{"id":509,"date":"2016-12-13T10:54:06","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T10:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/aurorawatchuk\/?p=509"},"modified":"2016-12-13T13:30:49","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T13:30:49","slug":"auroral-photography-how-to-maximise-your-chances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/aurorawatchuk\/2016\/12\/13\/auroral-photography-how-to-maximise-your-chances\/","title":{"rendered":"Auroral Photography: How to Maximise Your Chances"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over on the AuroraWatch UK Flickr page<\/a>,\u00a0photos of stunning auroral displays\u00a0are shared with us\u00a0regularly by some of the UK’s most talented photographers.<\/p>\n

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Aurora taken from Ballykelly, Northern Ireland on March 6th, 2016. Exposure: 10s. ISO: 1600. Photographer: John Purvis. CC-BY-SA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Although aurora seen from the UK is often considerably weaker and less frequent than more northern countries<\/a>, it doesn’t mean that it’s not there. As many of our followers have discovered, using the power of photography to capture the aurora can yield amazing results.<\/p>\n

This article provides a basic introduction to photographing the aurora,\u00a0which camera settings you should be looking for, and how to give yourself the best chance possible at getting a great photo. For more information on how to determine if you captured the aurora, have a read of this other blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Exposure Time<\/h2>\n

When your camera takes a photo, the shutter opens for a set period of time to let light hit a digital sensor or film. This period of time is known as the exposure time, and most SLR cameras will have options to change it. If an aurora is quite dim and hard to see by eye, increasing the exposure time will allow more light from the aurora to enter the camera and so the aurora will appear brighter when you then look at the photo.<\/p>\n

Because your camera is going to be taking in light for a much longer time than usual,\u00a0a tripod to keep it stationary is also essential to so you don’t get any effects due to motion blur.<\/p>\n

There are tradeoffs to increasing exposure however; take a look at my very first aurora photo:<\/p>\n

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Aurora photographed at Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Taken January 10th 2015. Exposure: 10s. Photographer: Daniel Billett. CC-BY-SA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Increasing the exposure time doesn’t just let in more of the light from the aurora; it lets in more of other light too. Notice in my photo, all of the lights in the town and the light reflected off the moon are enhanced. I got away with it in this photo because the light pollution wasn’t too strong and so the aurora wasn’t drowned out. If I’d have been somewhere where the lights were stronger, I might not have seen the aurora at all.<\/p>\n

Another side effect of using long exposures is “light trails” caused by moving lights, with car headlights being the biggest offenders. As light from the same object is appearing in multiple different positions at the same time (as far as the camera is concerned), it can blur or show things which aren’t really there. This picture by AuroraWatch UK team member Steve Marple shows this quite beautifully:<\/p>\n

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Aurora and car headlights seen from Lancaster, UK. Taken January 20th, 2016. Exposure: 15s. Photographer: Steve Marple. All rights reserved, used with permission.<\/p><\/div>\n

As far as smartphone cameras are concerned, most do not support true long exposures where the shutter can be kept\u00a0open (though many of the latest “flagship” devices do). However, there are apps available which can simulate this by taking and analysing many short exposure shots to create a combined image. You can find these\u00a0on your respective smartphones app store.<\/p>\n

ISO<\/h2>\n

The ISO setting on a camera lets you change how sensitive it\u00a0is to incoming light. By increasing this level, you allow the camera to take in more light per second, meaning you can then go on the use a shorter exposure time. Finding the balance between ISO and exposure time is a delicate task and very device dependent.<\/p>\n

Using long exposures work well if what you’re photographing is staying still, but the aurora is a dynamic and has fine structures to it, so you could end up with blurry\u00a0or smeared images. Increasing ISO to compensate for this means you can still capture some\u00a0fantastic structure.<\/p>\n

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Aurora photographed from Anglesey, Wales on March 6th 2016. Exposure: 8s. ISO: 8000. Photographer: Kris Williams. CC-BY-SA<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The base ISO level of a typical camera will usually range somewhere between 100 and 200. Increasing to 400 means that the camera is twice as sensitive as 200; 800 is four times as sensitive, and so on. Be careful when using very high iso settings though. As your camera is essentially amplifying the signal it’s getting, the image can become distorted just like sound when you turn speaker volume all the way up.<\/p>\n

Hardware<\/h2>\n

You will find that nearly any camera, digital or film, is capable of capturing the aurora so long as you can adjust the exposure time.\u00a0You don’t have to have the most advanced lenses or flashy camera, but if you are in the market to upgrade your kit, the following tips are for you.<\/p>\n

In terms of lenses, you want be looking for one with a wider angle, or ‘field of view’. This is\u00a0achieved by decreasing the lens’ focal length (the distance from the sensor to the lens itself) and allows you to get a shot that is wider and includes more aurora. Aurora hunters tend to not want to restrict their view with long lenses which only see a little bit of the sky, so wide angles lenses are the default ones\u00a0of choice.<\/p>\n

Camera sensors are\u00a0built in to most cameras and are not easily changed, so it’s important to consider the sensor size before buying a new camera. A larger sensor will collect more light in the image resulting in much better photos, especially at low light (such as when capturing the aurora!). The “megapixel” count isn’t quite as important when you have a larger sensor. If you know what kind of photography you want to be doing and what lenses you\u00a0will use, the sensor size should ideally\u00a0be in a 1:1 ratio with the lens. If the sensor is too small, light that is coming through the lens will be wasted as the sensor can only pick up a portion of it. Make sure you take this into account so you can unlock the full potential of any lenses you use.<\/p>\n

Last but not least, never use a filter when trying to photograph the aurora. Filters stop certain wavelengths (types) of light from entering the lens, which is exactly what you don’t want to do. Unwanted effects like aberration<\/a>\u00a0can also happen when using a filter.<\/p>\n

Extra Tips and Starter Settings<\/h2>\n