The natural phenomenon aurora borealis, often referred to and better known by their nickname the Northern Lights, is a once in a lifetime experience. Every winter tens of thousands of people travel far and wide to try and catch a glimpse of these dancing lights appear in the night sky and there is no guarantee you will see them. As their name would suggest they typically appear close to the North Pole here on Earth; countries such as Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia have the highest chances of seeing them. But on 8th May 2024 a notification went out to advise of an Earth direct coronal mass ejection from the sun – the very cause of the northern lights was coming and it was going to be strong. As the sun is so far away from us here on Earth solar wind would have to carry all of that energy to earth and it can take up to two days to get here so on Friday 11th May we were all patiently waiting on the first signs of the lights. I still can not believe I was lucky enough and able to view the lights in such stunning colour from my very own back yard – considering I have taken a trip to Iceland back in 2018 to try and catch of them with no luck. What is worth mentioning is during that trip to chase the northern lights in Iceland our tour guide told us they do not appear as vibrant and colourful in real life as they do in photos, but this was not the case for us this year. The photos do not even do them justice and I just had to share these with you lovely readers.
This blog post does not contain or use affiliate links.
The items featured in this blog post were purchased with my own money.
You can read the disclaimer about affiliate links and PR Gifting here.
Some would call this nature’s own light show… where the sky paints dreams in a symphony of celestial hues. A sprinkle of stardust lands upon the night sky and fairies dance among the stars. Tonight we are lost in the poetry of the northern lights.
@noelsmithstories This scene feels like what I once saw on a screen I searched aurora borealis green… 🌌 #northernlights #aurora #auroraborealis #solarflare #sky #skygazing #star #stargazing #Belfast #Ireland #NorthernIreland #bucketlist #TaylorSwift #LanaDelRey #fyp #fypシ ♬ Snow On The Beach – Taylor Swift
So you want to capture the northern lights? Technology has come a long way and we are able to take advantage of the improved camera settings in smartphones such as iPhone and Samsung – but if you consider yourself an avid photographer and would like to try your luck in capturing the northern lights next time there is a potential then I have listed some recommendations.
Darkness: the darker your environment the better. The northern lights will appear much more visible when you are away from light pollution which is why so many tours include a bus ride outside of the city and typically somewhere high up such as a mountain.
Composition: anyone can take a photograph of the sky, but the photo becomes much more visually interesting when something else has been included. Depending on your location there could be mountains, trees, waterfall or a dramatic landscape to really add depth to your photo.
Settings: for a faint aurora try a shutter speed of 20-25 seconds; bright and active aurora try a shutter speed of 5-10 seconds; and for a slow moving aurora try a shutter speed of 12-20 seconds. Set your aperture (f-stop) to at least f4 to let in enough light to capture the aurora and do not go lower than f2.8 to avoid a ‘noisy’ image. Lastly: experiment with the ISO. The brighter this has been set the more light you capture, but the photos will also get grainier with the more light.
Stability: even the steadiest of steady hands will not be enough when trying to capture the northern lights. Because of the dark environment and long exposure times from the settings there is no room for movement which will greatly effect the result of your photo. Opt for a tripod to get the best possible results.
I hope you have found this any way helpful and please feel free to share any photos you may have captured of the northern lights, I would love to see them! To stay up to date with everything on Noel Smith Stories and be one of the first to hear updates regarding my upcoming children’s book ‘The Adventures of Mr. Bumble‘ be sure to follow my social media profiles linked below.
