Matters needing attention in shooting aurora

Lead: There are many experiences of aurora tourism on the Internet, but those who have photography experience rarely share the precautions, so this article mainly shares some precautions. After all, compared with how happy I am and how beautiful the aurora is, it is really right to share some helpful information with the people who are going next.

First of all, shooting the aurora should be done by someone who has a certain photographic foundation, because it requires very skilled settings in a very harsh environment, and it is not suitable for me (laughs). But on the bright side, it should be easier for me to teach ordinary people how to shoot, so it's not useless. Then introduce the rules that should be paid attention to when shooting aurora. Please note that the example I mentioned refers to Huangdao Town in Canada. If it is Fairbank in the United States and Tromso in Norway, or Iceland, it may be another situation.

Location selection

Why choose Huangdao Town is the first question, which is actually very simple, because the ending of the Japanese drama "Love at Christmas" is there. Although I don't like this movie at all, I like the idea that all shall be well, jack shall have Jill, and watch the aurora together, so I went anyway. Why not choose a warmer Tromso or the prestigious Fei Zhengqing? Another reason is that Tromso sometimes works nearby. Don't worry. Fei Zhengqing was ruined by my photographer friend. I don't want to go. The last reason is because of the terrain. Some people say that the aurora of Yellow Knife feels "closer and closer" to Vancouver, where connecting flights is more fun, so I chose Yellow Knife for many reasons.

I use the domestic air ticket of Air Canada, so I have to make a connecting flight. The local hotel uses Explorer Hotel, the restaurant inside is delicious, and there is a supermarket next to it, which is very convenient. They are all booked by appointment.

shooting time

Theoretically, the aurora is suitable from September to March every year, because the night time is long, and the weather in September and March is warmer and more stable, so more people go there. Aurora has a big cycle in ten years and a super-large cycle in a hundred years, which is relatively easy to see and is called beauty for short. 20 13~20 14 is a once-in-a-century cycle, so it is conceivable that many people will go. During this time, the new moon without the moon is the time for everyone to grab it, because there is a saying that "moonlight will grab the aurora." In fact, God knows there are so many people when there is no moon, and hotels are not easy to find. During the aurora from 9: 00 to 3: 00 every night, as long as you leave the hotel, half of the people you meet should be tourists, right?

Pay attention to the temperature

It's normal to have 20 degrees below zero in the morning and 40 degrees below zero at night. This kind of temperature can't be kept warm by ordinary gloves, coats and shoes. And as long as you breathe, you can frost your eyelashes! I have a friend who proudly says that she has been to Heilongjiang. This is a small case. But it turns out that this is not a small case, and the somatosensory temperature of the yellow knife is colder than that of Heilongjiang, so please pay attention to the clothes you wear. It is more cost-effective to rent locally. After all, Taiwan Province Province doesn't need this grade of winter clothes at all.

Let me explain how cold it is. This is a temperature at which my breath will frost my eyelashes and my eyelashes will stick together when I blink. This is a hand-held tripod. As long as there is a little moisture, it will freeze and stick your hand on the tripod. When you press the shutter, your finger will stick to the shutter. In the environment of MINUS 40 degrees, controlling your monocular camera and tripod is sometimes like touching dry ice with your hands! Please remember, don't frostbite yourself because of photography. Take more warm bags and run back to the car or engine room as soon as you feel uncomfortable, because usually when you feel cold, the cold has invaded your whole body, and it takes longer than you think to get rid of it.

Please note that I don't recommend wearing glasses, because just breathing will freeze! Never choose gloves and shoes that are suitable for -20 degrees or above, otherwise it will be useless. I know photographers want gloves with flexible fingers, but please understand that this is like touching the ice in a plastic bag at -40 degrees. Finally, remember to keep your face warm. There is a full face mask. Really think about it, because sometimes you will get frostbite when you take pictures at night.

Pay attention to setting

Experienced people will use B mode to fix the aperture and ISO, and decide the shutter speed "only by feeling" because the brightness of aurora is constantly changing. I'm not good at math, I really can't, so I use mode A.

In basic settings, I usually set the ISO to the maximum 1600 and the shutter to the maximum 15 seconds. ISO must be lower than 1600, otherwise it will be confused with stars and noise. 15 second is my personal favorite second, which can capture the wave feeling when the aurora swings. Please remember to shoot with RAW files. People who don't use the cable player should remember to use the "two-second shot" function, otherwise the shutter will shake the camera and the photo will be blurred. Because shooting aurora mostly uses wide-angle and fisheye, my focal length is infinite, so I don't have to worry about the blurred foreground. The aperture depends on the situation.

The setting of photography is very personal. I just want to provide my settings for your reference. Please change the settings you like.

Luck component

Aurora is really luck. You should pay attention to two watches every day, one is the weather and the other is the intensity of aurora. The weather is bad, even if there is aurora, it is blocked by clouds. The weather is fine, but it is useless without the intensity of aurora, and it is indispensable. Remember, the intensity of aurora changes at any time, so there will be strong hours in weak days and there will be no aurora in strong days, so don't give up easily.

It is better to be happy alone than with others.

Seriously, the feeling of seeing the aurora is not "so touching", but "so cold", "just like computer animation" and "I'm sorry that the person who taught me how to shoot didn't learn it at all". Seriously, movies are really similar to electrode light, which makes me feel like I am in a cinema when I see them with my own eyes.

Another reason why it is difficult to move is that there are too many people in XD. Take the tent I photographed (Aurora Village) for example, there are about 20 tents in the local area, and then 380 people are taking pictures!

I am here to write down all the precautions, hoping to help those who want to go in the future and make the journey and photos better. It is better to be happy alone than with others. If you have any questions, please ask.

Venue: Canada (Yellowknife)

? time

9: 00 p.m. to 3: 00 a.m. every night, new moon every month, September to March every year. /kloc-once every 0/0 year and/kloc-once every 0/00 year, with a long period (20 13~20 14).

? climate

Huangdao town-17~-40 degrees. Please rent winter clothes locally (Aurora Village/Polaris Adventure). I can't recommend it because it's all rented out when I go, so please make an appointment in advance.

? Take pictures of ...

Preferably a full-length monocular telescope with a metal hinged tripod and cable release. The settings I use are A mode, ev0 ~+2, ISO 1600 or less, shutter 15 seconds or less, the focal length is infinite, and the aperture is 2.8~8.0 according to the situation. When the cable is not used for release, shoot after two seconds. Take all the photos in RAW. This setting is not dead. Be flexible if you can take pictures.

The lens I use is Canon16 ~ 35/2.8&; 8~ 15/4, the fuselage is canon 5DIII, and the tripod is gitzo. Mobile phones can't take pictures! Remember, please note that the plastic of the -40 tripod may break and the metal body may collapse.

? Schedule

I am a freelancer, looking for Aurora Village (where the photo of the tent was taken) and Polaris adventure (the one with the round aurora and the car). I recommend Aurora Village for two nights and Joe for one night. Dog sledding, snowmobiling and other trips are recommended during the day, which are available in Aurora Village. Recommend venison. It's really tender and tasteless. Can the Explorer Hotel order venison beef brisket? Spistro can order fried fish, and Black Knight's hamburger is really great. You can try them all. Don't eat KFC here because it's really not much cheaper.