a nice hour!
Show threadLooking for explanations…Jan 8

@ewen

I love the fact that it includes scenery. Makes it more real, in a surreal sort of way.

Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 8
@Susan60

Yeah the scenery is the hard part. Just pointing to a patch of sky with no reference to the earth itself feels very incomplete. Nice to capture a piece of sky as part of a bigger set, but not to rewarding on it's own.
Show threadWonderdog 🏳️‍🌈Jan 8
@ewen Wow. Worth the grumbles!
Show threadFirefly85Jan 8
@ewen @elaterite Hey, now I like this. I have never had something like that described to me before. I have two questions. One of them is probably going to seem very dumb, but at least a cluster of stars that you’re trying to capture photos of? I’m really into space and astrology and looking at photos when I can get the AI accessible tools on my phone to describe photos to me. The second thing is and it just goes from my curiosity, but with these photos taken at night? I know thank you for posting them and I look forward to reading more.
Show threadEwen Bell 📸Jan 8
@Willpogor

When I'm shooting auroras I'm not thinking about the stars. I would say aurora photography doesn't really belong in Astro because you're capturing light from the atmosphere, generated by the earth's magnetic field interacting with solar winds.

The aurora light we see is about 100 kilometres up the atmosphere, not light-years :)

And yes this all happens at night. The degree of moonlight in the night can determine how blue the sky becomes.

I have a video that looks at what the camera sees, versus what our eyes can see on aurora nights. Worth a look.
https://youtu.be/6_ze-1ga64o


@elaterite
Why do Auroras look different on your camera?

YouTube
Show threadForest FernJan 8
@ewen Gorgeous! Wow.
Show threadSimoneJan 8
@ewen georgous photo!
Show threadBONOPHOTO1Jan 8
👏👏👏📷