# Northern Lights



## xmtbiker (Feb 7, 2011)

Just took these the other night. We had a great display of lights the past few evenings and mild weather (0 degrees F) so shooting was enjoyable. Would have liked to have been able to shoot for longer but my batteries died  
1.






2.


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## Buckster (Feb 7, 2011)

Spectacular!  Well done!


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## MSnowy (Feb 7, 2011)

wow!


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## K8-90 (Feb 7, 2011)

Beautiful! 

I haven't seen northern lights in so long... When I was little, they freaked me out and I'd cry, lol. Thought aliens were coming


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## LaFoto (Feb 8, 2011)

How I'd love to see this _for once_ with my own eyes! I've never ever seen any northern lights myself - let alone taken any photos of them.


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## wlbphoto (Feb 8, 2011)

wow..


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## Bitter Jeweler (Feb 8, 2011)

LaFoto said:


> How I'd love to see this _for once_ with my own eyes!



I was thinking the same while lookin at the awesome shots.

It would be all kinds of freaky. Goosebumps kind of freaky.

People that get to see them all the time prolly lose that " first time " feeling.


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## Ricardodaforce (Feb 8, 2011)

Amazing! I have never seen them either. What a sight!

BTW what's 0 degrees F in C?


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## rickygck (Feb 8, 2011)

Beautifully taken!


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## marcocarmassi (Feb 8, 2011)

Very good shots, i've always dreamt of taking photos of northern lights.


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## Frequency (Feb 8, 2011)

A green dream....

Regards


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## altitude604 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very nice shots!

Still waiting for the Aurora to reach a high enough cycle to be seen good here again. They were out last week but forgot my camera at work.


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## invisible (Feb 8, 2011)

The first one is really, really beautiful. I'd like to see some more detail in the foreground though  then again shooting auroras is not a walk in the park and one can't go nuts with the exposure.


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## HikinMike (Feb 9, 2011)

I lived in King Salmon Alaska while I was in the USAF and I never saw the Northern Lights. I really like the first one!


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## cgold36 (Feb 9, 2011)

Great shot, breath taking i am sure to see it in your own eyes.


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## myshkin (Feb 9, 2011)

is it completely unpredictable?


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## Reel1 (Feb 9, 2011)

incredible


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## The Barbarian (Feb 9, 2011)

Really spectacular.   Must be very impressive to see for real.


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## altitude604 (Feb 10, 2011)

myshkin said:


> is it completely unpredictable?


 
completely predictable.

tonight for example, it should be visible from my location. 

The Geophysical Institute Auroral Forecast Page

this site will help you figure out whether it will be visible or not.


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## Mecal (Feb 10, 2011)

nicely done - I like the first one.  and of course I too would like to see this some day


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## Necroframer (Feb 10, 2011)

nice shot


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## molested_cow (Feb 10, 2011)

What was the exposure setting for the shots?


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## NielsSw (Feb 18, 2011)

I'm hoping to see any northern lights these days (i'm thinking of going hunting for them ) but i have no idea how to take pictures of it. Can you give me some starting points? I don't expect to have much time to just try things when i finally see it. 

My D70 camera can go to 200-1600 iso, up to 30seconds or bulb mode(hold the button :x) with an 18-70mm lens with f3.5-4.5 and i have a tripod. I guess it should be possible to make a decent picture with that right?

(should i have made a seperate thread for this?)


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## FiveAlarmPhotography (Feb 18, 2011)

WOW! Great Job!!!!


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## Trever1t (Feb 18, 2011)

Very cool. Saw them with my own eyes in Michigan's UP....couldn't believe it with my own eyes! The colors of the spectrum pulsating and flashing, so weird! Great shots!


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## Buckster (Feb 18, 2011)

Anybody catch them last night?  They were expected to be well seen because of a giant solar flare that busted loose on Valentines Day, headed for Earth.  Maybe tonight too?  I don't remember...


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## NielsSw (Feb 18, 2011)

i think forecast on the northen lights is always rather vague.. 
this side says it's low:
The Geophysical Institute Auroral Forecast Page
this site says it's a storm:
thu: Northern Lights Forecast Resources

So i just hope for the second. I also heard about the big flare yes but i have no idea how long it takes to hit earth?


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## PopCulture (Feb 18, 2011)

Crazy. That looks like something from the Wizard of Oz.


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## xmtbiker (Feb 18, 2011)

Thanks everyone for saying all the nice things! I agree that they are much more amazing in person. My wife has been seeing them for the first time this year and that night was so amazing that she freaked out a little bit. The sky can become so bright with movement and color that it lights up the night around you and she thought that something else was going on :er:. 

For anyone interested in the exposure settings, I believe those shots were ISO 800 6 sec at f 3.5. If you are at  all interested in a writeup I made with a few useful links in it you can check out my aurora article. 

As for the temperature of 0 F I believe it is around -17 C? 

And on the topic of that solar flare, up here in Alaska the last few nights have been too cloudy and snowy! Oh well, I guess I just have to be happy with what I have seen and not wish too badly to see POSSIBLY THE BEST STORM OF MY LIFE!


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## Airborne_Guy (Feb 18, 2011)

Man I miss Alaska. Great shots!


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