Photography ideas - Is a photo-shoot at the time of an aurora a good idea?
The aurora aka northern lights is perhaps one of the most beautiful things ever. I have always wanted to see one, though the location of my country has never permitted me to see one. However, I was wondering, when I go to Norway or Finland, would it be a good idea to click some pics of mine with the aurora in the background?
Is there any photographer here who can give me a good idea about this? What kind of a camera should be used? Since it should be able to capture the aurora very well, with good clarity and sharpness I know that a very good camera should be used.
Also by what time of the year does the aurora appear? I'm sorry I have no clue about it because I haven't seen or known about them.
Would it be dangerous to stay on the road/ground of wherever, when there's an aurora?
Please help. Thanks x
P.S. For any one of you who does not know what an aurora is, here's a picture and some information about it.
Not a good idea. Think about it…
That would be a wonderful thing to shoot. Aurorae are safe to shoot and stand outside while they are happening. They aren't dangerous like lightning storms. Although, they can introduce electrical currents in power grids and cause damage to the equipment.
Winter is a good time since you have lots of darkness. However, they can happen at any time of the year. All depends on what's happening on the Sun. Summer, at high latitudes, the sky doesn't get dark, thus, you won't see aurorae.
Any fully adjustable camera can take aurora pictures. I have done this on a junky old bridge camera with nice results (a friend was lighting up his pipe in the foreground). A DSLR with a wide angle lens would be better.
If you want to get a selfie, you'll need to use a flash to properly expose yourself or have a continuous light illuminating you. Nikon and Canon's speedlight flash systems allow you to do this without much thinking.
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